5 observations and more from Duke football’s first half against No. 5 Miami

2024-11-03 10:20:02

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Five observations By the numbers A play that mattered Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox

Facing a ranked opponent for the second straight week, the Blue Devils traveled down to Coral Gables, Fla., to take on No. 5 Miami. After the first 30 minutes of play, Duke leads the home squad 21-17:

Five observations

Homecoming: Saturday marked Duke head coach Manny Diaz’s first time in Hard Rock Stadium since being fired at Miami in 2021. Diaz did not emphasize this storyline in the week leading up to the game, but the crowd was certainly hostile towards the Blue Devils. In his time with the Hurricanes, Diaz popularized the turnover chain, which his team wore every time they got a takeaway. Saturday, it was Mishael Powell who would have worn the chain, as he snagged in an errant pass from redshirt sophomore Maalik Murphy midway through the first quarter. Murphy, who was throwing from his own end zone, tried to find senior wideout Jordan Moore on a go route down the field. However, Powell crossed the field to pick the ball out of the air and give his offense strong starting field position. Eight plays later, senior tight end Cam McCormick hauled in a touchdown to give a 14-point advantage.

Air raid: On Miami’s first offensive drive of the game, it was all Cam Ward. The senior quarterback attempted five passes, including a 34-yard touchdown strike to Xavier Restrepo. On that play, Ward scrambled out of the pocket as it collapsed and found Restrepo streaking towards the corner of the end zone. Jaylen Stinson had fallen down in coverage, and a leaping tip from Terry Moore could not break up the pass, resulting in the first score of the game. However, Duke’s defense stepped up from there, and by the end of the half, Ward had totaled just 138 yards with a 50% completion percentage.

Tempo: After failing to move the ball at all on their first four drives of the game, the Blue Devils picked up their first touchdown of the game in less than a minute. It started with a slant to Sahmir Hagans, who broke a tackle and scampered his way for 21 yards. Duke ran to the new line of scrimmage, and Peyton Jones quickly ripped off a 27-yard run up the middle. Again in hurry-up mode, Murphy threw up another jump ball for Moore, who got a toe down in bounds to set the Blue Devils up on the 8-yard line. One more handoff to Jones was all it took for Duke to get into the end zone and punctuate a statement drive.

Settling down: The Hurricanes quickly jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and seemed in control of every phase of the game. Murphy could get the chains moving, as two of his three attempts missed on the opening drive for a three-and-out. His interception on the following drive further stymied his early confidence, but the Duke quarterback turned things around to bring his squad back into things. After Murphy connected on a few short completions, his downfield throws appeared much more accurate.

Key penalties: On the Blue Devils’ final drive of the first half, a series of penalties against Miami made moving the ball a piece of cake. Of Duke’s 75 yards, 45 came from penalties against the Hurricanes. After a pass interference call put the Blue Devils in field-goal range, Murphy converted on yet another third down by connecting with Hagans. Diaz and offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer used the two-minute timeout to draw up their plays of choice for the red zone situation, resulting in a pretty touchdown pass to Jones. Murphy caught the snap and turned to his left before rolling out to the right to find his wide open running back. The score gave Duke its first lead of the afternoon at 21-17. Another defensive stand ensured that Miami could not retake the lead before halftime.

By the numbers

First downs: The Hurricanes offense hit the ground with a full head of steam, totaling nine first downs before the Blue Devils could manage even one. Most of this was a result of the accuracy and evasiveness of Ward, who made plays repeatedly inside and outside of the pocket. Duke’s normally stingy defense appeared porous, allowing six plays of more than 15 yards in the first quarter. On the other side of things, the Blue Devils once again struggled to find early consistency on offense. Outside of the one-minute touchdown drive, Duke had just one first down in the first quarter — coming on a pass interference call. However, the Blue Devils turned things around to start the second, as Murphy immediately converted on a third down, marching down the field for another touchdown drive.

Total plays: Despite the relatively even scoreboard, Duke ran significantly less plays than Miami, 30 to the Hurricanes’ 42. Miami’s drives were usually methodical, as Ward picked apart the defense one play at a time to march his way down the field. On the other hand, the Blue Devils’ offense was either boom or bust. They found success on a few chunk plays — two of their three touchdown drives combined for just 12 plays — but two three-and-outs and a one-play drive ending in an interception skewed things. Heading into the locker room leading by four, Duke trailed by roughly 10 minutes in time of possession.

Tackles for loss: Despite Miami’s offensive success, the Blue Devils continued to rack up tackles in the backfield. Ward managed to juke his way out of most sacks, but Duke still totaled five tackles for loss in the first half. Moreover, the pressure in the backfield forced a number of incompletions from Ward, helping quell the Hurricane’s early momentum. The most important tackle for loss came from Wesley Williams, who finally caught Ward behind the line of scrimmage on a third-and-goal opportunity. Williams’ sack ensured that Miami ended the drive with three points instead of seven.

A play that mattered

After running in the ball for their first score, the Blue Devils took to the air to tie the game early in the second quarter. After Jones’ big catch set the offense up in Miami territory, Murphy faced a crucial third down. Just as he did on the third down to start the drive, he found Hagans crossing the field towards the left sideline. A key block from wideout Eli Pancol helped clear Hagans’ path, and Murphy’s throw allowed him to keep his momentum moving forwards. As the play developed, Hagans saw plenty of green in front of him, running untouched into paydirt for the score.

Dom Fenoglio
| Sports Managing Editor

Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle’s 120th volume.

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