Duke demolition! Canes crush Blue Devils for first shutout of Power 5 team since 2001
This time, the Miami Hurricanes didn’t need late-game drama to earn their victory and march closer to a New Year’s Six bowl. This time, it was a four-quarter smackdown.
Despite a 20-day hiatus from the game they love and 15 players deemed “unavailable” for the road trip amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Hurricanes got five takeaways and excelled in every phase Saturday to crush Duke 48-0 for their fifth consecutive victory and first shutout of a Power 5 opponent since 2001.
“Defense from the opening kickoff was spectacular,’’ said coach Manny Diaz, who at halftime implored the Hurricanes to finish what they started. “We’ve handled the adversity of being down this year, but could we handle the adversity of being up and finishing the way a top-10 team should finish the game?
“Just a ton of positives to take away.’’
On path to major bowl
With two games left in the regular season, the Canes (8-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) — No. 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings and No. 9 in the AP Top 25 Poll — are out of the race for the league title but are virtually assured a berth in a major bowl should they defeat CFP-No. 17 North Carolina (7-3, 6-3) next weekend and Georgia Tech (3-6, 3-5) Dec. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.
But even another loss for Miami would keep it ahead of UNC, which has an exceptionally talented quarterback in Sam Howell.
On Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, where fans are not permitted because of the pandemic, the Canes defense suffocated the Blue Devils, forcing three fumbles and grabbing an interception to hold Duke to 177 total yards — only 56 of them rushing (1.7 yards a carry and 2.8 yards a play).
Even UM’s special teams joined in the fun, forcing another fumble on a kickoff return after Miami had just scored.
King shines again
UM quarterback D’Eriq King, replaced by backup N’Kosi Perry early in the fourth quarter, completed 16-of-24 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns. He added 46 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. He was not sacked.
King’s touchdown passes went to tight end Brevin Jordan and wideouts Dee Wiggins and Mike Harley. The 89-yard strike to Harley in stride gave UM a 35-0 lead at 4:48 of the third quarter for the fourth longest passing touchdown in Miami history.
“ACC Network reporter Katie George said during the telecast that King revealed to her he had previously tested positive for COVID, but had few symptoms and obviously was recovered by Saturday.
“It obviously wasn’t ideal,’’ King told the media after the game. “But I’m blessed, I’m healthy, I’m back here playing ball, the game that I love. It wasn’t too bad. It was just lonely. I was at home watching a lot of TV, a lot of Netflix.”
Harris is ‘possessed’
Canes tailback Cam’Ron Harris had his best performance since the second game of the season, gaining 96 yards and scoring two touchdowns on 15 carries. Freshman running back Don Chaney Jr. added 62 yards rushing on nine carries, with 81 receiving yards on four catches.
“Cam ran like a man possessed tonight,’’ Diaz said.
“Like a maniac,’’ added center Corey Gaynor.
Kicker Jose Borregales, who missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt wide left, came back to kick field goals of 52 and 32 yards in the final quarter.
The Canes got their first game action since beating Virginia Tech on the road Nov. 14. Hit hard by COVID, the Hurricanes announced a one weekend break that turned into two when formerly scheduled opponent Wake Forest had its own outbreak. Duke (2-8, 1-8 ) replaced Wake Forest, which also would have been a road game.
More Covid cases
About an hour before kickoff, UM revealed that 15 players were unavailable, including five with starting experience. At Virginia Tech it was 13 players, up from 11 and six the previous two games.
Because so many players were missing, everyone who traveled got to play.
“Every single player, which was a heck of an accomplishment,’’ Diaz said. “So great to see a lot of young guys in there making plays.’’
Jordan pointed out that several of the youngest, most inexperienced players were part of the turnover chain celebrations Saturday — freshman cornerback Marcus Clark had his first career interception, freshman linebacker Corey Flagg had his first fumble recovery, freshman tight end Dominic Mammarelli recovered a fumble and freshman defensive lineman Elijah Roberts forced a fumble.
“More fun than playing, honestly, is seeing all of the young boys get in there and get some burn,’’ said defensive end Jaelan Phillips (1 1/2 sacks, 3 1/2 tackles for loss). “Iit’s so important for the young guys to be able to get experience in games like this, just for moving forward for this team. We all love each other. We’re really close. So, when you see guys get in, I think that’s the most exciting part.”
Welcome Navaughn
An old-timer also got in for the first time at left guard this season. Former Miami Central High All-American lineman Navaughn Donaldson, who in 2019 tore his ACL in the final regular-season game at Duke, opened the huge hole for Harris to score his 34-yard touchdown in the opening quarter.
“I really didn’t think about it coming full circle back onto this field,’’ Diaz said of the fourth-year senior, expected to return for 2021. “That’s not an easy rehab that Navaughn had to go through. [Starting left guard] Jakai [Clark] got dinged up a little bit and Navaughn went right in there and it did seem that — I look forward to watching the film — our offense [got] rolling around that time.’’
Also injured Saturday was freshman running back Jaylan Knighton, who was hurt while he fumbled during the second play of the game and didn’t return.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 11:09 PM.
