After a big rivalry weekend win against Florida State, the fifth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (8-0, 4-0 ACC) will stay in the Sunshine State to take on the Manny Diaz-led Duke Blue Devils (6-2, 2-2 ACC).
The Blue Devils, coming off a heartbreaking loss to SMU, will look to rebound from their performance last weekend. Against the Mustangs, sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns. 138 of those yards were thrown to wideout Eli Pancol in a 28-27 overtime loss.
The defense has been the strong point for Duke this season, and it was a big reason it had a fighting chance to beat SMU. The Blue Devils’ defensive line, led by senior Kendy Charles, blew past SMU’s offensive line multiple times and forced the Mustangs quarterback, Kevin Jennings, to fumble the ball four times. The defensive line’s pressure forced Jennings in uncomfortable situations to throw the ball, leading to three interceptions to stay in contention to win the game.
“Really impressive. I mean, they force a lot of turnovers besides the turnover margin. I mean, third down, they’re excellent. Red zone, they’re excellent. Tackles for loss, I believe they’re second or third in the country, if not first. Very disruptive,” UM head coach Mario Cristobal told reporters about Duke’s defense.
Quarterback and Heisman candidate Cam Ward will have to continue to display magic to navigate around Duke’s defense. Against Florida State, Ward threw for 208 yards and no touchdowns, which was his worst statistical performance all season. There were times in the game when Miami’s offensive line was not as sharp as usual, allowing Florida State defenders to attack Ward in the backfield on several occasions.
The run game has shined for Miami in back-to-back weeks, and that is something the Hurricanes will look to continue this week. Against the Seminoles running back Damien Martinez rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, while Mark Fletcher Jr. ran for 71 yards and a touchdown.
“[Martinez is] a student of the game, and he’s now really fully feeling and understanding what we’re doing,” Cristobal said. “He’s ready to explode, and the opportunity was there, and it was awesome to see him take off like he did.”
Both the run game and the passing game will have to be effective if Miami wants to get past this strong Duke defense.
On the coaching side of things, for Cristobal, this is an ordinary game, but for Duke head coach Manny Diaz, it’s a reunion in the 305.
Diaz was the defensive coordinator for Miami from 2016–2018 and the head coach from 2019–21. As head coach of the Hurricanes, he led the team to a 21-15 record during his three-year tenure and qualified for a bowl game in each of his three seasons as head coach.
Miami was scrutinized by some for the way it handled the firing of Diaz at the time. Diaz has moved on from his time and is looking forward to being on the visitor’s sideline at Hard Rock Stadium this weekend.
“There’s a great saying that no man crosses the same river twice [like] before. He’s not the same man, and it’s not the same river. And that’s really the way I look at it,” Diaz told reporters Monday. “I’ve grown. I’m different as a coach, as a head coach, as a man, than I was when I was at Miami, and certainly the program’s in a different place by every metric from when I was there. So I’m at peace. I moved on.”
In the last matchup between these two teams, Duke came away victorious with a commanding 45-21 win at Hard Rock Stadium two years ago.
Diaz’s Blue Devils will look to upset Miami while the Hurricanes look to remain undefeated. Kick-off is set for noon at Hard Rock Stadium this Saturday on ABC.