UM vs Duke: Matchups to Watch
By David Villavicencio
HurricanesSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Canes are back at Hard Rock Stadium for the first time since Oct. 6 and they are eager to protect their home field against the Duke Blue Devils.
Coming off a 27-14 loss at Boston College on Fri., Oct. 26, the Miami Hurricanes open their month of November with their annual Homecoming game and a matchup with Duke on Nov. 3. Kickoff for the contest – Miami’s first at home in 28 days – is set for 7 p.m. from Hard Rock Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Miami carries a dominant 13-2 lead in the all-time series between the two schools, including wins in four straight matchups dating to 2014. UM leads the all-time series 6-1 in games played at home, and has not lost to Duke in Miami in the modern era of Hurricanes Football (since 1979). The Hurricanes thumped Duke, 31-6, in last year’s head-to-head matchup in Durham, N.C., in Miami’s ACC opener; UM is 7-1 all-time in Durham.
Duke is under the direction of 11th-year coach David Cutcliffe, who has compiled a 64-70 record in Durham and a 108-99 record as head coach. Like the Hurricanes, the Blue Devils enter Saturday coming off back-to-back losses. They are off to a 5-3 start but fell to Pitt, 54-45, on Oct. 27. The Duke offense is led by quarterback Daniel Jones (1,457 yards, 13 TD passes), running back Deon Jackson (534 yards, five TDs) and receivers TJ Rahming (394 yards, 6 TDs) and Johnathan Lloyd (440 yards, 5 TDs). Defensively, Duke is led by linebacker Joe GIles-Harris (69 tackles) and defensive lineman Chris Rumph (7.5 TFLs, 3.0 sacks).
Here are three matchups to watch in Saturday’s game.
Miami’s defense vs. Duke QB Daniel Jones
The Hurricanes’ defense remains among the best in the ACC, holding teams to and ACC-best 261.5 yards per game and leading the country in third down conversion percentage defense at 22.8%. Defensive linemen Gerald Willis, Joe Jackson and Jonathan Garvin will look continue their dominance in the opposing backfield, while Miami’s linebacking corps features all-conference talents Shaquille Quarterman and Michael Pinckney leading the way. Throw in the veteran secondary led by Thorpe Award semifinalists Jaquan Johnson and Michael Jackson and it is easy to see why Miami continues to dominate defensively.
But the Hurricanes will face a resilient and talented quarterback in Duke’s Daniel Jones. The redshirt junior has a quarterback efficiency rating of 103.00 or higher in all six of his games this season. Of Jones’ 31 career games, 28 have had a quarterback efficiency rating of at least 91.00.
Jones’ career quarterback efficiency of 124.35 is the third highest in Duke history and his 2018 quarterback efficiency of 150.43 would rank as the highest in a season in program history.
“It starts with [Daniel] Jones, the quarterback,” Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “There’s a lot of familiarity in this game. Duke was really young in 2016, and for the most part, so were we. There’s a lot of guys – their wideouts are all really old and experienced. We have some old and experienced guys in our secondary, of course in the back seven. Their quarterback [Jones], now it’s our third year playing against him. Our guys have a lot of respect for who they have and who they bring to the table. Football is not complicated. The guy who touches the ball on every play is important. Jones got hot, they came out with a very aggressive plan to get after Pitt, and it just turned into one of those games with two offenses executing at a very high level. But regardless of that game, we know enough about them to know they have really good players and really good scheme and we have to be ready to play.”
Miami’s secondary vs. Duke’s wide receivers
The Hurricanes’ starting secondary of cornerbacks Michael Jackson and Trajan Bandy and safeties Jaquan Johsnon and Sheldrick Redwine can play match up with anyone in the country. Miami also has depth in the defensive backfield with Amari Carter, Jhavonte Dean, DJ Ivey, Al Blades, Jr., Gurvan Hall, Jr. and Robert Knowles providing athleticism and experience behind the starters.
Dukes receiving corps is led by a pair of gifted wideouts that will look to challenge the Hurricanes’ secondary on Saturday. For the first time in program history, Duke has three players with five or more receiving touchdowns with senior wide receiver T.J. Rahming (6), redshirt senior tight end Davis Koppenhaver (5) and redshirt senior wide receiver Johnathan Lloyd (5). Rahming entered 2018 with three career TD receptions. He has doubled that output this season and is tied for the ACC lead, and tied for 32nd nationally, with his six scoring grabs. Rahming’s six receiving touchdowns are the 18th most in a year in program history and the most by a Duke player since Issac Blakeney’s seven in 2014.
Miami’s running game vs. Duke’s run defense
The Hurricanes have a pair of very talented running backs in Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas and this Saturday could prove to be a big game for them. Homer, who is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, is 10thin the ACC with 569 rushing yards on the year. Dallas ranks 20thin the conference with 423 rushing yards and is averaging 5.5 yards per carry. The duo has combined for 992 yards and will look to add significantly to that number this week.
Duke’s run defense ranks 11thin the ACC and 97th nationally, as the Blue Devils are allowing 188.1 yards per game on the ground. Duke does have All-ACC linebacker Joe Giles-Harris leading the way with a team-high 69 tackles that rank second in the ACC. Defensive lineman Chris Rumph is another factor for the Blue Devils, leading the team with 7.5 tackles for loss.
