Canes Rewind: A Look Back at the Win over Duke
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of notes and quotes from Miami’s 53-31 win over ACC foe Duke on Saturday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium, a win that helped the Hurricanes move up one spot to No. 4 in the AP Top 25.
The Recap
The Hurricanes have weathered their share of challenges through the first two months of the season and for the first time since 2017, entered the month of November unbeaten.
To get to that point, the Hurricanes have had to handle tough road environments, beat a series of in-state rivals and twice, Miami rallied from double-digit deficits against ACC foes.
On Saturday, the Hurricanes once again found themselves in need of a comeback.
After jumping out to a quick 14-0 lead against the Blue Devils, Miami gave up a 28-3 run to find itself trailing upset-minded Duke 28-17 in the third quarter.
But just as they did against Virginia Tech and Cal, the Hurricanes responded, thanks in large part to the play of quarterback Cam Ward and wide receiver Xavier Restrepo.
After the Blue Devils took an 11-point lead after Maalik Murphy connected with Jordan Moore on a 6-yard scoring pass, Miami responded with a 7-play, 69-yard scoring drive that ended when Ward found Restrepo for a 3-yard touchdown.
On Duke’s next possession, breakout freshman defensive back OJ Frederique, who has earned praise from teammates and coaches alike all season, collected the first interception of his collegiate career and momentum swung all the way back to the Hurricanes.
Miami turned the turnover into seven points and regained the lead, 32-28, after Elija Lofton scored on a 2-yard run to cap a 7-play, 38-yard scoring drive.
The Hurricanes (9-0, 5-0) would not trail again and instead, outscored Duke (6-3, 2-3) 36-3 in the game’s final 22:16.
Ward finished the day completing 25 of 41 passes for 400 yards with five touchdown passes. He brought his total to 29 touchdown passes on the year, tying the single-season mark set by Steve Walsh in 1988.
Restrepo, meanwhile, had 12 catches for 146 yards and became Miami’s all-time leader in career receiving yards.
“They know they are capable. That’s number one. There’s a lot of trust and confidence in each other. Number two, I mean, football now, especially with technology, the cat and mouse game, the adjustment back and forth game, is really different. It’s a whole new level. I mean, you saw it,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “[Duke was] creating some matchups there in the second quarter that were difficult to contend with and we had to change some things up and disguise some things a little bit better and then just flat-out execute on some other things. There’s just no flinch in the group regardless of a bad play, an injury, a tough call we have to deal with, a deficit. It’s awesome being around this group and, you know, chapter nine ended in 1-0 and after today it’s on to chapter 10.”
Numbers to Know
2,573 – Career receiving yards for Xavier Restrepo, who on Saturday took the No. 1 spot on that list, bypassing Santana Moss (2,547) to get there. Restrepo also tied Mike Harley (182) for the most career catches in program history.
17,022 – Career passing yards for Cam Ward, who moved past Landry Fields (16,646) for fifth on the NCAA’s all-time, all-division passing list.
5 – Times this season Miami has scored at least 50 points in a game. The Hurricanes scored 56 points against Florida A&M, 62 points against Ball State, 50 points against USF, 52 points against Louisville and now 53 against Duke. This is the first time in program history Miami has scored 50 points that many times in a season.
3 – Touchdowns scored by Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher Jr. in Miami’s last four games. Fletcher scored on a 1-yard run against the Blue Devils to cap the Hurricanes’ scoring on Saturday. He had 65 yards on 12 carries in the win.
4 – Turnovers forced by the Miami defense on Saturday. Meesh Powell, OJ Frederique and Jadais Richard each had an interception, while Cam Pruitt recovered a fumble.
Quotable
“It’s unique. What’s going on is unique. But again, it kind of works hand in hand. You look at the way we’re playing, there is a lot that goes too it. Time of possession has gotten really high. Yards per play is really high. We’ve had some ups and downs on defense but either way, we find a way to play well when it really, really matters and so we complement each other really well. … It’s a great standard to set. Let’s keep pushing. Let’s keep getting better.”
– Head coach Mario Cristobal, on the offensive efficiency Miami has shown this season
“Just keep playing football. It’s always going to be a four-quarter game, no matter [if] you’re down by 11 or you’re down by 31 points in a game. At the end of day, you’ve just got to continue to stack good plays. We didn’t do that in the second quarter specifically [on] both sides of the ball. We ended up stacking good plays in the second half.”
– Quarterback Cam Ward, on Miami’s ability to rally from deficits
“I have no words for it. God’s just amazing. God’s great. He is the greatest. He’s the creator and there’s nothing else to say … It’s just so crazy that I’m now at the top of that list, you know? Speaking about it, imagining it and then doing it are different things, you know? I’m just super grateful that I got this opportunity with an amazing team.”
– Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, on moving into the No. 1 spot on Miami’s all-time receiving list
“I’ve got to thank my older guys and coaches, staying on me, helping me watch film, getting me up to speed, giving me a lot of confidence. Without them, I don’t think I’d be here where I’m at now.”
– Defensive back OJ Frederique, on his development throughout his freshman season
“I’d say we have a different mindset here. I think we’ve been in some games where we’ve been down a lot of points … I think this team is a lot more strong-willed. The mindset that we have is that we’re never going to back down, regardless. That’s good when we’re down by certain points or up.”
– Defensive back Meesh Powell, on Miami’s mindset in games
Up Next
After a two-game homestand, the Hurricanes will hit the road again, this time traveling to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon.
The Yellow Jackets were off this past week, but enter the game having lost two straight, including a 21-6 loss at Virginia Tech on Oct. 26. In that game, Georgia Tech outgained Virginia Tech 356-233 but managed just a pair of field goals.
The Hurricanes and Yellow Jackets are tied, 14-14, in their all-time series and Georgia Tech won the teams’ most recent meeting, which came last October, 23-20.
