Duke football dominates Miami, 45-21, to move within one win of bowl eligibility
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A tenacious effort, on the road, in the heat and with an open week just ahead, has Duke on the verge of a surprising bowl trip.
After seeing a 10-point halftime lead disappear, the Blue Devils scored four unanswered touchdowns, three via their potent running game, to roll over Miami, 45-21, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
“What an amazing statement of resiliency from this football team in this football program and our coaching staff,” Duke coach Mike Elko said.
Quarterback Riley Leonard rushed for three touchdowns and running back Jordan Waters added Duke’s fourth rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Duke (5-3, 2-2 ACC) rebounded from consecutive three-point losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina the past two weeks with a resounding road victory. The Blue Devils now get their open week before playing at Boston College on Nov. 4.
A win at Boston College would give Duke, which went 5-18 over the past two seasons of David Cutcliffe’s coaching tenure, bowl eligibility in Mike Elko’s first season coaching the Blue Devils. Duke has not played in a bowl game since 2018.
“For this group,” Elko said, “to just continue to fight, continue to scratch, continue to find ways to make plays, and ultimately grind out what is a truly impressive road victory for us. I mean, what a huge momentum thing for us, going into the bye week, couldn’t be more proud of this group.”
At Miami, Duke’s defense forced eight turnovers. including one on a second-quarter fumble when the Hurricanes lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to an upper body injury.
Even without Van Dyke, Miami (3-4, 1-2 ACC) rallied from a 17-7 halftime deficit to take a 21-17 third-quarter lead behind freshman quarterback Jake Garcia’s two touchdown passes.
But Duke stood tough, utilizing an rushing offense that produced 200 yards, averaging 4.8 yards per carry, and produced four touchdowns.
Trailing 21-17, Duke put together a gutsy 18-play, 79-yard touchdown drive to take the lead for good on Leonard’s 2-yard pass to tight end Nicky Dalmolin on fourth-and-goal. The drive used 9:22 of the third-quarter clock.
The drive saw Duke convert three third downs to keep possession. The Blue Devils also overcame two of their own penalties, including an offensive pass interference call that wiped out a touchdown.
“It wasn’t like we made any crazy, fantastic plays,” Leonard said. “We steadily drove the ball down the field. We took (nine) minutes off the clock. That just shows you when we run our plays and do what we’re supposed to do, nobody is going to stop us.”
Leonard completed a 21-yard pass to Eli Pancol on fourth-and-9 to move Duke to the Miami 21. Leonard’s 6-yard run on third-and-3 moved Duke to the Miami 5.
Leonard fired a touchdown pass to Sahmir Hagans but an offensive pass interference penalty on Jontavis Robertson moved Duke back to the Miami 20. But that didn’t stop the determined Blue Devils.
Leonard completed passes of 10 yards to Jaquez Moore and 8 to Dalmolin to reach the Miami 2. On fourth down, Dalmolin caught Leonard’s short pass over the middle and rolled into the end zone for a 24-21 Duke lead.
Duke extended the lead to 31-21 on Leonard’s 11-yard touchdown run with 14:06 to play. Waters’ 2-yard touchdown run and Brandon Johnson’s 29-yard interception return for a fourth-quarter touchdown capped the blowout.
Miami’s four turnovers in the first two quarters allowed Duke to take a 17-7 halftime lead.
The Hurricanes opened the scoring when Van Dyke threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Colbie Young capping a short drive set up by Duke wide receiver Jalon Calhoun’s fumble on Duke’s first possession.
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The Blue Devils then ripped off 17 consecutive points aided by those Miami turnovers. It started when Duke’s DeWayne Carter forced Miami’s Jaylon Keighton to fumble. Duke linebacker Shaka Heyward scooped up the ball and returned it 32 yards to the Miami 23.
On the fifth play of the drive, Leonard scored on a 9-yard run on third-and-goal tying the score at 7.
Miami’s Keyshawn Smith fumbled the kickoff and Duke’s Cameron Bergeron recovered at the Miami 22.
Duke needed just four plays to take the lead when Leonard’s 5-yard touchdown run put the Blue Devils up 14-7 with 12:01 left until halftime.
Miami’s third turnover of the first half, also a fumble, set Duke up for another score and knocked Van Dyke out for the remainder of the game.
On a blitz, Duke linebacker Cam Dillon sacked Van Dyke, knocking the ball lose while knocking him to the turf. Duke safety Brandon Johnson recovered at the Miami 10 and Van Dyke left the game for good with an upper-body injury.
Todd Pelino’s 28-yard field goal with 6:53 left until halftime gave Duke a 17-7 lead.
This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Duke football dominates Miami, 45-21, to move within one win of bowl eligibility."