Blue Devils Give Canes Hell, “Dookies” Flush Miami 45-21

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Posted on October 23, 2022 by Osky Serbin
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — After a hard-fought victory in Blacksburg last week against the Virginia Tech Hokies, the Canes returned home to take on the Duke Blue Devils. Miami entered this pivotal matchup having just snapped its three-game losing streak and looked to build on last week’s momentum.

The Miami defense started off feeling “HOT, HOT, HOT” as S James Williams recovered a fumble on just the second play from scrimmage to set the Canes up with excellent field position. Freshman QB Jacurri Brown got some early reps on the Canes’ first drive, (1) as a RB/Slot WR on a jet sweep touch pass and (2) as a Wildcat QB, converting a crucial 4th & 1 to set up a Miami 1st & Goal.

QB Tyler Van Dyke continued to ride last week’s wave of momentum, hooking up with his new favorite target and burgeoning WR1, Colbie Young, for the first TD of the game.

Both squads traded possessions for a few drives, and the next eye-catching moment came when Canes RB Jaylan Knighton coughed it up to set Duke up in the red zone. Blue Devils’ QB Riley Leonard was an absolute menace on the ground, performing his best vintage LaDainian Tomlinson impression. Leonard channeled his inner-K9, and sniffed out the endzone like a DEA-trained German Shepherd as he fought through multiple Miami defenders to stretch the ball over the plane on this 9-yard TD rush.

The Canes fumbled it away on the ensuing kickoff, and Duke’s Leonard struck again with a great reaching effort to give Duke its first lead of the game.

TVD & his “Bad Company” looked sloppy on the next few drives, but the Canes defense kept playing hard and held the Blue Devils until… well, this happened.

Van Dyke couldn’t avoid the rush and got stripped-sacked. Duke DB Brandon Johnson scooped it up to set up the Blue Devils with another red zone opportunity. Van Dyke spent some time down on the grass after landing hard on his throwing shoulder, and the training staff escorted him to the locker room while holding his right arm in place like a sling. TVD did not return to action.

The Canes defense stepped up, sacking Leonard on 3rd & Goal to hold Duke to a FG, concluding a 4-play, -1 yard SCORING DRIVE. (Yes, not a typo. NEGATIVE 1 yard scoring drive.)

Backup QB Jake Garcia stepped in for the injured Van Dyke and threw a poorly timed interception to put Borregales out of business at the end of the 1st half. At halftime, Duke led Miami 17-7.

However, to start the 3rd quarter, Garcia and Young immediately connected on a 71-yard “BLURRRR” for a TD to put the Canes back within 3.

Canes DB DJ Ivey subsequently forced a fumble on Duke WR Eli Pancol and recovered it himself. Garcia and the Hurricanes offense answered back with a 34-yard Will Mallory catch-and-run TD to take a 21-17 lead.

The Canes looked like a completely different team to start the 2nd half, scoring those 2 TDs in only 2 minutes of game time.

Duke answered back with a methodical drive that concluded with a Nicky Dalmolin 2-yard TD catch, and Duke led Miami 24-21 entering the 4th quarter.

Here’s where things started to fall apart… and I’m going to just list these off briefly to best avoid exacerbating my frustrations.

  • Duke’s Leonard rushed for his 3rd TD on the ground (Duke 31, Miami 21)
  • Garcia strip-sacked for Miami’s 5th turnover of the game
  • Duke RB Jordan Waters scored a 2-yard rush TD (Duke 38, Miami 21)
  • Duke DB Jaylen Stinson INTs Garcia
  • Duke DB Brandon Johnson INTs Garcia and returns it for a pick-six (45-21)
  • Garcia fumbles AGAIN and Duke recovers to mark Miami’s 8th turnover.
    • (The most by an FBS program since Central Michigan did it in a loss to Wyoming in 2017.)

FINAL | Duke 45, Miami 21

TAKEAWAYS

  1. This was a 3-point game entering the 4th quarter. This team completely collapsed and I honestly don’t know what went wrong. The Canes looked sloppy throughout the entire game, but they were still put in positions to win. The additional turnovers in the 4th quarter completely obliterated those opportunities. Like I mentioned earlier, one of these turnovers led Duke to a NEGATIVE 1-yard SCORING DRIVE. If you’re allowing your opponent to score points without even doing anything, you deserve to lose. Like many frustrated fans, I wish I had the answer for this team. I really do.
  2. TYLER VAN DYKE BETTER BE HEALTHY OR ELSE. With Halloween only 8 days away, Gattis and Cristobal should feel spooked if their QB1 can’t return to play next week. The fans’ support for Garcia was nonexistent compared to his relief performance against Middle Tennessee St. And Garcia’s turnover-laced performance almost certainly had fans wondering whether freshman Jacurri Brown could get the job done. However, the scariest thing about this team is its unquestioned confidence in Tyler Van Dyke. Once considered a lock as a first-round NFL Draft pick, Van Dyke has now earned respect from teammates, coaches, and fans alike as the Canes QB1. Garcia’s horrific performance put TVD’s abilities into perspective for fans. Kind of like meeting your dating app crush for the first time, only to realize she doesn’t look like her profile picture… but you’re already at the restaurant, you already got your go-to outfit on, you showered, shaved, put on nice cologne, and called out of work early on Friday to get ready. Don’t get me wrong, she might be your soulmate, but she’s definitely not what you had anticipated. Some might be willing to see past it and love her for her personality, but it’s harder to do that when you had unrealistic, inflated expectations of who she represented herself to be off the rip.

About Osky Serbin

Oskar "Osky" Serbin is a beat writer covering the Miami Hurricanes football program. A Miami native, he played quarterback at Gulliver Prep before earning his B.S. at Division-II Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts and his J.D. at the University of Miami School of Law, where he specialized in civil and criminal litigation and sports law.
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