Miami Football: 3 takeaways from win over Duke

Miami football notched its biggest win of the season, so far, as they took down the Duke Blue Devils on the road at Wallace-Wade Stadium.

The No. 14 Miami Hurricanes got off to a fast start in a big matchup with the Duke Blue Devils. Miami had a few weeks off because of Hurricane Irma’s damage and they returned to action in Week 4 against the Toledo Rockets. Other games against the Arkansas State Red Wolves and Florida State Seminoles were either postponed or canceled.

Meanwhile, Duke enters this game 4-0 (1-0 ACC) as they look to take a big step in contending for the ACC Coastal division title. Defeating Miami would have been a big step for Duke but that never really came close to actually happening.

The heart and soul of this Miami offense, running back Mark Walton, did not have the biggest effect on the game. Duke did a good job slowing him down for most of the game as he 17 carries for just 51 yards.

Meanwhile, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe had an emphasis on the ground game with senior Shaun Wilson and redshirt freshman Brittain Brown. Even though Duke was held out of the end zone, the run game still averaged nearly 5.0 yards per carry. Yet, it was not nearly enough to get it done for the Blue Devils.

Miami wide receivers Ahmmon Richards and Braxton Berrios combined for more than 150 yards and two touchdowns on just five catches. The homecoming for Berrios (since he’s from Raleigh, NC) was made very special by the touchdown he caught in the first half.

Now, let’s take a look at three takeaways from Duke’s loss against the Miami Hurricanes in Week 5.