Duke Going For Their Fifth Win Of The Season As They Host Miami

Miami's miracle eight lateral kick-off return for a touchdown to beat Duke 30-27  two years ago is now a distant memory as they return to Durham in 2017 to face Duke who will be going for their fifth win of the season and  is led by quarterback Daniel Jones.

Two unbeaten teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division Duke at  4-0 1-0 in the ACC and Miami who will play their first conference game of the season has a record of 2-0 will take the field Friday under the lights at Brooks Field @ Wallace Wade Stadium and unfortunately one of the teams will end up with their first loss of the season when the night is all said and done. 

Will Duke's defense that is ranked number one 96.29 (1) "according to http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/fpi?id=150&year=2017  be able to shut down Miami's offense that has an efficiency ranking of 82.6 "according to http://www.espn.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings/_/tab/efficiency

Will Duke not give up explosive plays?  If Duke wins will they crack the top -25? 

Now in its 105th season of football, Duke hosts No. 14 Miami on Friday, September 29 at 7 p.m. ... The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU with Dave LaMont (play-by-play), Mack Brown (analyst) & Julie Stewart-Binks (sideline)
• The Blue Devils are 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC following last week’s 27-17 road win over North Carolina ... The Hurricanes are 2-0 overall and 0-0 in league action after their 52-30 triumph over Toledo
• Duke owns an all-time record of 500-511-31 in 104-plus seasons
• This week’s game will mark the 15th meeting between Duke and Miami, with the Hurricanes holding a 12-2 series advantage ... The series began in 1976 with a 20-7 Blue Devil win ... In 2013, Duke posted a 48-30 victory in Durham to snap a nine-game skid against the Hurricanes ... Last year, Miami earned a 40-21 victory
• Duke will celebrate Scout Night and Youth Sports Night on Friday evening against Miami
• Duke holds an all-time record of 28-137-6 against nationally-ranked opponents (AP poll) ... The Blue Devils have secured at least one victory over a ranked foe in each of the past four seasons and are 5-5 in their last 10 games as an unranked squad against a ranked team dating back to the 2013 campaign
• Now in his 10th season as Duke’s head coach, David Cutcliffe is 56-61 with the Blue Devils and 100-90 overall ... Cutcliffe earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in both 2012 & 2013
• Under head coach David Cutcliffe, the Blue Devils are 33-5 (.868) when allowing 20 points or less
• With 1,994 career rushing yards, RB Shaun Wilson sits just six yards shy of becoming the seventh player in Duke history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau
• Over his last 11 games dating back to last season, QB Daniel Jones has thrown 15 TD passes against just three INTs
• Dating back to the 2013 season, the Blue Devils are 32-16 (.667) in their last 48 regular season games
• Trailing 17-13 entering the fourth quarter in Chapel Hill last week, Duke’s defense excelled over the final 15 minutes by holding the Tar Heels to zero points and 0-of-6 third-down conversions while scoring a defensive TD as the Blue Devils rallied from the four-point deficit to win, 27-17
• Duke is averaging 87.5 offensive plays per game compared to just 57.3 for its opponents
• With scoring dashes of 50 and 65 yards versus Baylor, RB Shaun Wilson pushed his career total of 50+ yard TD runs to six to establish the Duke all-time record ... The previous school standard of four was held by George Clark (1944-47) and Jay Wilkinson (1961-63)
• In the ACC, RBs Shaun Wilson (87.2) and Brittain Brown (81.2) rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in rushing yards per game ... Additionally, Brown is second among rookies

4 — Duke all-time record of career interception returns for TDs for CB Bryon Fields Jr. ... The scores came against Tulane (2014), Pittsburgh (2016), N.C. Central (2017) & North Carolina (2017)
4 — Seasons with 3+ rushing TDs for RB Shaun Wilson, matching the school record previously set by Tom Davis (1941-42-43-44), George Clark (1944-45-46-47) and Jela Duncan (2012-13-15-16)
50-4 — Duke’s record under David Cutcliffe when leading or tied after three-quarters of action
14.35 — Recorded time for S Jeremy McDuffie in the 110-meter hurdles to earn all-league honors at the 2017 ACC Track & Field Championship meet ... McDuffie also garnered All-ACC accolades in the triple jump
3,738 — Career all-purpose yards for RB Shaun Wilson, who sits 262 yards shy of becoming the eighth player in Duke history to reach the 4,000-yard plateau
3 — Interception returns for TDs for Duke this season, matching the school record set in 1942, 1945 & 1949
13 — Fourth quarter & OT wins for the Blue Devils over the past five seasons (games in which Duke was tied or trailing in the fourth period)
10 — True freshmen to play for the Blue Devils this season, marking the highest total in the David Cutcliffe Era (9 in 2009)
41 — Points scored in the fourth quarter by Duke in four games this season ... By contrast, the Blue Devils have allowed just seven total points in the final period
8.18 — Career tackles per game average for LB Joe Giles-Harris, who has amassed 141 total stops in 16 games
17 — Consecutive quarters Duke has scored in dating back to the 2016 season
15.5 — Tackles for loss over his last 16 games for LB Ben Humphreys
20 & 10 — Daniel Jones is one of three QBs in Duke history to post 20+ passing TDs and 10+ rushing TDs in a career, joining Leo Hart (23 & 13; 1968-70) and Anthony Boone (38 & 16; 2011-14) ... In 16 career games, Jones has 21 passing TDs and 10 rushing TDs
5-6 — Duke’s all-time record in OT games. According to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22680&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669548&DB_OEM_ID=4200

As for Duke's last game, they traveled eight miles down I-40 to take on tobacco road rival North Carolina and came out on top and the victory bell returned to Durham for the second straight season.

There is no better feeling than when you go into your rivals house and get a win early in the season!

Not only did Duke get the win Saturday over North Carolina but the victory bell returned to Durham for the second straight season. Duke improved to 4-0 on the season and is at the top of the Coastal Division standings. "according to http://www.theacc.com/standings.aspx?standings=3&path=football

Shaun Wilson's one-yard touchdown run with 6:09 left in the fourth quarter lifted Duke to a 27-17 win over North Carolina on Saturday at Kenan Stadium. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The Blue Devils improved to 4-0 thanks to an interception return for a score by Bryon Fields Junior late in the final period. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

North Carolina struck first, cashing in on a 47-yard pass from Chazz Surratt to Austin Proehl with a 34-yard field goal from Freeman Jones to go up 3-0 with 1:50 left in the first quarter. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Duke quickly answered on the ensuing drive with Daniel Jones connecting with Davis Koppenhaver on a 28-yard touchdown pass following a Brittain Brown  38-yard run. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The Blue Devils made it a 10-3 lead with  Austin Parker booting a 27-yard field goal with 8:33 left in the half. The Tar Heels pulled even at the half with a late burst as Parker had a 24-yard field goal blocked with 22 seconds left in the half and North Carolina went 80 yards in 13 seconds to knot the game at 10-10 with Surratt hitting Anthony Ratliff-Williams for a 45-yard strike. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

After Duke claimed a 13-10 lead on Parker's 24-yard field goal, Surratt ran 56 yards for the lone touchdown of the third period for a 17-13 advantage. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

A quick three-and-out for Duke’s offense to begin the fourth quarter gave way to back-and-forth play for both teams, resulting in little offensive momentum until the 9:15 mark. A 45-yard pass from Jones to T.J Rahming placed the Blue Devils just outside the red zone. "according to tohttp://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200 

Having converted on fourth down minutes later to extend the drive, Wilson then finished off the drive with a rush up the middle from one yard out to put Duke up 20-17. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

With the Tar Heels threatening on Duke’s half of the field, an errant throw from Surratt ended up in the hands of Bryon Fields who proceeded to return it 61 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 27-17. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Unable to recover, the Tar Heels would later turn the ball over on downs with 24 seconds left to play, sealing the Blue Devil victory. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211669271&DB_OEM_ID=4200

As for Miami's last game, they routed Toledo, 

The Miami Hurricanes exploded for 42 second-half points to defeat Toledo, 52-30, in their first game in 21 days. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

The No. 14 Canes (2-0), who had one game canceled, another postponed and spent the past week practicing in Orlando due to Hurricane Irma, returned to action before 49,361 fans at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday. Miami entered the game looking to slow the Rockets' offense and did so early, taking a 10-0 lead before Toledo (3-1) ripped off 16 straight points in the second quarter to head into the intermission up, 16-10. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

"That was enough drama for three weeks of football," Miami head coach Mark Richt said. "I'm very impressed with what Toledo did tonight as a football team. We all know the score doesn't indicate what really happened in that game or how close it was for them to tie this thing and possibly even take it into overtime. Mostly I'm thankful for the victory. I'm usually that way anyway, but this one, in particular, just little more than normal. We've been through a lot. It has been an emotional rollercoaster for a lot of us. There are so many things you have to be thinking through and planning and making decisions on and just figuring out a way. Our administration was awesome helping us do everything we felt we needed to do to keep our players safe and keep our staff safe, and then to try and regroup and start thinking about football again in Orlando, that was big." "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Miami got back on track in the third quarter, retaking the lead on a 12-yard touchdown run by sophomore Travis Homer. The Canes entered the red zone one play earlier, when quarterback Malik Rosier fired a 19-yard pass to Mike Harley to put the Canes on the Toledo 12 yard line before Homer sprinted to the end zone for his first career score that put Miami up, 17-16, with 5:36 to go in the quarter. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Braxton Berrios hauled in a Rosier pass and sprinted 55 yards to the Toledo 10-yard line for a career-long reception. One play later, Miami's quarterback found Dayall Harris for his first career touchdown that extended the Hurricanes' lead, 24-16. Rosier, who completed a career-high 27 of 36 passes for a career-best 333 yards and tied his career-high with three passing touchdowns and an interception, has thrown multiple touchdowns in each of his three career starts. The redshirt junior also ran for a touchdown, contributing on four of Miami's seven touchdowns on the afternoon. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

"I would say that composure was the biggest thing," Rosier said of the emotions surrounding the game. "We took the lead at first and they ended up taking it back. I was telling the receivers, 'the big thing is you guys have to win outside.' The first half, Toledo really had us and we came in at halftime and I said, 'listen, they're playing 'mano e mano', man on man' and I said, 'If you guys have that mentality that you're going to win, I promise that we'll walk away with a victory.' Those guys did a great job the second half. The offense started clicking and the guys did a great job creating separation making the balls easier to throw. For me, it was just being humble, being patient, and just waiting for the opportunity to make plays." "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

The Hurricanes defense had one of its biggest plays of the day late in the third quarter when junior defensive back Sheldrick Redwine recovered a fumble by Rockets quarterback Logan Woodside and returned it seven yards to the Toledo 21-yard line. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Miami pushed the Hurricanes back to the Toledo 36, but Miami responded with a 17-yard rush by Walton and a 19-yard touchdown reception by Berrios to put the Canes up, 31-16. Berrios finished the game with five catches for a career-best 105 yards and a score, recording the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

"It felt good, to say the least," Berrios said of his second touchdown of the season. "Again, Malik gave me a chance on a ball and I went up and made a play. It always feels good, especially with this game. We were down at halftime and we fought, and they almost had a great run in the fourth quarter that we let them have. Anytime you can get momentum for the team, it's huge. It's way bigger than me, it's way bigger than the pass and honestly, it's almost bigger than the six points. Once you get momentum, football is a psychological game half the time, and as you saw, they started dropping balls and everything started going our way a little bit more, so I was happy for the team." "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Christopher Herndon IV hauled in his first touchdown of the season, a two-yard score on a swing pass to the left that put Miami up, 38-16. The senior tight end set a career-high with a team-leading eight catches for a career-best 65 yards and a touchdown. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Toledo scored its first points of the second half when Woodside connected with receiver Diontae Johnson for a six-yard touchdown, but the Rockets' attempt at a two-point conversion was thwarted when Miami stopped running back Art Thompkins just short of the goal line. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Safety Jordan Williams picked off Rosier at the Miami 43 and returned the ball to the Miami eight-yard line, putting the Rockets in prime position to score again and they did just that. Woodside connected with Johnson in the end zone for the second time. Woodside also found Johnson on the two-point conversion attempt to cut Miami's lead to eight, 38-30, with 7:37 remaining in the game. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

"When I walked to the sideline I was kind of upset because if you watch the film, Jeff Thomas was wide open, I just completely missed him," Rosier said of his interception. "But when I got to the sideline, the coaches said, "don't worry about it, we're not even going to talk about it, just play the next drive." Most coaches would probably yell and scream but these coaches have confidence in me. For me, the biggest thing was that we came in the next drive and just kept playing and ended up scoring." "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Rosier would redeem himself for the interception, completing three passes for 40 yards before scampering 23 yards for a touchdown on the next drive that gave Miami a 45-30 lead with 6:01 left in the game. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Homer sealed Miami's victory with a 15-yard touchdown run, his second of the day, with 2:30 left in the game. The sophomore finished the day with 32 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

"So far this season the third quarter has been our ally," Toledo head coach Jason Candle said. "Today it was our enemy. We didn't tackle great in the second half and were just a hair off all day on offense. Uncharacteristically, we dropped a couple of passes by guys who have made big-time plays for us in the past. We were close, but you have to give Miami a lot of credit here." "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

While it was Miami's offense that got hot in the second half, Toledo's attack threatened early. The Rockets' high-powered offense was on display on their opening drive, picking up a pair of first downs and moving into Miami territory. But the Hurricane defense stepped up, as RJ McIntosh's sack on 3rd and 8 from the Miami 46 pushed the Rockets back eight yards and forced a Toledo punt. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Miami carried the momentum from the defensive stop into its opening drive, as the Hurricanes get on the scoreboard quickly when junior Mark Walton rushed for a 44-yard touchdown to cap an 85-yard, five play scoring drive. The touchdown was Walton's 28th career score in as many games at Miami. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

The second drive was just as explosive for Miami, as Mark Walton ripped off a career-long 82-yard run to spark a six-play scoring drive that was capped by a 19-yard Michael Badgley field goal that put the Canes up, 10-0. The 82-yard run also put Walton over 100 yards for the eighth time in his career, moving him into a tie with Frank Gore for the eighth-most 100-yard rushing games in school history. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Walton had 137 yards and a touchdown on six carries before leaving the game with an injury in the middle of the second quarter, but the junior returned with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter and finished the game with a career-high 204 rushing yards and one touchdown on 11 carries. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

"I was always in pain," Walton said of when he returned to the game. "First time feeling that type of pain. I didn't think I was going to come back in the game. I just got frustrated on the sidelines, I started crying a little bit and trusting Vinny [Scavo] and his staff to get me back. We tried different types of taping styles . . . I knew I had to get back out there, I didn't want to let my team down. It was [16] to 10 coming into halftime and being in the locker room, looking at that as one of the leaders of the offense and I'm out. I knew if I can try to go I'm going to go out there and do what I can do for my team and that's what I did tonight." "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Walton recorded the seventh 200-yard rushing game in Miami history and first since Duke Johnson ran for 249 yards at Virginia Tech in 2014. His 204 yards tie him for sixth in a single game in Miami history with Willis McGahee, who ran for 204 yards at Florida in 2002. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

"It was a great performance by me," Walton said. "More so, the O-linemen did a great job and Chris Herndon did a great job when he was at fullback. And Coach Richt and coach [Thomas] Brown believed in me when I got back to also put the ball back in my hands and believing I could make plays and do something with it." "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

But Toledo bounced back, putting up 16 unanswered points to close out the second quarter. Jameson Vest hit a pair of field goals and Woodside found Jon'Vea Johnson for a 37-yard touchdown that gave the Rockets a three-point lead, 13-10. Vest converted a 32-yard attempt in an untimed down to send Toledo into the locker room leading, 16-10. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

"We knew we weren't in quite the football shape that we should be this time of year," Richt said. "We were going to try and make sure we substituted the best we could, but the thing got out of hand in the first half. We couldn't really get a stop on defense. Offensively, we had a couple explosive plays and that was about it. They had a lot more plays than us, they had much more time of possession than us. The heat and humidity were working more against us, I thought than them with how they played. The second half, I think really when the weather cooled down, it probably helped us more than it helped them. I think they're in better football condition than we were, and the weather I think helped us, but I also think making a couple of plays helped us too." "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Defensively, Miami had a pair of sophomores lead the team with seven tackles. Defensive lineman Joe Jackson had a career-best seven solo stops, while five of defensive back Malek Young's career-best seven tackles were solo. Young also had 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football

Senior defensive lineman Trent Harris had his second career game with two sacks, matching his career-high from Miami's 35-21 victory at Georgia Tech a year ago. McIntosh and Chad Thomas also had sacks for the Hurricanes, while Miami combined for 9.0 tackles for loss against Toledo. "according to http://www.hurricanesports.com/news/2017/9/23/football-second-half-surge-pushes-canes-past-toledo-52-30.aspx?path=football
.

Kick-off is set for 7:00 pm. The game will be televised on ESPN. "according to http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4200&SPID=1843&SPSID=22666