Duke football headed down south for Miami

Can Duke handle the Canes?

Because of COVID Duke hasn’t played Coastal Division rival Miami at Miami since 2019.

Playing at home the last two seasons didn’t help Duke much. Miami won 48-0 in 2020, 47-10 last year.

But Duke actually won that 2019 road game 27-17, breaking a five-game losing streak to finish the season 5-7.

Duke again will go to Miami stuck on four wins, riding a losing streak. But that losing streak is two games not four and both loses were decided in the final seconds.

And this isn’t the end of the season.

But a win this weekend will go a long way towards a bowl game.

Is this Miami team vulnerable at home?

Data points differ. Mario Cristobal left Oregon to become the latest coach to try to bring Miami back to the national prominence it had before it joined the ACC. The U is back and all that.  Miami began the season ranked 16th in the AP poll and the favorite to win the Coastal.

Then the games started. After two blow-out wins against over-matched competition, the Hurricanes hit the road and lost at to Texas A&M, came home and lost to Middle Tennessee State and then North Carolina. They got back on the winning track in Blacksburg, jumping to a 20-0 lead and holding off a Hokie comeback for a 20-14 win.

A .500 team with a home loss to a Conference USA team that followed that Miami win with losses to Texas-San Antonio, Alabama-Birmingham and Western Kentucky.

Not exactly the resume of a powerhouse.

Of course, Mike Elko is having none of this, at least to the media. Hyping the other team is what coaches do. It’s in their DNA.

“Offensively, I think the quarter back [Tyler] Van Dyke is starting to play his best football in the system. The last two weeks have been his best weeks. They have been banged up all around him, so obviously their depth has been tested and stands strong. They continue to roll out wideouts as each one has gone down and they still look very long and very athletic. The tight end pool is very deep.”

Van Dyke is indeed a stud. He’s had an interesting career arc. He began last season backing up longshot Heisman candidate D’Eriq King. But when King went down with a season-ending injury Van Dyke stepped in and played well enough to be named ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year. Those last two 2022 games referenced by Elko are a 496-yard passing performance against North Carolina and a 351-yard performance against Virginia Tech. He’s 6-4, 225, a prototype pro passer. But maybe not as mobile as some of the quarterbacks Duke has faced this season and did have some shaky outings early.

Miami had had to deal with some injuries on offense. But wide receiver Colbie Young has stepped up big time. He’s a transfer from Lackawanna College and he’s 6-5, 215, the kind of big target who has been able to hurt Duke.

Miami is second in the ACC in passing but 10th in running. Can Duke force Van Dyke into bad down and distance situations, maybe get some sacks, even force some turnovers?

Cornerback Josh Pickett told the media Tuesday that the key to stopping Van Dyke is for Duke to be Duke.

“I don’t think we really change up the approach. It’s just execution. That’s one of the things Coach Elko has stressed all week. We just need to continue to execute as a defense. We’re going to get there. We’re definitely going to get there. We’ve put in too much work not to.”

Pickett added that better communication was another key point.

“I don’t think there’s anything [about Van Dyke] that’s going to mentally challenge us. They have good players. We know that. But we have good players as well.”

Miami’s defense is pretty good.

“Defensively, this is by far the most talented team we have seen all year.” Elko told the media. “They are extremely athletic and really long. They play very aggressive and create a lot of havoc with tackles for loss and sacks. They are doing a great job of stopping the run and they are going to be a handful for us. The front four stands out across the board. Their ability to penetrate, rush the passer and stop the run is what they are doing right now.”

Teams haven’t been able to run consistently against Miami but they have been able to pass effectively.

But don’t look now. Duke is the second-best rushing team in the ACC and left tackle Graham Barton said the offensive line is reveling in its ability to move the ball on the ground, especially long drives.

“We embrace that. That’s what’s fun for offensive linemen.”

Barton echoed Pickett by saying the offensive line needed to concentrate on what it does.

“I wouldn’t say we’re changing anything. We’re going to play physical, as we have played every other week this season. We want to finish. We want to be sound. If we play our game, play the way we’re coached to play, execute the game plan, those are the keys to success against a good Miami front.”

This seems like a winnable game to me. Duke has to clean up the penalties and the place-kicking woes are a concern--Elko cited “a little bit of a mishap on the exchange which threw off the rhythm a little bit” on that Charlie Ham missed field goal against North Carolina. And it could be warm enough to test Duke’s depth.

So we’ll find out if Duke can be the best version of itself and if that will be good enough to bring back win number five.