After two weeks off due to postponements, the No. 9 Hurricanes were glad to be back on the field.
And it showed.
D’Eriq King threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as the Hurricanes cruised past Duke with a 48-0 win on Saturday in their first game in three weeks.
“Very proud of our football team,” head coach Manny Diaz said. “It’s hard to go somewhere on the road and shut somebody out. The defense from the opening kickoff was spectacular.”
Cam’Ron Harris rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns while Brevin Jordan, Dee Wiggins, and Mike Harley each caught touchdown passes for the Hurricanes, who won their fifth straight in their first game since Nov. 14 due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program, including Diaz and King testing positive.
“Everybody was excited to get back out there and play,” King said. “Having three weeks off you can take football for granted. Getting back in the building it is a different kind of energy. I thought our coaches did a great job preparing us all week and we came out here today and we cut it loose.”
Miami (8-1, 7-1 ACC, No. 10 CFP) avoided a three-game losing streak to the Blue Devils (2-8, 1-8) by building a 21-0 lead at halftime and never looking back. The Hurricanes piled up 524 yards of total offense and forced five turnovers. It was the first time in 12 years Duke had been shut out.
“This is where the turnover chain became a household name back in ’17 so it was nice to see it come out as often as it did,” Diaz said.
Clemson (9-1, 8-1) beat Virginia Tech 45-10 earlier to clinch the final spot in the ACC Championship Game where they will face Notre Dame (10-0, 9-0) on Dec. 19, ending Miami’s hopes.
With Miami not appearing in the title game, their scheduled game against Georgia Tech on the same day remains the plan.
Miami is scheduled to host North Carolina (7-3, 6-3) next week.
“UNC will have our full attention,” Diaz said. “We obviously remember the game a year ago. It left a bad taste in our mouth and our players will be highly motivated for North Carolina to come to our stadium. There’s no doubt about that.”
King completed 16 of 24 passes for 248 yards and ran for 46 yards on 11 carries in three quarters. He threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jordan to open the scoring. He added an 11-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It was the first time this season King has had a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown in consecutive games after setting an NCAA record doing so in 16 straight games.
Harley caught three passes for 105 yards, giving him his third 100-yard game in the last four games, Don Chaney Jr. caught four passes for 81 yards, and Jordan caught four passes for 75 yards.
“We had a lot of time to prepare,” Jordan said. “Guys were slowly coming back into the building and once everybody was cleared, we were full-go. We were ready to get after it.”
Harris’s 96 yards were the most since the second game of the season. It came on 15 carries.
“Cam ran like a man possessed tonight,” Diaz said. “Those young backs push him and he gets challenged every week in practice by the coaches. Cam was phenomenal tonight. He gets a lot of credit for the way he run, some tough runs. The big ones all stand out, but even with the shorter ones he went and got the dirty yardage when it was required. I think Cam really sparked our offense in the first half.”
It was a slow start for the Hurricanes as Jaylan Knighton fumbled on the second play of the game and on the next drive Knighton knocked the ball out of King’s hands on third down, forcing King to fall on the ball. Soon after Knighton exited the game with an injury.
“I haven’t gotten the reports on Jaylan, but I hope it’s not serious,” Diaz said.
After the shaky start, the Hurricanes were back on solid ground with a 12-play, 88-yard drive capped by King’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Jordan.
Harris extended the lead to 14-0 on a 34-yard touchdown and King’s 11-yard touchdown run gave Miami touchdowns on three straight drives in the first half.
King found Wiggins for a 2-yard score to push the lead to 28-0 in the third quarter.
An 89-yard touchdown strike to Harley gave King his third touchdown pass of the game and 20th for the season.
Harris’s 1-yard plunge gave Miami a 42-0 advantage.
Jose Borregales made field goals of 52 and 32 yards to cap the scoring.
Miami played without three starters on defense with linebacker Zach McCloud, cornerback Al Blades Jr., and defensive tackle Jon Ford out, but were strong throughout with safety Bubba Bolden (nine tackles) and defensive ends Quincy Roche (1 1/2 sacks) and Jaelan Phillips (1 1/2 sacks) leading the way.
“Every single player who traveled played in this game,” Diaz said. “Just a ton of positives.”
Christopher Stock has covered the Miami Hurricanes since 2003 and can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] and on Twitter @InsideTheU.
