MIAMI, Fla. - As a South Florida prep star, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis was one win shy of a playoff game in the Orange Bowl. But in his first game at the legendary stadium Saturday, Lewis quickly became familiar with his hometown turf-perhaps too familiar.
In a game in which Duke went toe-to-toe with Miami, the Hurricanes' numerous sacks of Lewis led to large yardage losses in key situations, playing a major role in the Blue Devils' inability to win for the second time this season.
After allowing no sacks in its win over Northwestern and only one in its close loss to Navy, Duke allowed a season-high nine sacks Saturday for a total loss of 59 yards. These yardage setbacks created difficult field position situations through the game. Each of Miami's four scoring drives were preceded by a Duke drive that either began or ended with a sack of Lewis. Consequently, two of Miami's scoring drives began in Duke territory, with an average starting field position of the Duke 40-yard line.
"Two of their touchdown drives were on short fields," head coach Ted Roof said. "Our whole plan coming into the game was trying to make Miami earn everything they got, knowing that they'd earn some things. [We] sure didn't want to feel like giving them anything."
All of Miami's sacks came from their defensive line, anchored by preseason first-team All-ACC defensive end Calais Campbell. The 6-foot-8, 280 lb. pass rusher lived up to his billing Saturday with 2.5 sacks. Campbell was not the only one giving Lewis fits, however, as each of Miami's starters on the defensive line had at least 1.5 sacks.
Knowing that the Hurricanes' speed and size in the front four could cause his team headaches, Roof did his best to incorporate a number of screen passes, delay-draws and option plays into Duke's offensive game plan to attenuate some of Miami's pressure. Still, the athleticism of the Hurricane pass rushers was too difficult for the Blue Devils to handle.
"I think that had something to do with it, sure," Roof said of Miami's natural talent on the defensive line. "Sometimes in competition you have to give the other guys some credit too, and not that we executed great all the time-I was pleased with the way we fought-but you have to give Miami some credit. They've got some guys who are going to be first-round draft picks up front."
Miami's pass rush set the tenor for the day on the very first play of the game, when defensive lineman Antonio Dixon nailed Lewis in the backfield for a 12-yard loss. That sack led to a quick Duke three-and-out, and a 32-yard punt by Kevin Jones gave the Hurricanes a short field with which to work. Miami took full advantage of the situation, scoring the game's first touchdown eight plays later on a 5-yard touchdown pass.
Duke's second drive was all too similar and seemed to give Lewis headaches-both figuratively and literally. On the first play of that drive from his own 23-yard line, Lewis was sacked hard to the ground for a 13-yard loss by defensive end Vegas Franklin, who dislodged Lewis' helmet with the force of his hit. On the next play, Lewis was again drilled by a Miami defender and had his helmet knocked off, only to have the play nullified due to a pre-snap false start penalty on wide receiver Sheldon Bell. Duke sputtered again on this drive and was forced to punt, and a Miami field goal on the ensuing drive gave the Hurricanes a quick 10-point first quarter lead.
Duke's last realistic shot at securing a win was also brought to an end by a Miami sack. With under four minutes left in the game and the score at 17-14, Lewis was taken down in the backfield by defensive end Eric Moncur while attempting to convert a fourth-and-five situation from the Miami 30. A conversion would have given Duke another set of downs to work towards a field goal or a touchdown. Instead, the Blue Devils turned the ball over on downs. Two plays later, Miami quarterback Kyle Wright found tight end DajLeon Farr for a 33-yard touchdown, effectively dooming Duke's chances to pull out a victory.
Lewis, who bounced back from these hits to finish the game with a respectable line of 18-for-27 with 241 yards and two touchdowns, said that he was fine despite his multiple trips to the turf.
"I just had to tighten up the chinstrap a little bit," Lewis said. "This is the game of football. You're going to get roughed up a bit."
But when looking for reasons as to why he was sacked so often, Lewis pointed the finger squarely at himself, knowing that he and his team cannot afford to have similar pass protection problems as they get deeper into their conference slate.
"A couple of times I should have thrown the ball away, but you know in the heat of the moment, you're trying to make plays," Lewis said. "Playing in the ACC, you're going to face big linemen all week, so you've got to suck it up and go out there and play to the best of your ability."
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