Blue Devils eye long-awaited Hurricane win

Two years ago, Duke held a 17-14 halftime lead against Miami, only to be outscored by 21 in the second half of the loss.

Last year, the Blue Devils held a 13-10 halftime lead and were again outscored by 21 in the game’s third and fourth quarter.

Both contests saw Duke (1-4, 0-2 in the ACC) play the more talented Hurricanes (3-2, 1-1) tight—and in both, the Blue Devils were unable to clinch the victories. Head coach David Cutcliffe knows that his team will have to play all four quarters this time if it wants to have a chance to win.

“It’s kind of been two frustrating games with Miami in my first two years here,” Cutcliffe said. “Our guys have played well, we’ve had leads into the fourth quarter in both of them. To their credit, they’ve won the fourth quarter in a big way.”

In 2008’s contest, Miami quarterback Jacory Harris had perhaps his career’s breakout performance. He accounted for all three of his team’s third quarter touchdowns and had a total of five during the game. This season he has fallen from his early Heisman hype after throwing nine picks in the Hurricanes’ five games, but the secondary is aware of the dual-threat challenge it still faces in containing Harris Saturday.

“Jacory Harris two years ago had some big runs against us,” senior cornerback Chris Rwabawkumba said. “We have some things in our practice to help contain him, but we have to watch out for him running.”

Although Harris’ interception tendencies have been extensively noted, the Blue Devils will have to do a much better job pressuring the quarterback in order to force him to make errant throws. Duke currently ranks last in the ACC and 117th in the whole FBS in sacks, with just four through its five games. In last year’s matchup, Duke recorded only one sack, allowing Harris to make unhurried plays with the game hanging in the balance.

“We’ve got to attack the gaps more violently and tackle even better,” Cutcliffe said. “We’re playing a great team this week. We’ve got to find some way to pressure a great quarterback, and we have to take the ball away somehow.”

“You have to use your skills under duress,” Cutcliffe said.

The dropped passes certainly have not helped quarterback Sean Renfree’s production and development. After completing 71 percent of his passes and throwing six touchdowns with three interceptions in his first two games, the first-year starter has since completed under 50 percent of his passes while throwing just four touchdowns compared with six interceptions.

In his defense, though, one poor performance came against the then-No. 1 ranked team in the country, and another came against Army’s unique bear flex defensive scheme. This week, a relatively standard defense will await him.

“Miami’s base normal defense will help us,” Renfree said. “To finally get a defense that’s pretty base and you can understand what they’re doing is something I like to see.”

The Blue Devils will look to improve Saturday on their previous three offensive performances, a span during which they averaged just under 17 points per game after coming out of the gates with 89 points in their first two games. They will also look to protect their quarterback from the Hurricanes’ fierce pass rush, which ranks eighth in the FBS in sacks with 17 through its first five games.

Duke is eager to get out on the field and avenge their recent losses.

“We’re really anxious to get back and play,” Cutcliffe said. “It seems like it’s been forever since the Maryland ball game.”