Extra point: Duke football vs. Miami

In a tough battle with Miami Saturday, Duke faltered in the second half and fell 40-21 to end its season. Despite a strong performance from quarterback Daniel Jones—who threw three touchdown passes—the Blue Devil defense could not contain Brad Kaaya and the Hurricanes, who picked up 568 total yards on offense.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Pressure the quarterback: Kaaya certainly did not feel the pressure of the Duke defensive line, which did not record a single sack Saturday. In fact, he was only hurried on three occasions, giving him all the time he needed to find his targets for big plays down the field. He completed 22-of-35 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns, largely due to the protection he received from the Hurricane offensive line.
• Limit turnovers: In a game in which both teams played relatively clean football offensively, neither team turned the ball over. This was a positive sign for Duke, as Jones was more careful with his decision-making and finished the season with just one interception in his last seven games. Shaun Wilson also carried the ball eight times without fumbling.
• Win the special teams battle: Freshman kicker A.J. Reed missed another field goal for the Blue Devils to finish the year just 3-for-10, as Duke made the fewest field goals of any FBS team. Miami kicker Michael Badgley was perfect on four field goals—more than the Blue Devils made all season. Danny Stirt did not pin the Hurricanes inside their 20-yard line once on his six punts, but Miami punter Justin Vogel did pin Duke inside its 20-yard line twice on his three attempts. The Blue Devils did not win the special teams battle, continuing a trend that haunted them all season.

Three key plays:

• 6:47 remaining, first quarter: Daniel Jones quickly found sophomore wideout Johnathan Lloyd in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown reception, giving Duke a 7-3 lead. The Blue Devils led for much of the first half, but relinquished their advantage for good with 38 seconds left in the second quarter.
• 8:30 remaining, third quarter: On the first play of the drive, Kaaya found sophomore receiver David Njoku streaking down the right sideline for a 76-yard touchdown reception. The big play hurt the Blue Devils’ morale and extended Miami’s lead to 23-14, and Duke never pulled within one possession again.
• 6:54 remaining, fourth quarter: On only his second reception of the day, Njoku caught another long touchdown pass, this time a 58-yarder from Kaaya. The play capped a run of 24 straight points for the Hurricanes to push their lead to 40-14.

Three key stats:

• Miami picks up 568 total yards on offense: In another 500-plus yard performance for Duke’s opponent, the Blue Devil defense was susceptible to the big play once again, giving up two long touchdown passes of more than 50 yards and a 46-yard run to redshirt sophomore backup quarterback Malik Rosier.
• Duke finishes at 46.7 percent third-down efficiency: The Blue Devils did a good job of extending drives, converting 7-of-15 third-down chances, which helped them win the time of possession battle. Duke brings back both Jones and Thomas Sirk at quarterback next year and appears to have an effective quarterback of the future in Jones, who has three years of eligibility left.
• Daniel Jones throws for 316 yards: Jones threw for more than 300 yards for the fourth time this season and matched a career high with three touchdown passes. Although he only recorded 15 yards on the ground Saturday, he has shown throughout the season that he can pass or run the ball when he drops back, finishing with 16 passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns this year.

And the Duke game ball goes to…. T.J. Rahming