Miami Hurricanes-Duke Named Week 5 CFB Playoff Implications
USA Today has named the Miami Hurricanes game at Duke as being one of five games for week five that could have playoff implications. Both teams enter the game undefeated.
The Miami Hurricanes travel to Durham, North Carolina after home wins over Bethune-Cookman in the September 2 opener at home and last week’s victory over Toledo. Duke wins were against North Carolina Central, Northwestern, Nevada and North Carolina.
Miami will be playing its first game on the road this season. The Hurricanes were 4-2 on the road in 2016. This is a big game that should test the Hurricanes on both sides of the ball. Miami is facing an elite quarterback for the second straight week.
Unlike Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside, Duke quarterback Daniel Jones is a threat on the ground and through the air. Woodside is more of a traditional pocket passer.
The USA Today preview is pretty much as expected. The Hurricanes have only one game where they were tested this season. Toledo presented some problems with the Miami passing game both offensively and defensively.
The Hurricanes were able to throw on the Rockets previously highly ranked pass defense. They were not able to stop Toledo’s passing game. Third down defense was atrocious for the second consecutive game.
Toledo went 13-23 on third down. The final numbers settled after Miami stopped the Rockets on their final five attempts on third down.
Miami Hurricanes quarterback Malik Rosier should be a bigger part of the running game against Duke. Mark Richt is likely to call some run-pass option plays for Rosier. That should help keep the Duke defense off balance. If the running game can get going that should set up the play action pass as well.
Duke enters the game with an incredibly balanced offense. The Blue Devils are averaging 243 yards passing and 241 on the ground. The Miami defense will face a stiff test.
"No. 13 Miami (Fla.) at DukeFriday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNThe ACC Coastal might be viewed as analogous to the SEC East, a division perceived as the easier one in its conference by virtue of not containing the league’s heavy favorite. Nevertheless, the winner of this unexpected clash of unbeaten squads gets a big boost in the division hunt.Miami’s abbreviated September schedule because of Hurricane Irma makes it difficult to get a reliable read on the team’s potential. QB Malik Rosier has shown good command of the Hurricanes’ offense thus far, but LB Joe Giles-Harris and the Blue Devils’ front figure to give him a bigger test.The most pleasant surprise for Duke fans during the 4-0 start has been the ground game, led by RB Shaun Wilson, that has helped QB Daniel Jones keep his offense on the field for 13:20 longer. LB Shaquille Quarterman and the Hurricanes’ defense must improve on third down, when they’ve allowed conversions 52.5% of the time."
Miami faces a formidable beginning to the Conference part of the schedule. On the road at Duke and Florida State is a tough way to begin ACC play. If Miami can get through both of those games, big things lie ahead later in the season.
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The only game likely to have bigger implications on the Hurricanes’ season than this week and next is the visit from Virginia Tech on November 4.