Chris Rumph II was as good as any of the Miami edge rushers in 2019 and he proved it against the Hurricanes. The Miami offensive line struggled all season and their final game of the regular season ended against Duke similarly to how it began against Florida.
Rumph destroyed the Miami offensive line with eight tackles, 3.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. The Hurricanes lost to Duke for the second year in a row. Miami has to be able to block Rumph in 2020 or it will be another long night for the Hurricanes offensive line. Rumph had 47 tackles, 13.5 TFLs and 6.5 sacks in 2019.
Jalon Calhoun was not a deep threat for Duke throughout the 2019 season. Calhoun had 46 receptions for 420 yards and four TDs. That is an average of 9.1 yards per reception. Against Miami, Calhoun had three receptions for 92 yards and a TD. A 49-TD reception by Calhoun in the fourth quarter gave Duke a 27-17 lead.
That was the final score of the game and too much for Miami to have to be able to score twice in the last seven minutes to stage a comeback. Calhoun’s other two receptions in the game went for 15 yards in the first quarter and 18 yards on the Blue Devils first TD drive of the fourth quarter, 2:42 before his TD.
Making adjustments on players that have beaten you in the previous game is the sign of a good coach. Miami has to be able to do a better job against these five in 2019 if they want to turn those four losses into wins in 2020. Howell, Hooker, Mason and Rumph will be among the best players in the ACC at their positions in 2020.