No. 7 Miami bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 36-25 victory over Duke on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, improving to 9-1 overall and 7-0 in ACC play. The Hurricanes produced 532 yards of offense and delivered several impressive individual performances, but not every question was answered in the win.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from Miami's win against the Blue Devils.
Miami Winners
1. RB Javian Mallory
With Mark Fletcher Jr. sidelined by an injury after the first half, Mallory finished with 150 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. He rushed for 71 yards and two scores on 10 carries while adding three receptions for 79 yards and another touchdown.
His 63-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the third quarter gave Miami a 22-10 lead. Mallory followed with a 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter before breaking free for a 39-yard score that effectively put the game away.
2. WR Cooper Barkate
Facing his former team, Barkate produced his first 100-yard receiving performance in a Miami uniform with eight receptions for 134 yards.
Barkate made several important plays, including a 40-yard reception that helped set up Fletcher's second-quarter touchdown. He also caught three passes for 43 yards during Miami's lengthy fourth-quarter scoring drive that extended the lead to 29-17.
After catching 10 passes for 92 yards against Notre Dame, Barkate has had consecutive strong performances without Malachi Toney in the lineup.
3. QB Darian Mensah
Mensah got the better of his former team, completing 30 of 41 passes for 382 yards and a touchdown without an interception.
The quarterback surpassed 3,000 passing yards for the season and finished 8 of 9 passing in the fourth quarter. Duke entered Saturday having recorded 26 sacks through nine games but failed to bring Mensah down behind the line of scrimmage. Miami's offensive line deserves some credit, although Mensah's ability to escape pressure was also important.
4. Miami's receiving depth
Miami still misses Toney, but Saturday showed that the Hurricanes have enough receiving options to be dangerous without their star playmaker.
Barkate led the team with 134 receiving yards, while Daylyn Upshaw added six catches for 56 yards. Vandrevius Jacobs contributed five receptions for 44 yards, and tight end Elija Lofton caught five passes for 39 yards.
Miami Losers
1. Miami's disappearing pass rush
Miami's defensive front failed to record a sack for the second consecutive game, continuing a troubling trend that has been notable.
Duke quarterback Walker Eget completed 26 passes for 195 yards, a touchdown and an interception, with Miami's secondary doing much of the work to limit the Blue Devils' passing attack.
Duke entered Saturday having allowed just four sacks all season, and its offensive line was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award.
2. Miami's inability to contain Nate Sheppard
Duke running back Nate Sheppard rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. He added 12 receptions for 93 yards and completed two passes for 16 yards, accounting for 240 yards of total offense.
Miami knew Sheppard would be the centerpiece of Duke's offense, but the Hurricanes still struggled to contain him.
3. Miami's penalties and discipline
Miami committed 10 penalties for 69 yards against Duke, compared with just four penalties for 18 yards by the Blue Devils.
Offensive holding penalties against Seuseu Alofaituli and Cooper Barkate complicated Miami's opening possession and contributed to a drive that ended with a punt. A defensive offside penalty against Justin Scott also gave Duke an automatic first down on its opening possession.
Miami has the talent to overcome mistakes against many opponents, but unnecessary penalties become much more costly in the postseason.
4. Miami's red-zone execution
Miami scored on seven consecutive possessions after punting on its first two drives, but several opportunities ended with field goals instead of touchdowns.
Jake Weinberg connected on field goals of 39, 26 and 24 yards, with the latter two coming after Miami drove inside Duke's 10-yard line.
The Hurricanes eventually found their rhythm and scored three touchdowns in the second half.
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