As painful as the Week 10 loss to Notre Dame was, the Miami Hurricanes have to quickly turn the page. Next up, the Canes will hope to take down a hungry Duke team that has been rolling under former Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz in his third season with the program.
The oddsmakers seem to like Miami's chances to bounce back, as they have made the Hurricanes a 13.5-point favorite on FanDuel, but there is a long history of teams coming out flat a week after expending a lot of energy and emotion in a big rivalry game. Miami can't become the latest victim of that trend.
NEW: Miami is a 13.5-point favorite over the Duke Blue Devils. The total is set at 53.5.
— TrintonBreeze (@TrintonBreeze) November 8, 2026
Duke is 7-2, winners of three straight, and the Blue Devils have outscored their past three opponents 107-21. Forget about the emblem on the helmet and the long reputation of Duke football, it's been a new day in Durham for a while. Manny Diaz has built a solid, competitive program that should be getting more respect nationally than it is.
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Darian Mensah comes face-to-face with his old team
Ok, let's be honest, Miami never has Duke circled on the schedule, at least not in football. However, there are a lot of storylines surrounding this game. You have Diaz going against his old team for the second time since taking over the Blue Devils program. Miami took the first game in 2024, winning 53-31. Since then, Diaz had led Duke to an ACC championship in 2025, but Miami got the nod in the CFP, while also advancing to the championship game before losing to Indiana.
But, the major drama is surrounding Mensah's departure from Duke to Miami. It was very messy, and there were a lot of hard feelings on Duke's side. Diaz is going to have the Blue Devils as motivated as they've been all season. And they have a lot to still play for. The ACC remains open, and the Blue Devils have games with Miami, Clemson, and Wake Forest to close out the season.
These are the things that Miami will have to overcome, not counting its own ability to bounce back after a disheartening emotional loss. This might be Mario Cristobal's most important coaching job of the season, and he knows how important a win in Week 11 is to solidify Miami's hold on the ACC and increase its odds of making the CFP 12-team bracket.
"We play against an excellent team that's been playing great football the last several weeks," Cristobal said in his postgame press conference. "The entire conference is . . .I believe there are eight teams that are alive for a spot and every single week matters."
Cristobal also pointed out that Miami has played all five of their road games at night, and with Saturday's kickoff at noon local time, it's going to be a quick turnaround physically, mentally, and emotionally. Despite that, no one is going to feel sorry for the Hurricanes - they have to win to continue to keep their goals in reach.
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