Miami ended its three-game losing streak and is building momentum with a revived passing attack and a productive pass rush. The Canes are two-score favorites in this and are looking to keep their hopes alive for an ACC Championship appearance with another win. Here are some keys to victory over the Duke Blue Devils.
Get the Ball to Colbie Young Early and Often
Miami finally has a box office-type player at wide receiver and it is JUCO transfer Colbie Young. The 6'6" offensive weapon has been a monster since the end of the North Carolina game, collecting 12 receptions, 144 yards, and scoring two touchdowns in five quarters. With the run game still sputtering, the offense will continue to be forced to lean on the arm of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke.
We all know how good Van Dyke can be, but he can only be his best when he has a go-to target that he can rely on when things get hairy. If Miami can get Young upwards of 15 targets, the results should follow.
Try to Bring Back the Run Game...Again
With all that praise toward Young and the passing game, the run game will have to show life at some point. Miami has thrown the ball 46 and 57 times over the last two games for 838 yards on an extremely efficient 69-percent completion percentage. Still, Miami has scored just 44 points in that span. The missing piece of the offense, especially in the red zone, is the rushing attack.
Running back and rushing leader Henry Parrish was absent last week against Virginia Tech and it showed. Parrish has nearly 500 yards of offense and six touchdowns on the year and will be vital in what could be an old school grind it out game against a tough Duke team that keeps every game close.
The Canes have failed to average more than four yards per carry since Texas A&M and do not have a rushing touchdown since Middle Tennessee State. That will hopefully change with the return of Parrish.
More Wesley Bissainthe and Nyjalik Kelly
The time for waiting on high-potential young players ended with the exit of Manny Diaz. Head Coach Mario Cristobal needs to have an injection of 'his guys' to win and it has been proven as of late.
Linebacker Wesley Bissainthe is consistently ranked at or near the top of linebacker grades on a weekly basis and Defensive End Nyjalik Kelly (who is still 17) has back-to-back games of producing in sacks and tackles for loss.
Bissainthe and Kelly are building-block players for this defense and need to continue to receive more and more playing time. The snap counts have jumped up for both players and they are only playing better with more time on the field.
Stop the Run at Any Cost
It has been talked about all week in media appearances - Duke possesses one of the best rushing attacks in the conference. This offense is averaging over 200 yards and over two scores rushing per game. They already have four games over 220 yards this season and four others with three or more touchdowns. Four ball carriers have 250 or more rushing yards with two of those players missing a game or more.
They have not exactly played elite competition in that stretch, but the production is elite. Cristobal has raved about the communication and connectivity of the Blue Devil offensive line and it is deserved. The good thing for Miami is the run defense is equally as stout. For the season, Miami is allowing less than 100 yards per game on the ground and just 3.1 yards per carry.
The Duke offense will run over 70 plays with more than half coming on the ground. That three-level defensive line rotation will need to be utilized heavily to keep the big boys fresh against this tough run game.
Keep Duke QB Riley Leonard Contained
Similar to North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye Duke quarterback Riley Leonard will present a similar challenge with his ability to make plays with his feet and open passing lanes by moving outside of the pocket for huge gains.
Leonard comes into this game leading Duke in rushing with 420 yards and second on the team with five rushing touchdowns. Just late week, he took a run 74-yards for a score, breaking tackles and outrunning everybody by about 10 yards.
At 6'4" 205-pounds, Leonard is not an easy player to bring down. He is top six in rushing in the ACC for all players, a testament to his athletic ability.
In the last two weeks, Miami has played two athletic passers in Maye and Virginia Tech's Grant Wells. Aside from a couple of big plays, the Canes are doing a solid job limiting the QB rushing production and getting 11 sacks. More will be needed to keep the explosive Leonard from changing the game with his legs.
