The tumultuous year that is the 2022 season for Miami continued in an embarrassing 45-21 loss to Duke. Despite the rough game from a team perspective, Miami had some players step up in the absence of the majority.

Here are the five standouts from Saturday's game:

The star of the show was wide receiver Colbie Young. He continued his stretch of elite performances with his second consecutive 100-yard game. Young scored on passes of seven and 71 and totaled 127 yards on six catches. The only question regarding his outing was why he was not targeted more, as quarterbacks Tyler Van Dyke and Jake Garcia targeted him just nine times.

Young is the type of player to focus on going forward in what seems to be a lost season. He has elite potential and is just scratching the surface as he further develops his route tree and continues to acclimate to this level of college football.

Will Mallory is another player who deserves more looks than he is getting. The senior tight end had just two catches on four targets in this game but one of them was a 34-yard score that showcased his after-the-catch ability that should make him a featured player for Miami. Miami ran just 68 plays, but 37 of those plays ended with the ball in the air. Mallory and Young should be seeing at least half of those targets.

In the last three games, he has 222 yards and despite his low box score, his impact was felt as he scored one of just three touchdowns for Miami. Need to see more of an emphasis on getting Mallory involved as he pushes for a career year.

Despite disappearing in the second half due to an injury, safety James Williams was a playmaker at times. He was fifth on the team in tackles and forced a fumble while helping on another. The sophomore caused a turnover with an incredible strip and recovery that should have set the tone early.

Williams was graded out as the third-best defender and top defensive back by PFF. If Miami could mirror their safety group of Williams and Kam Kinchens, the season would be very different heading into the second half.

The cornerback duo of DJ Ivey and Tyrique Stevenson gave off fall camp hype vibes on Saturday as Duke was only able to throw for 136 yards and completed just 52 percent of their passes.

Stevenson had two pass breakups and Ivey forced a fumble while leading the team with seven tackles. On top of their stats, there was not a single receiver on the roster that went for more than 39 yards and the longest play of the day was just 21 yards, proving that the big plays of the past may be just that.

This was their highest-graded game of the year combined, as both players earned 77+ grades, both top scores on the team.

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