The Miami Hurricanes moved to a 36-25 victory over the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, utilizing a powerful offensive performance to secure the win, reported The Duke Chronicle.
Miami quarterback Darian Mensah completed 30 of 41 pass attempts for 382 yards and a touchdown to pace the Hurricanes, according to ESPN.
Duke fell to 7-3 on the season despite a standout performance from running back Nate Sheppard, who rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns while adding 93 receiving yards, noted Yahoo Sports.
The Hurricanes gained 532 total yards compared to Duke’s 341, effectively wearing down the Blue Devils’ defense during the fourth quarter, as stated by The Miami Hurricane.
A critical turning point occurred late in the game when Miami defensive back Xavier Lucas intercepted a pass from Walker Eget, setting up a 39-yard touchdown run by Javian Mallory to extend the lead to 36-17, per Yahoo Sports.
Earlier in the contest, Duke remained competitive as the teams traded scores, with the halftime deficit sitting at 13-10, according to the outlets.
Duke’s secondary faced significant challenges throughout the afternoon as they struggled to contain Miami’s wide receivers, including Cooper Barkate, who finished with 134 yards, reported The State.
Despite the loss, Duke’s defense forced Miami to settle for three field goals after stopping drives in the red zone, according to Field Level Media.
Mensah reportedly played with intense focus against his former team, which helped the Hurricanes maintain control during pivotal moments, noted the Miami Herald.
The Hurricanes controlled the clock for 34 minutes and 13 seconds, further limiting Duke’s ability to mount a late comeback attempt, as summarized by Yahoo Sports.