Duke upsets No. 23 Miami Hurricanes 48-30 behind Brandon Connette’s 4 rushing TDs
By Mike Dyce
The Miami Hurricanes came into the game against Duke looking for their first win in three weeks. They were ranked No. 7 and looking to make a case for their BCS National Title aspirations with a statement win over No. 3 Florida State. They lost that game in a 41-14 blow out and it threw the Hurricanes and their previously undefeated season into a tail spin. They followed up that game with a loss to the unranked Virginia Tech Hokies at home.
They went on the road looking for a win to end their skid against a quality Duke team, both teams bringing 7-2 records into the game. Miami even came out scoring and firing on all cylinders. The Hurricanes put up 17 points in the first quarter with a punt return for a touchdown and a touchdown pass from Stephen Morris to Herb Waters. At the end of the first quarter Miami was up 17-7 over Duke and looked in control of the situation.
That is when Duke started fighting back. Brandon Connette threw a 22 yard touchdown pass to Shaquille Powell to start the second quarter. Then with two minutes left in the half, Connette ran the ball three yards into the end zone to give the Blue Devils a 21-20 lead at halftime.
Miami had lost some momentum and looked in trouble down one point. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, Connette scored on a one-yard run to start the 2nd half to extend Duke’s lead to 28-20.
The Hurricanes fought back though, a 50 yard touchdown pass from morris to Waters brought them back within one point. They added a field goal minutes later to take the lead back.
Since that kick it was all Duke. They added their own third quarter field goal to retake the lead. Then they really poured it on in the fourth quarter. Brandon Connette rushed for his fourth touchdown of the game, one in each quarter. Shaquille Powell ran for 33 yards to score a touchdown minutes later. Then with under two minutes left they added another field goal to take a 48-30 lead, which basically put away the Hurricanes.
Miami allowed all three teams to score over 40 points in the three game losing streak. After a third straight blow out loss, the Hurricanes look like they’ll be dropping out of the rankings. At 8-2, Duke might pop in.
