football

Duke's Offense to Test Miami's Defense – Again

Duke has scored 93 points against Miami in the last two seasons. And that's not in basketball, either.

Given the way Duke's offense has piled up yards and points against Miami over the last two years, it's easy to see why Hurricanes' defensive end Anthony Chickillo was a little confused about the status of the rivalry.

"They've beaten us, what, the last two years?" Chickillo asked this week.

Might feel that way, but no, the teams have actually split those two meetings.

Duke has scored 93 points against the Hurricanes in those matchups, the second-highest total that Miami has allowed an opponent to score in any two-year span. Another offense-fest may await on Saturday night when the Blue Devils (4-0, 0-0) open defense of their Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division title against Miami (2-2, 0-1).

"You can see why when you turn on the film," Miami coach Al Golden said. "You've got a quarterback that makes it go for them. They're rotating in a bunch of different running backs and they're deep, big, strong, physical offensive line."

Only Syracuse, with a combined 99 points in 1997 and 1998, has ever scored more against Miami in a two-year stretch than Duke has since 2012.

"We have to be able to remain balanced against them," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "If we can't run it, or the flipside of that, if all we can do is run it a little bit and can't throw and catch it, we'll be in trouble. I think the biggest key with Miami and the type of athletes they have is for us to be able to have some semblance of balance where they are not as easily able to predict what we're going to do out of what formation."

It's not like Miami hasn't been able to move the ball against Duke, either: The Hurricanes have scored 82 points in the last two meetings, outgaining the Blue Devils 1,211-1,126 in those matchups. Duke has allowed 777 passing yards in those games, a good sign for true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya, who is already up to 10 touchdown passes through his first four games for Miami.

Duke is clearly stepping up in schedule class this week. So far, the Blue Devils have faced Elon, Troy, Kansas and Tulane — a relatively easy pre-ACC schedule.

"Obviously, this is our biggest test of the year," Cutcliffe said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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