Duke football responded immediately to its Week 10 loss at Miami

Murphy finished the game with three passing touchdowns, his fifth three-touchdown game of the year, and threw for a career-high 325 yards, but there are too many low points over the course of 60 minutes to beat teams like SMU and Miami. The Blue Devils scored all of their touchdowns between the 2:28 mark of the first quarter and the first drive of the second half. Their first three drives included two punts and an interception, and Duke scored three points with three turnovers in its final seven possessions.

The Blue Devils may have the best defense in the conference, but this style of offense puts far too much pressure on them against great teams. If opponents consistently stay at 20 points per game, Duke can survive these two-quarter losing streaks, but that’s not a sustainable way to achieve nine wins on the season.

The glass is half full of Duke’s offensive performance on Saturday as wide receiver Sahmir Hagans finished the game with 139 yards on nine receptions and sophomore running back Peyton Jones had 132 yards from scrimmage.

Fifth-year receiver Eli Pancol had 138 yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions against SMU. Star running back Thomas posted three consecutive 100-yard games with 211 yards from scrimmage against UNC in Weeks 3-5. Que’Sean Brown caught 11 passes with one touchdown against Connecticut and tight end Nicky Dalmolin had 100 yards and two touchdowns against Middle Tennessee before unfortunately suffering a season-ending injury in practice. The Blue Devils talked about their underrated receiver core before the season, and it’s a testament to the team’s recruiting and coaching that a different player can be the engine of the offense each week.

Rivers intercepted a cross-body throw from Miami quarterback Cam Ward in the fourth quarter, his third straight game with a pick. Despite being just 5-foot-10, he provided a physical Miami receiver body all afternoon and performed admirably all day. He broke up three passes, including several in the red zone, and fought through a block to bring down wideout Jacolby George for a five-yard loss on a first-quarter screen. It took a full four quarters of willpower for the best offense in the country to overcome Duke’s star cornerback, and that’s a testament to Rivers’ discipline and talent.

After allowing 53 points and 526 yards of offense, it’s hard not to blame the defense, but that’s exactly what the Hurricanes do to people. Ward entered this game with 24 passing touchdowns after averaging more than 340 passing yards per game in his first eight starts in a Miami uniform, and Rivers and Co. held him to 12 completions on his first 24 passes 138 yards. A two-quarter lead was all Duke could really ask for against the best offense in the country, and three of Miami’s touchdown attempts began after turnovers in Blue Devils territory. The defense performed admirably.

Jordan Moore is unlikely to return to his double-figure scoring form this season as he is nursing an injury, but he certainly looked good on Saturday. The senior made a spinning back-shoulder catch for a 27-yard gain on the first touchdown drive before drawing social media attention with a stunning one-handed grab in the final seconds of the third quarter.

Moore finished the game with five catches for 75 yards, his second-highest total since Week 2, and he wrestled a one-handed touchdown grab from the SMU secondary last week. Whether or not he becomes a 100-yard threat in the final three games, he looks healthy enough for big moments again, and that’s a win for the Blue Devils.