Miami Hurricanes Top Performers from 45-21 loss to Duke Blue Devils
There weren’t many bright spots to look at after this game. There weren’t many small victories or moral victories, it was just dominance by the Duke Blue Devils. Especially considering Tyler Van Dyke went down, it’s hard to take away a lot of good from the game.
Despite the abysmal showing by Miami as a team, there were some who showed out and made their mark on the game. Clearly, it wasn’t enough to bring the Canes back into it, but their play was strong enough to take note of. Here are some of the top performers from Miami’s home loss against Duke.
WR Colbie Young
One can’t help but start with Colbie Young and how he played. Young played the role of firestarter for the Hurricanes in the beginning of the first and third quarters. Young got the Canes on the board first with a 7-yard touchdown reception from Van Dyke. He also got Miami fired up to start the second half with a 71-yard touchdown from Jake Garcia.
Young finished with six receptions for 127 yards. He’s racked up over 100 yards in his last two games and now has four touchdowns on the year, all in three-straight games. Young is turning into one of Miami’s best pass catchers and could likely end up as a regular on this list throughout the course of the season.
CB Tyrique Stevenson
Tyrique Stevenson allowed one catch on six targets for four yards. Stevenson was Miami’s best cover corner against Duke and it was a game the Canes desperately needed from him. Stevenson has struggled in coverage all year and against Duke, he played like a true lockdown cornerback. Stevenson also had two pass breakups and a tackle.
The Canes' defensive backs didn’t have the worst showing against Duke, holding Riley Leonard to a 52% completion percentage. The Blue Devils targeted Stevenson the most of any Miami defensive back likely because of his recent struggles. However, Saturday afternoon, he finished with a 78.9% coverage grade according to Pro Football Focus, which was second on the team.
CB DJ Ivey
DJ Ivey was another cornerback whose play was significant in the backend. For two corners that have been struggling, they both had strong games to build upon going down the season stretch. Ivey had a 78.8 coverage grade according to Pro Football Focus. He allowed two receptions on three targets for 17 yards. Ivey also forced and recovered a fumble which was one of Miami’s few positives on the day.
Ivey was flying across the field as he finished with seven tackles on the day, which was a team-high. Ivey wasn’t targeted many times in large part because of his tight coverage. Leonard progressed through his reads relatively quickly and Ivey’s tough coverage seemingly helped eliminate one of Leonard’s options.
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