Miami's win knocks Duke out of bowl contention

Miami -- MIAMI - With a 34-16 victory over Duke at Land Shark Stadium on Saturday, the Hurricanes ended any hope of the Blue Devils making a bowl game this season.

The Devils (5-6, 3-4 ACC) needed a win to have any hope to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1994.

With a roster impacted by injuries, the Devils continued to struggle offensively, particularly in the red zone, though they showed spurts of recapturing the passing attack that was at one point this season leading the ACC.

In the end, the Hurricanes proved too much, and like in years past closed any early-game opportunities given to the Devils late in the game. The Hurricanes have now won six consecutive contest against the Devils.

The return home for Duke senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis came to a disappointing end, but not before he claimed another milestone in his career.

In the fourth quarter, Lewis completed a pass off his back foot to Austin Kelly to become Duke's all-time passing leader, surpassing Ben Bennett who held the record with 9,614 passing yards.

FOURTH QUARTER

The Hurricanes, struggling offensively for much this game, decided to put the ball on the ground late in the third quarter and it paid off early in the fourth quarter.

Junior running back Damien Berry lowered his shoulders and bowled over the Devils as he helped the Hurricanes march down field. He capped the 15-play, 90-yard drive with a two-yard run. The Hurricanes took a 19-16 lead.

Trying to pull back into this game, the Devils put together a long drive into the Hurricanes' red zone, with senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis mixing in passes to Austin Kelly and Donovan Varner.

On second-and-six from the 6, Lewis was called with intentional grounding as he threw a pass to Jay Hollingsworth, costing the Devils a down and moving the ball to the 13-yardline. It was a questionable call that prompted Duke coach David Cutcliffe to complain to officials.

Lewis would attempt another pass that fell short, which brought out junior walk-on kicker Will Snyderwine for his fourth field goal attempt of the game. He missed wide right from the left hash.

That possession proved a set-back for the Devils and allowed the Hurricanes sure footing to run away with this contest.

The Hurricanes would strike with a five-play, 80-yard drive. Sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris hit junior Leonard Hankerson on a 44-yard bomb that the receiver carried into the end zone. On the play, he had beat Duke's Chris Rwabukamba deep and adjusted to a short thrown pass.

The Hurricanes would go ahead 27-16 and take full control of the game.

THIRD QUARTER

The Hurricanes pulled to within three points with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

A 12-play, 54-yard drive ended with a made field goal by kicker Matt Bosher. The Hurricanes moved the chains but were ineffective in the redzone.

Both teams relied on the place kickers in this one.

Duke junior kicker Will Snyderwine made his third field goal to cap a 10-play, 60-yard, 3:55 drive with 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Devils moved the ball with the short screen passes and crossing routes that have become a staple of the offense this season. On one of those crossing routes, sophomore receiver Donovan Varner zoomed across the field and pulled in a 20-yard pass from senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis.

It was Varner's fourth pass for 20 or more yards.

SECOND QUARTER

Duke entered the game looking to kick-start a sluggish offense that found its stride midway through the season. It took a quarter to get going, but the Blue Devils rejuvenated a stagnant passing game with senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis finding his go-to target Donovan Varner.

The pair connected late in the second quarter on a 24-yard touchdown pass to help the Devils take the lead in a first half that featured few offensive outburst. Varner ended the first half with six catches for 126 yards, his fourth game this season with 100 or more yards.

A converted extra point by junior kicker Will Snyderwine gave the Devils a 13-10 lead.

Earlier in the half, Miami pulled its defunct offense into gear.

Finally finding his passing touch, Miami sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris hit wide receiver Leonard Hankerson streaking down the left sideline on a 52-yard play late in the second quarter. That play set a up a touchdown pass to Lamar Miller three plays later and helped put the Hurricanes ahead 10-6

To open the second quarter, freshman Desmond Scott returned a kickoff 47 yards to give the Devils prime field position. They were unable to find the end zone, but put up some points on the drive.

Duke kicker Will Snyderwine, who has now made 14 of his last 15 attempts, made a 49-yard field goal early in the second quarter to give the Devils a 6-3 lead at 14:50.

Snyderwine, the junior walk-on, started the year missing his first attempt, but has been Mr. Reliable since.

FIRST QUARTER

An interception by senior linebacker Vincent Rey - his second of the season - set up a 68-yard scoring drive by the Blue Devils in the first quarter. Snyderwine made a 30-yard field goal to give his team a 3-0 lead.

With both teams struggle to come alive offensively, defense and special marked most of the first quarter action.

The Hurricanes would score late in the quarter with a scoring drive capped by a 33-yard field goal by Matt Bosher.

That drive was set by a Duke special teams error. Senior Leon Wright, signaling for a fair catch on a punt return, struggled to catch a high, wobbly kick. He failed to catch the ball, touched it and could not secure it on the ground. Miami recovered the fumble and were handed a short field.