LIVE BLOG: Duke 13, Miami 28 (FINAL)

28-13 Miami, 1:52 remaining in the 4th quarter:

With Miami picking up the necessary first downs on offense, this one is all but over.

Check out the print version of the Chronicle tomorrow for a full recap and analysis of today's game.

28-13 Miami, 4:13 remaining in the 4th quarter:

And just as the Blue Devils were threatening to make this a game, it's over. Connette fumbled the snap, and the ball was recovered by a pile of Miami linemen. With just four minutes remaining, all Miami has to do is run the clock down.

28-13 Miami, 6:14 remaining in the 4th quarter:

A perfect Snyderwine onside kick is recovered by Vernon, and the Blue Devils will take over at their 47. Connette will come out to lead the offense.

28-13 Miami, 6:14 remaining in the 4th quarter:

A huge stand by the Duke defense at its own 30 keeps Miami out of field goal range. The Blue Devils take over after the turnover on downs in what becomes a "must-score" drive.

28-10 Miami, end of the 3rd quarter:

Miami's offense is clicking, driving at midfield. I think it's safe to say anything more than a field goal would end the Blue Devils' hopes for yet another week. But after the stoppage of play, Duke comes up with a huge second-down stop.

28-10 Miami, 2:33 remaining in the 3rd quarter:

Miami is beginning to lay some huge hits on the Blue Devils, as Josh Snead was just laid out on a punt return. On the ensuing possession, Renfree was crushed by the 286-pound Allen Bailey, a loss of 12. On the next play, Renfree was hit again as he threw, and his pass was intercepted by Ryan Hill at the Hurricane 40.

28-10 Miami, 4:10 remaining in the 3rd quarter:

A quick three-and-out by the Blue Devils. An excellent pass on third down was dropped by Austin Kelly, forcing the punt. Miami will take over on its 32.

28-10 Miami, 5:28 remaining in the 3rd quarter:

Both teams have shifted to "run-first" style offenses here in the second half, and it has paid off. The size and strength of Miami's rushing attack has just worn down the Blue Devils over the course of the game, and it'll take a huge performance by Duke's offensive front to keep the Hurricanes from opening this up further.

21-10 Miami, 8:50 remaining in the 3rd quarter:

Sorry for the gap between posts, the internet up here got a little bit spotty. Hollingsworth and the running game led the Blue Devils on an 82-yard drive, capped by a Brandon Connette 3-yard rush for a touchdown. Now, though, Miami's running game has begun to wear down the Duke defense, quickly advancing past midfield.

21-3 Miami, 11:00 remaining in the 3rd quarter:

After starting the drive on their own 18, the Blue Devils have driven into the Miami red zone, facing second-and-10 at the Hurricane 15. Hollingsworth has continued his solid day with a long run across midfield, and Renfree has avoided making any egregious mistakes.

21-3 Miami, 14:11 remaining in the 3rd quarter:

And Renfree starts the second half just as he ended the first, throwing his 4th interception of the day. The 6-foot-3, 305-lb Micanor Regis caught the errant throw and took it to the house, rumbling for 35 yards. Couldn't be a worse second half start for the Blue Devils.

14-3 Miami, Haltime:

Interesting first half stats:

Sean Renfree: 14-29, 129 yards, 3 interceptions.

Jacory Harris: 9-24, 135 yards, 1 TD, 0 interceptions

Duke has 161 yards of total offense, versus Miami's 248.

Really, the difference so far has been the interceptions. But for the Duke offense, what else is new?

14-3 Miami, Halftime:

Here are a few quick halftime thoughts and analyses:

1. Overheard amongst the NFL scouts in the press box, "This has been the ineptitude bowl." Couldn't say it any better myself. Dropped passes, poor throws, bad tackling, this one has had it all, folks.

2. The worst of it has come from the quarterbacks. Both Harris and Renfree have thrown more errant passes than accurate ones, though Duke's secondary hasn't been able to turn those bad throws into interceptions like Miami's has.

3. On the positive side, and with a few notable exceptions, Duke's secondary has stuck to the Miami receivers well. After getting burned all throughout the season so far, this has been a much better game from them.

14-3 Miami, 0:09 remaining in the first half:

Renfree has made several precise passes, moving the Blue Devils down the field to the Miami 32 with 15 seconds left. Duke also has one timeout remaining. But, inaccuracy once again dooms the offense, as Renfree's pass is intercepted in triple coverage on the Miami 4.

14-3 Miami, 1:39 remaining in the first half:

Jay Hollingsworth has been the only sign of life i the Duke offense over the last two possessions, rushing for a pair of 10-yard gains. Another Renfree pass is nearly intercepted after being tipped high into the air by Vernon and falling through the hands of a member of the Miami secondary. But, the relief was shortlived, after another tipped ball by Vernon sticks to the defense. Miami will start its possession from its own 36.

14-3 Miami, 3:58 remaining in the first half:

Miami just completed a three-play, 30-second yard drive for its second touchdown, highlighted by a 13-yard scramble by Harris into the end zone. After holding fast for much of the first half, the Blue Devil secondary was burned for a long pass paly down the left sideline to set up Harris's run.

7-3 Miami, 4:30 remaining in the first half:

Renfree will want to forget his performance in the first half. After the Blue Devil offense had begun to click, he fumbled the snap near midfield, giving Miami the ball back on the Duke 45.

7-3 Miami, 5:08 remaining in the first half:

Cockrell walked off the field under his own power, but has not returned to the field. Miami's power running game, led by Berry, has begun to pick up. The Hurricanes used consecutive big running gains to cross midfield. But, erratic throws by Harris, including on a fourth-down big play attempt down the middle, give Duke the ball back near its own 40.

7-3 Miami, 7:41 remaining in the first half:

Pause in the game as Ross Cockrell is down in the secondary, which just got burned for a 40-yard pass play.

7-3 Miami, 7:48 remaining in the first half:

Renfree just missed a wide-open Vernon across the middle of the field, forcing the Blue Devils to punt yet again. On the bright side for Duke, Kevin Jones' punt was downed at the 2-yard line, giving Harris and the Miami offense a lot of field to cover.

7-3 Miami, 9:02 remaining in the first half:

Miami is forced to punt after a three-and-out. The defensive play of the drive was an excellent open field trip-up by Rwabukamba, who saved a touchdown by stopping Berry from turning the corner. A fake punt attempt by the Hurricanes is unsuccessful, as the ballcarrier Ray-Ray Armstrong was met at the line of scrimmage. A chance for Duke to capitalize with the momentum on its side, and the ball near midfield.

7-3 Miami, 9:44 remaining in the first half:

Renfree was almost just picked off again, after throwing straight into the chest of one of the Miami secondary. Although the pass was dropped, it still left the Blue Devils with a 4th down. Kevin Jones' punt went out of bounds at the Duke 49, a 34-yard punt, that gives the Hurricanes excellent field position once again. On the first play from scrimmage, the Blue Devils dodge another bullet as a wide-open receiver couldn't keep his feet inbounds on Harris's throw.

7-3 Miami, 10:46 remaining in the first half:

And the turnover bug bites again. After a huge defensive hold, Renfree's pass was deflected into the hands of Vaughn Telemaque. The Hurricanes will take over on the Blue Devil 32. But then on the second offensive play from Miami, Chris Rwabukamba was able on a Hurricane loose ball, dropped by Damien Berry, I believe. Duke will take over at its own 12.

7-3 Miami, 13:34 remaining in the first half:

After a low, line drive punt right at the Hurricane Benjamin Duke was able to recover with great coverage, forcing no gain on the return. Miami will once again have great field position, however, starting from its own 45.

7-3 Miami, 13:52 remaining in the first half:

Confusion on the Miami sideline costs the Hurricanes a timeout, as the Blue Devils were ready to snap the ball with only seven defenders on the field. Renfree has gotten good protection on the last two plays, but has had to settle for a six-yard completion and two-yard scramble after great downfield coverage by the Hurricanes.

7-3 Miami, 14:53 remaining in the first half:

Jacory Harris was given far too much time to throw, and found Hankerson again on the far sideline. After getting by one Duke defender, the wideout leaped high over another before stretching the ball over the pylon for a touchdown. The extra point attempt by Matt Bosher deflected off the right upright, but still barely snuck through.

3-0 Duke, End of 1st quarter:

Miami has driven down to the Duke 12 after consecutive first downs with a run by Damien Berry and a Harris pass over the middle to Leonard Hankerson. The Blue Devil defense is reeling a little, and certainly will benefit from the timeout between quarters.

3-0 Duke, 1:49 left in the 1st quarter:

A few signs of life emerging from the Duke offense. Renfree completed a huge third down conversion to get out of deep Blue Devil territory. But, then a sack and a short run forced Duke to punt. Fair catch by Hurricane Travis Benjamin at the Miami 45.

3-0 Duke, 4:59 remaining in the 1st quarter:

Great downfield coverage by the Blue Devils forced a Miami punt. Lee Butler dropped the punt, but quickly picked it up before getting tackled on the Duke 11.

3-0 Duke, 5:48 remaining in the 1st quarter:

Abraham Kromah is kicking himself after dropping a near-certain interception near the Duke 30. With Miami's offense beginning to roll, that could come back to hurt the Blue Devils.

3-0 Duke, 8:26 remaining in the 1st quarter:

Duke is forced to punt after Miami's blitz takes the Blue Devils out of sync on offense. After the punt barely sneaks across the goal line, the Hurricanes will get a chance to start from their own 20. Neither team has been able to get anything going on offense. Both defenses have made nice open field tackles, and the defensive lines on both sides have just been overpowering.

But there's still a long way to go.

3-0 Duke, 10:07 remaining in the 1st quarter:

Huge momentum swing back towards the Blue Devils. After getting stuffed in the red zone to start the game, the Blue Devils just blasted threw the Miami line to stop a fourth down conversion try by the Hurricanes. Duke now starts a drive at their own 40.

3-0 Duke, 11:22 remaining in the 1st quarter:

Should mention that this is not Scott Rich on the live blog, but Chris Cusack. After a three-and-out, Kevin Jones lines a short punt out to the Blue Devil 49, giving Miami excellent field position.

3-0 Duke, 12:57 remaining in the 1st quarter:

Duke dodged a bullet on Miami's first possession. On third-and-10, Jacory Harris floated a ball deep down field to an open Leonard Hankerson, who dropped it. The Hurricanes punted down to the Duke 10.

3-0 Duke, 14:07 remaining in the 1st quarter:

Picked a bad time to have early internet trouble in the press box. On the kickoff, Miami's Graig Cooper fumbled the kickoff return, and it was recovered by Duke's Jordon Byas deep in Miami territory. But, after a failed run and a couple of ill-advised throws to covered receivers, the Blue Devils will once again have to settle for a field goal.