Duke 48, Miami 30
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke backup quarterback Brandon Connette ran for four touchdowns Saturday as the Blue Devils defeated No. 24 Miami 48-30 at Wallace Wade Stadium, keeping control of their destiny in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division.
Connette also passed for a touchdown. Duke rushed for 360 yards in sending Miami (7-3, 3-3 ACC) to its third consecutive loss.
With their sixth consecutive victory, the Blue Devils (8-2, 4-2) can advance to the ACC championship game Dec. 7 against Florida State if they win road games against Wake Forest and North Carolina the next two weeks.
It was the first time Miami lost to Duke since joining the ACC. Blue Devils fans flooded the field to celebrate.
Connette, a redshirt junior, holds the Duke record for rushing touchdowns with 29. His final score from 4 yards out boosted Duke's lead to 38-30 with 11:37 to play.
Running back Shaquille Powell's 33-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 sealed it with 6:50 to play.
Duke running back Josh Snead picked up 138 yards on nine carries.
Miami running back Dallas Crawford gained 115 rushing yards on 19 carries. Quarterback Stephen Morris threw for 379 yards, completing 30 of 48 passes.
The Blue Devils took the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards on 10 plays, with Connette running in from 1 yard out.
It took Miami three plays to strike back, scoring on Herb Waters' 50-yard breakaway with a pass from Morris.
The Hurricanes were back on top at 30-28 when their next drive resulted in Matt Goudis' 31-yard field goal.
It didn't last long because Duke's Ross Martin hit a 48-yard field goal with the ball bouncing through off the left upright with 2:47 left in the third quarter.
Duke took the lead for the first time with 2:01 left in the first half on Connette's 3-yard run.
That came after Goudis' 32-yard field goal with 4:42 left in the first half pushed the Hurricanes to a 20-14 lead.
Trailing 17-7, Duke was in danger of falling into a deeper hole until Deondre Singleton's interception of a deflected pass gave the Blue Devils a spark. That led to running back Shaquille Powell's 22-yard touchdown catch from Connette.
Earlier, Miami drove 61 yards on the game's first possession to grab a 3-0 lead on Goudis' 32-yard field goal. Stacy Coley's punt return went for 79 yards, giving the Hurricanes a 10-0 lead less than six minutes into the game.
The Blue Devils responded right away, taking slightly more than three minutes before Connette completed a drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Coley left with a head injury in the first half and didn't return.
NOTES: Duke lost 52-45 to Miami a year ago. ... QB Anthony Boone improved to 8-0 as Duke's starting quarterback. ... The Blue Devils snatched a second victory against a nationally ranked team for the first time in the same season since 1971. They also defeated then-ranked Virginia Tech last month. ... Miami was attempting to spoil Duke's home finale for the second year in a row. ... Duke has allowed a punt return for a touchdown the past two games. ... Miami has forced 21 turnovers this season, but forced none against Duke. ... Miami plays its home finale next week against Virginia. ... Duke, which doesn't leave its home state in November, plays its last two games on the road, beginning next week at Wake Forest.
