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Harris, defense lead Miami past Duke 28-13

Oct 16, 2010 - 8:36 PM By JOEDY McCREARY AP Sports Writer

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Jacory Harris threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and Miami forced seven turnovers in a 28-13 victory over Duke on Saturday.

Harris was 17 of 34 for 224 yards for the Hurricanes (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). They bounced back from last week's lopsided loss to rival Florida State by rolling up 448 total yards and shutting down one of the league's top passing offenses.

Vaughn Telemaque picked off two passes, and defensive tackle Micanor Regis returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown for Miami, which intercepted five passes and forced two fumbles.

Sean Renfree was picked off five times and fumbled a snap for Duke (1-5, 0-3). The Blue Devils lost their fifth straight.

Damien Berry rushed for 111 yards, and his 1-yard score in the third put the Hurricanes up 28-10.

Harris threw a 14-yard touchdown to Leonard Hankerson on the first play of the second quarter, dumping the ball off in the flat that allowed the 6-foot-3 wideout do the rest himself, flipping over the goal line to make it 7-3. Those two also hooked up just before halftime on a 33-yard gainer one play before Harris scrambled in untouched from 13 yards out, pushing the lead to 14-3.

The Blue Devils' defense - the worst in the ACC - kept them in the game early by stifling three fourth-down conversion attempts in the first half, including a fake punt.

Then again, the Hurricanes could afford to take a few chances with the league's best defense playing like this.

A Miami D that entered ranked No. 4 nationally against the pass harassed Renfree and locked down on the ACC's top two receivers: Duke's Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner who entered averaging 6.8 and 6.2 catches, respectively.

Varner's first catch didn't come until there were 3 1/2 minutes left in the half and Duke was down by double figures, and he finished with four catches for 50 yards. while Vernon didn't catch a ball until the fourth quarter. Duke, which averaged 295 yards passing, was held to 187.

Regis thwarted Duke's first possession of the second half when he stepped in front of a Renfree pass and rumbled into the end zone to make it 21-3.

That came after Renfree was picked off three times in the first half. His fumbled snap in the pistol formation led to the Hurricanes' second touchdown. Renfree, who has thrown at least three interceptions in three of five games, finished 18 of 38 for 157 yards for Duke.

The Blue Devils lost their ninth straight against Bowl Subdivision teams and haven't beaten one since winning at Virginia on Oct. 31, 2009.

Technically, Renfree wasn't the starter at quarterback for Duke. A fumble on the opening kickoff gave the Blue Devils the ball at the Miami 8, so they opened with a short-yardage offensive set with Brandon Connette under center. That drive went nowhere - a clear sign of things to come - so Duke settled for Will Snyderwine's 25-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

Connette scored from 1 yard out midway through the third pulled Duke to 21-10, and Snyderwine converted from 43 yards out with 6:14 left.