Ward and Restrepo rewrite the record book and No. 5 Miami defeats Duke 53-31

Cam Ward and Xavier Restrepo had another memorable day and No. 5 Miami made another big comeback.

Ward – Miami's Heisman Trophy hope – threw for 400 yards and five more touchdown passes, three of them to Restrepo, on a record day for both, and the Hurricanes erased a double-digit deficit for the third time this season, outlasting Duke 53-31 on Saturday.

“The most important thing is that we are undefeated,” Restrepo said. “Without the team’s success, none of this would matter at all.”

Ward now has 29 touchdown passes, tying Steve Walsh's Hurricane record set in 1988. A 66-yard scoring grab with 7:36 remaining was the big history-maker: Restrepo tied Mike Harley's Miami career receptions record with his 182, breaking Santana Moss' career receiving yards- Record was 2,573, and Ward tied Walsh's TD pass mark for the Hurricanes (9-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

“They both played their butts off. They always do,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “They have a unique chemistry. … These two guys, no matter how much they get all these accolades, they don't talk about it. It’s not the be-all and end-all for them.”

Maalik Murphy threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns for Duke (6-3, 2-3), but was intercepted three times and fumbled the ball once. Sahmir Hagans had nine catches for 139 yards and a score for the Blue Devils, who held a 28-17 lead in the third quarter in Duke coach Manny Diaz's first game against Miami since his dismissal by the school in 2021.

Duke trailed 14-0 early, then went on a 28-3 run and looked poised for its first win against a top-five opponent since 1960.

Then everything changed when the comeback Canes struck again. Miami scored five touchdowns in a span of six second-half drives — a 36-3 run in a span of barely more than a quarter — and turned it into a blowout.

“It’s a game full of turnovers and explosive plays,” Diaz said. “It's hard to beat anyone away when you lose these two games. It's definitely hard to beat a team as talented as them. I thought that was the biggest difference in the second half.”

Miami trailed by 10 or more points before picking up two of its wins earlier this season. It trailed Virginia Tech by 10 points (three times, including the fourth quarter) before cruising to a 38-34 win. A week later, it trailed by 25 points in the third quarter at California before pulling out a 39-38 win.

Ward and Restrepo led them to another comeback on Saturday.

“I’m proud of the way our guys competed,” Diaz said. “We came here with the strong belief that we would win the game. We just made mistakes that cost us the football game.”

Duke: The Blue Devils probably didn't want to get involved in an offensive exchange. Since the start of the 2018 season, Duke is 31-2 (.939) when teams score 21 or fewer points and is now 10-40 (.200).

Miami: Ward moved to No. 5 on the NCAA's all-time passing list, passing Landry Fields. He became the first Miami quarterback with a 400-yard game against Duke, and Restrepo's 146-yard day was the most by a Hurricane ever against the Blue Devils.

Miami could move up a spot — it depends on where voters rank Penn State, which was ranked No. 3 this week and lost to No. 4 Ohio State.

Duke travels briefly to Raleigh to face NC State on November 9th.

Miami plays at Georgia Tech on November 9th.

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