Duke head coach David Cutcliffe is known for his ability to develop quarterbacks. But Duke doesn’t have a Peyton Manning, Eli Manning or even a Sean Renfree currently on the roster. The Blue Devils will go as far as senior quarterback Anthony Boone takes them. And Boone didn’t take them very far Saturday against the Miami Hurricanes.
Boone was 22-of-51 passing for 179 yards and two interceptions during Duke’s 22-10 loss to Miami.
Miami did Saturday what it couldn’t do a year ago. Duke gouged Miami for 358 rushing yards in 2013. The Hurricanes only gave up 83 yards Saturday in Miami.
Due to Miami’s newfound ability to stop the run, the onus fell on Boone to elevate the rest of the offense, and he proved incapable of the being the type of passer to carry his team.
The narrative during the game was Boone only lost two games as a starter. Those two loses came when Duke faced Johnny Manziel‘s Texas A&M Aggies and Jameis Winston‘s Florida State Seminoles. Well, Boone has now lost to the Hurricanes’ true freshman, Brad Kaaya.
Boone was outplayed by Miami’s freshman. Kaaya finished the contest 21-of-35 passing for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Saturday’s performance was an important building block as head coach Al Golden continues to rebuild the program.
Despite the poor play from its quarterback, Duke is still 4-1 and one game behind the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Pitt Panthers and Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC’s Coastal division. Miami, meanwhile, is 1-1 in conference play.
The Blue Devils are talented along the offensive line and at wide receiver. They potentially have an explosive offense as long as their senior quarterback plays to the level expected of him. And Boone’s performance against Miami wasn’t good enough.
