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By TIM REYNOLDS AP
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Darian Mensah passed for 382 yards and a touchdown against his former school, Javian Mallory scored three times and No. 5 Miami moved closer to wrapping up a trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game by beating Duke 36-25 on Saturday.
Homecoming DUB ✅ pic.twitter.com/UjVFQs0M2o
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
Mark Fletcher Jr. also rushed for a score for Miami (9-1, 7-0 ACC, No. 7 CFP), which tied a school mark with its 11th consecutive ACC victory. Cooper Barkate — like Mensah, a former Duke star — had his first 100-yard game for Miami, catching eight passes for 134 yards.
Way to work Canes 💪 pic.twitter.com/Tj91Hc4RRj
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
Mensah, who transferred to Miami after leading Duke to last season’s ACC title, completed 30 of 41 passes for Miami and went over the 3,000-yard mark for the season.
MALLORY HAT TRICK! 🎩
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/I5Swj2fude
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
Nate Sheppard accounted for 240 yards — 131 rushing, 93 receiving and 16 passing — plus rushed for two scores and caught a conversion pass for Duke (7-3, 5-3). Sheppard had a pair of 47-yard runs in the game, along with 12 catches.
BREAKING: Xavier Lucas has issued a no-fly zone over @HardRockStadium ❌✈️
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/cEvKWpexQs
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
Walker Eget completed 26 of 42 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown for the Blue Devils but was intercepted by Miami’s Xavier Lucas with 6:54 left. Mallory’s 39-yard touchdown run on the ensuing possession sealed the win for Miami.
NATE SHEPPARD BEATS THEM TO THE PYLON 😈#NateTrain🚂 x @NateShep20 pic.twitter.com/ktSc0486VR
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 14, 2026
Miami’s win, combined with Wake Forest’s win over SMU, put the Hurricanes on the cusp of clinching a spot in the ACC title game. The Hurricanes would wrap up a berth in the Dec. 5 contest if North Carolina beats Louisville later Saturday night; otherwise, Miami needs only one win in its final two games to clinch.
Javian coming through 💪
That's two touchdowns on the day for #21 🔥
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/dMDrl8jdbd
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
Duke never led, but Miami was never comfortably up until the final minutes.
MALLORY HOUSE CALL 📲🤯
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/QRLZKwLODw
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
Fletcher — who didn’t get a carry in the second half, evidently because of some sort of injury — had a scoring run midway through the second quarter to put Miami up 10-3.
Career rushing touchdown #36 for Mark Fletcher Jr. 🙌
Miami. Hurricanes. Legend.
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/gNylVL0MpT
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
It was the first touchdown allowed by Duke in its last 210 defensive snaps, spanning 36 possessions over 13 quarters. The Blue Devils forced 18 punts, stopped six drives on downs, had four takeaways and had opponents go 5 for 7 on field goal tries in that span.
CAN'T CATCH NATE SHEPPARD#NateTrain🚂 x @NateShep20 pic.twitter.com/tipUNrdRvl
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 14, 2026
Sheppard tied it for Duke with one of the 47-yard runs on the next possession, before Miami settled on a 13-10 lead at the half. Mallory and Mensah connected to break it open for Miami in the third with a 63-yard catch-and-run to make it 22-10.
The alpha dog is BACK‼️
Keionte Scott is your Bacardi Honorary Captain of the Game 🙌 pic.twitter.com/aXOIghlLfo
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
Sheppard scored again to get Duke within five, but Mallory scored twice in a span of 3:45 midway through the fourth quarter to make it 36-17.
Here comes COOP‼️
A 40-yard pass sets up Miami at the 31! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Vc2rKu7Dwy
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
The Takeaway
Duke: Sheppard became the first Duke player with two runs of 40 yards or more in an ACC game since Daniel Jones — the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback — had runs of 61 and 68 yards in a 42-35 win over North Carolina on Nov. 10, 2018.
RECORD BREAKER‼️
Mark Fletcher Jr. now holds the record for the most rushing touchdowns in Miami Hurricanes football history 🙌 pic.twitter.com/NvbH5gLWJG
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
Miami: For the second straight week, Elija Lofton caught a touchdown pass that came off the board. He had the hotly debated fourth-quarter catch against Notre Dame that was ruled incomplete, and had another would-have-been-a-TD grab in the third quarter Saturday but stepped out of bounds in the end zone before making the catch.
Miami Hurricanes Football | Postgame Press Conference | 3:00 PM | 11.14.26 https://t.co/Katr1pLyC0
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 14, 2026
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