MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Players on the Miami sideline jumped up and down early in the first quarter as the offense moved down the field with relative ease.
Hours later they would call it "juice," something their coaches wanted to see more of during Saturday night's 22-10 victory over Duke at Sun Life Stadium.
When senior linebacker Denzel Perryman secured the win on the final drive with an interception on fourth down, he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. For doing 10 pushups.
That attitude, that confidence, served the much-maligned defense well a week after a demoralizing effort at Nebraska in which it allowed 343 rushing yards.
"We're trying to improve, and I want them to enjoy it," head coach Al Golden said. "I want them to play with energy, have fun."
Was the 41-31 trouncing to the Cornhuskers a one-game blip? Had the unit reverted back to its old ways? Through the first three games of the season, it had allowed an average of 15 points and 265 yards. It looked to have turned a corner.
"The challenge was, 'Who are we?'" Golden said. "Are we the three-game defense or the one-game defense? I think we added a fourth game versus one."
No. 23 Duke came in averaging 43.5 points per game, 260-plus passing yards and 260-plus rushing yards. In the Coastal Division matchup last season, the Blue Devils stormed to a 48-30 win.
The 10 points were their fewest scored since Dec. 7, 2013, when the Blue Devils lost 45-7 to Florida State. They were second-fewest points since Oct. 27, 2012, when the Seminoles held them to seven again.
Golden said schematically the defense didn't change. What improved was execution. Perryman saw fewer blown assignments and freelancing.
A week after Nebraska, the team tackled and didn't allow yards after contact. Rather than no sacks and no tackles for a loss, the unit recorded seven quarterback hurries, one sack and four TFLs. It intercepted two passes and broke up 10 others. It recovered a fumble.
"It's just a matter of execution," said Perryman, who tallied five tackles. "That's all it comes down to. Everybody's doing a good job being in the right gaps."
After a quick 9-0 start, the offense lost its rhythm with four straight three-and-outs. A true test would be setting up for the defense. Could it keep the team in the game -- like it did at Louisville when points were hard to come by?
A week after allowing 141 yards and six first downs in the first quarter with just one three-and-out, the Hurricanes permitted just 17 yards and no first downs with three three-and-outs. Duke's first first down didn't come until 12:37 left in the second.
During the early stages of the second quarter, the Blue Devils had tallied just four total yards. On a stop, sophomore safety Jamal Carter received an unsportsmanlike penalty in excitement.
"It was a big lift," junior running back Duke Johnson said. "I don't believe our defense played as bad as they seemed. I know last week wasn't impressive, but other than that for the most part the first couple games the defense was playing great. Last game was just a bad game on their part, but they came out today and made up for it."
The Blue Devils collected just 264 total yards with a 3.5 average per play. They went 2 of 16 on third downs. Miami held Duke to a Shaquille Powell 7-yard touchdown run in the second and a 33-yard field goal in the third.
Freshman running back Joseph Yearby, who ran for 61 yards and caught a 47-yard touchdown, noticed the defense's focus during this past week of practice when guys were even hitting him.
"We were real frustrated," Perryman said. "We did pop them a lot during practice. We got back to the fundamentals of tackling."
Although Perryman said he didn't answer his phone because he wanted to avoid the outside noise calling for extreme changes on defense, his teammates on the other side of the ball heard it all.
Junior Herb Waters, who caught a 28-yard touchdown on fourth down in the third quarter, felt proud. The defense went through the grind every day of practice, and it showed on the field Saturday.
"They grew up a lot today and played hard," Golden said. "They had a lot of resiliency playing in a lot of tough situations given the offense's inability to convert on third downs and the turnovers. Proud of them."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
