Manny Diaz made his long-awaited return to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, leading a 6-2 Duke team into the fray hoping to end No. 5 Miami’s unbeaten start to the season.

Through the first half, Diaz’s Blue Devils are on track to make history.

With 1:52 to play in the second quarter, Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy connected with Peyton Jones for a 6-yard touchdown that gave Duke a 21-17 lead over the Hurricanes. Miami went 3-and-out on its next possession and Duke took a 4-point lead into the break.

The ‘Canes had a 14-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, aided by a Murphy interception. But Duke battled back after falling into the 2-score hole. Murphy ended the half with 159 passing yards and 2 scores on 11-for-18 passing. Jones ran for 48 yards a score while adding 46 receiving yards.

Duke is looking for its first win over an AP Top 5 team since 1960. Per the ABC broadcast, Duke has lost 21 consecutive games to teams ranked inside the AP top 5 The program is just 3-33-2 all-time against top-5 opponents. And the Blue Devils have never beaten a top-5 team on the road.

For Diaz to do so in his return to Miami would be quite the story.

Diaz was hired by Miami prior to the 2019 season. He spent 3 seasons with the program before being fired in 2021.

But Miami made an absolute mess of the process when it dismissed Diaz. He left with a 21-15 record in 3 seasons and won 5 of his final 6 games.

Miami hired Mario Cristobal to replace Diaz.

Cristobal went 12-13 through his first 2 seasons. He has the Canes off to an 8-0 start, but they’ll need some juice in the second half to win No. 9. Duke closed as a 19.5-point underdog (via ESPN Bet).