INSIDE SLANT

   Miami goes into its final two regular-season games hoping to shake off the hangover from its loss to North Carolina and build up momentum heading into the postseason.

   The Hurricanes also would like to erase memories of the past two Novembers that saw them stumble badly down the stretch. They have won only two of eight games played in the final month of the regular season under coach Randy Shannon.

   But they may have to do so with one of their key performers limited.

   Quarterback Jacory Harris was wearing a soft cast on his right hand as the Hurricanes began preparations for their home finale against Duke, according to a report in the Miami Herald. Harris said his fingers had been “messed up” a little bit during the loss to the Tar Heels.

   Coach Randy Shannon was less than enlightening when asked about Harris’ status, saying only his sophomore signal-caller would play against the Blue Devils. Frankly, with little-used true freshman A.J. Highsmith as the only other scholarship quarterback on Miami’s roster, Shannon has little choice. Nothing short of a full arm cast and sling is likely to keep Harris out of the game.

   “I will be playing Saturday,” Harris said. “No problem.”

   He acknowledged, however, he will be wearing some sort of protection.

   Harris is coming off a four-interception game in the loss to the Tar Heels, but he refused to pin any of the blame on his hand, which he had said after the game was hurt in the first quarter. He isn’t going to change his aggressiveness in throwing deep now, and that is the approach his coach wants him to take.

   “The one thing we can’t do is we can’t get back in a shell,” Shannon said. “We can’t say, ‘OK, Jacory, you can’t take these chances.’ Because when he takes the chances, we have confidence in him making those chances and coming up with big plays.”

   In addition to closing out the home slate, the game against Duke also will finish up Miami’s conference schedule. They end the regular season with a trip to Tampa to play USF on Nov. 28.

NOTES, QUOTES

   —Miami has been over 400 yards in total offense in six games this season, but all that production has produced only four wins. The Hurricanes had 435 yards in the loss to North Carolina and 433 in the loss to Clemson. The other plus-400 games produced wins over Virginia (515), Florida State (476), Florida A&M (470) and Georgia Tech (454).

   —QB Jacory Harris’ 28 completions against North Carolina were a career high for the sophomore. So, too, were the four interceptions.

   SERIES HISTORY: Miami 5-Duke 1 (last meeting, 2008, Miami 49-31).

   SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Miami can move the football, but interceptions have become a big problem. QB Jacory Harris has thrown nine in his last four games, with seven coming in losses to Clemson and North Carolina. He has lots of targets to throw to with 10 players having at least eight receptions for the season. Eight have at least 13 catches each. RB Graig Cooper leads in rushing (541 yards), but RB Damien Berry has become the guy the Hurricanes look to in short-yardage situations. He has rushed for a team-high seven touchdowns despite not logging a carry through the first four games.

   SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The defense is missing a big-play element with LB Sean Spence sidelined but ranks fifth in the league overall, giving up 328 yards a game, and fourth against the run (122). The Hurricanes are last in the league in interceptions with only six on the year and are tied for eighth in the league with only 19 sacks. They had only one sack against North Carolina.

   QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’ve just got to keep fighting, just go ahead and play these last two games and then see where we stand bowl-wise. Wherever we play at, we’ll be glad to play there, and we’ve just got to win.”—QB Jacory Harris, on the team’s attitude heading into the final two games.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

   THIS WEEK’S GAME: Duke at Miami, Nov. 21—The Hurricanes need a win to finish over .500 in the ACC for the first time since 2005, when they were 6-2. They haven’t lost to the Blue Devils in the four meetings since they joined the conference. 

   KEYS TO THE GAME: The Hurricanes have the opportunity to physically dominate if they remain patient and stick with their running game. The defense can’t allow Duke QB Thaddeus Lewis, the league’s third-most productive passer (264 yards a game), the time to get comfortable.

   PLAYERS TO WATCH:

   RB Graig Cooper—Healthy again, Cooper can make a big difference if he is given the more opportunities. He had 18 carries against Virginia and ran for 152 yards and came back with 15 carries for 63 yards against North Carolina.

   WR Leonard Hankerson—He has had a few drops in recent games but still remains Miami’s top receiver. He had seven catches for 92 yards against the Tar Heels, giving him 34 receptions for 609 yards (four touchdowns) for the season.

   CB Brandon Harris—Duke is going to be throwing the ball, and Harris is the conference leader in passes defended with 13, which puts him in a tie for eighth nationally. Only one of the plays, however, has been an interception. Harris also ranks third on the team in tackles with 46 stops.

   ROSTER REPORT:

   —RB Javarris James (ankle) “could have played” against North Carolina, according to coach Randy Shannon, but was in on only a couple of passing situations. His status for the game against Duke remains the same. James, who had 150 yards rushing in the win over Oklahoma, has 421 yards rushing this season. Injuries have plagued him the last two years, and his most productive year remains his freshman season, when he ran for 802 yards.

   —DE Eric Moncur (lower extremity) is considered questionable for the Duke game.

   —QB Jacory Harris (hand) is probable for the game against the Blue Devils.