Jacory Harris threw three touchdowns in the first half and Miami rode a rare fast start to a 49-14 victory over Duke on Saturday.

A visit from the Blue Devils (3-6, 1-4 ACC) was welcomed by the Hurricanes (5-4, 3-3 ACC), who have outscored Duke 329-147 while winning eight of the nine all-time meetings.

Miami has struggled early in games, falling behind by double digits in all four of its defeats – including last week’s 28-21 loss to Virginia.

The early-game woes prompted Harris to voice his frustrations after that setback, but he had nothing to complain about this week. Duke’s 97th-ranked pass defense provided the perfect platform for Harris and the Hurricanes to gain control early.

The senior took the opening kickoff and drove Miami 78 yards in five plays, capping a drive that took less than three minutes with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Chase Ford. Mike James added a 1-yard touchdown run, while Phillip Dorsett and Tommy Streeter each had 2-yard touchdown catches and the Hurricanes led 28-7 at halftime.

Miami dominated a Duke defense that had been playing well over the past two weeks in close losses to Wake Forest (24-23) and Virginia Tech (14-10).