Miraculous, memorable, momentous, words that all define Miami's improbable eight-lateral TD that secured a 30-27 victory over Duke on Saturday.

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Interim head coach Larry Scott -- who replaced an embarrassed Al Golden following a 58-0 loss to Clemson -- credited the win to a simple philosophy.

"We started the week talking about tapping into the human element of these kids and getting them to get back to enjoying playing football and playing fast and having fun and loving being with each other," Scott said, per Sun Sentinel.

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"I thought we executed really well, so obviously, they were prepared. Just so proud of the way they fought and to just believe, all the way to the end."

That's all well and good, but as iconic as Miami's TD was, it also served as the perfect symbol of how far the program has fallen.

Duke, for all its success in building up the program, is still Duke. The Hurricanes of years past didn't rely on eight laterals to escape with a victory, they sent powerful 52-7 messages.

But this is a program in Miami incapable of doing so anymore. The lure of four national championships is behind them. There are no more facilities to sell recruits. Even previous success can't serve as a selling point given how much the university has distanced itself from the Jimmy Johnson era.

This the new reality for Miami Hurricanes football. Pure luck and backyard miracles are required to beat a basketball school.

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