‘Who doesn’t live for games like this?’ No. 4 Hurricanes get big road test at Clemson

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The Miami Hurricanes’ first two road trips this season will seem hospitable compared to Saturday’s matchup.

After playing in front of relatively small crowds at Stanford and Wake Forest, No. 4 Miami (4-0, 2-0 ACC) will get the full force of more than 80,000 hostile Clemson (3-1, 2-0 ACC) fans at Memorial Stadium — known as “Death Valley” — when the teams kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC).

“Obviously, their fans are going to show up, show out, but we can’t let that be a factor at all,” UM center Ryan Rodriguez said. “As coach (Mario) Cristobal says, none of those people in the stands make a single play in the game. Just block out that noise. When you’re out there on the field, you don’t really think about that stuff. You’re thinking about your assignment and getting it done.”

The Hurricanes have not won at Clemson since 2010. That victory, in Tigers coach Dabo Swinney’s third year at the helm, was Miami’s last win against Clemson until 2023. Between those two victories, the Tigers beat the Hurricanes four times with a combined margin of victory of 178-30. Those losses included a 58-0 home loss in 2015 that led to Al Golden being fired and a 38-3 blowout in the 2017 ACC title game, which remains UM’s only appearance in the conference championship.

Swinney built Clemson into a powerhouse, but this year’s Tigers are not the same as the ones who won nine conference championships and two national titles since 2011. Clemson began the year with a 51-10 loss to LSU and has played tight games against Georgia Southern, UNC and Cal.

The Hurricanes are 16 1/2-point favorites, but Miami is not taking Clemson — even this year’s struggling version — lightly.

“(We are preparing) for a great team, a really talented team, great players, great coaches, great scheme in Clemson,” Cristobal said. “… They didn’t get off to the start they wanted in Game 1. But since then, they’ve been playing really high-level football in a lot of different ways. … A lot of high-level athletes, elite players at a lot of different positions, and they are playing really, really good football.”

The Tigers’ offense, however, is not playing at a high level through its first four games. Clemson is 119th nationally with 21 points per game. Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds has taken the reins of the offense after Week 1 starter Christopher Vizzina suffered an elbow injury, but the young quarterback has struggled. He has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 521 yards,  but has just one passing touchdown and two interceptions. Pro Football Focus gives him a 52.1 passing grade, which is last among ACC quarterbacks with 50 or more dropbacks.

Reynolds has struggled when under pressure, completing just 6 of 17 pass attempts when under pressure, according to Pro Football Focus. He has taken 11 sacks. The Hurricanes have excelled at generating pressure this season, earning the third-best pass-rush grade from PFF.

Although Reynolds has struggled, Cristobal offered a lot of praise for the young quarterback.

“Great player. Ultra, ultra competitive,” Cristobal said. “His nature, his demeanor. A guy that has already mastered the offense in a short amount of time. Great arm, extremely accurate, great feet, tough, physical. An absolute specimen of a player, of an athlete, and a guy that just finds ways to win. He could do it all.”

What Reynolds does bring to the offense is speed. He can run the ball and make defenders miss, forcing 15 missed tackles in four games, according to PFF.

“We’ve got to hit the quarterback. We’ve got to get after him,” Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said. “We’ve got to try to collapse the pocket. We’ve got to be really detailed in our rush lanes. We’ve got to be really detailed in our blitz plan. … He does a really good job of moving out of the pocket, keeping things alive, keeping his eyes down the field, allowing routes to convert. They do a really good job with their conversion in scramble drill, keeping plays alive. So it’s something that we’ve worked on the last couple weeks.”

The Clemson defense has done a good job of buckling down since allowing 51 points to LSU, but the Hurricanes offer a potentially tougher task than the SEC team did. Miami is third in the nation with 51.8 points per game; LSU is 28th with 38.8 points per game. The Hurricanes have the nation’s No. 4 passing offense and No. 20 rushing offense, both of which lead LSU.

Miami star Darian Mensah has been arguably the nation’s best quarterback. He also has experience beating the Tigers on the road. Mensah led Duke into “Death Valley” last season and beat the Tigers 46-45. Mensah threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, tossing the game-winning two-point conversion with 40 seconds left.

“It was a great game,” Mensah said. “I remember they have a lot of talented players on defense and a lot of talented returners, as well. So yeah, I’m just excited to go play in that stadium. It’s very loud. Who doesn’t live for games like this?”

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