Five things we learned in Miami Hurricanes’ statement win over Clemson

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CLEMSON, S.C. — The Miami Hurricanes put a major feather in their cap on Saturday, going on the road in front of a packed “Death Valley” and beating ACC rival Clemson 41-13.

The ABC primetime game put Miami in front of a national audience, and UM did not disappoint.

Here are five things we learned from the Hurricanes’ victory:

Run stoppers

Clemson’s M.O. was to move the ball on the ground. The Tigers entered the game averaging 158.3 rushing yards per game, and they racked up 257 yards in their win over Cal last week.

Miami eliminated that arrow from Clemson’s quiver. The Tigers rushed for 55 yards on 31 carries, averaging just 1.8 yards per carry. Even if you remove negative yardage from sacks, Clemson had 90 rushing yards. Thirty-three of those yards came on the game’s final drive as Clemson was just trying to end the game.

Standout running back Gideon Davidson had just 25 yards on seven carries after rushing for 159 yards last week.

“I feel like their formation really told the story,” defensive end Damon Wilson II said. “So you had to look at the tight end, the running back — split zone, counter. They told you everything. So we just communicated and just trusted our keys.”

Miami’s dominant run defense made Clemson one-dimensional, and the Tigers could not generate enough offense through the air.

Finding non-Toney production

Hurricanes star receiver Malachi Toney had a relatively quiet day. He had five catches for 40 yards — including a crucial fourth-down catch. Toney had a touchdown wiped out by a penalty for the second consecutive game, and Clemson’s standout cornerback Ashton Hampton broke up a couple of passes headed his way.

Without the dynamic playmaker to turn to for automatic offense, the Hurricanes had to find other sources. They did. Cooper Barkate took UM’s first official play from scrimmage (a Clemson penalty started the drive) and went 61 yards to the end zone.

Miami also got strong production from its running backs. Mark Fletcher Jr. scored twice and finished with 77 yards on 16 carries. Freshman Javian Mallory had 14 carries for 63 yards. The pair of running backs combined to run over Clemson for a key nine-play drive that was made up entirely of run plays. Fletcher earned a 75.6 running grade from Pro Football Focus, and Mallory had a 68.1 grade.

Get in the backfield

Miami’s defense made Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds’ life extremely difficult. The Hurricanes had 34 quarterback pressures, according to PFF. That resulted in six sacks and a strip-sack.

“I think we were resilient and relentless,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “I think that our matchups and our continued work at technique and fundamentals in the way we practice showed up. I think Greentree showed up out here tonight.”

Wilson led the way. The former Missouri defensive end led the team with 2.5 sacks and 11 quarterback pressures.

Miami terrorized Reynolds even without the services of defensive end Marquise Lightfoot, who was off to a strong start before leaving the game with an injury. He had two pressures and a sack before leaving the game.

Omar Thornton and Third Scroggins also had sacks, and Ahmad Moten Sr. was credited with half a sack.

Congdon’s first start

Freshman offensive lineman Ben Congdon made his first career start, and he was given a tough task. Clemson has a strong defensive front, and he was put in at left guard.

Congdon performed admirably. He had a solid 71.6 run-blocking grade but a mediocre 54.7 pass-blocking grade from PFF. He was credited with allowing one quarterback pressure.

The 6-foot-8, 330-pound freshman has room to grow, but it was a decent first start.

“Tremendous amount of credit for him,” UM center Ryan Rodriguez said. “He didn’t let the atmosphere become a factor. He was even-keeled. He was poised. He played physical. He played fun. And I’m glad he’s out there making the most of his opportunity.”

Right time for a bye

After five games, the Hurricanes are beat up.

Several key players are out for the season with injuries. Others, like cornerbacks Xavier Lucas and OJ Frederique Jr., have been out for weeks. The Hurricanes had more players get hurt on Saturday. Lightfoot suffered an injury and did not return (Cristobal did not have an update on him after the game). Offensive linemen Matthew McCoy and Max Buchanan both left the game with injuries but returned later. JJ Dunnigan got banged up but returned and notched a late pick-six.

UM has this week off before facing Florida State at home on Oct. 17. The bye week could not come at a better time, as the Hurricanes need to recuperate for the second half of the season.

“It’s certainly welcome due to the fact that we are banged up. We won’t know the severity of some of these things until we get in there and see the docs and figure it all out. So that’s a bittersweet part of it, right?” Cristobal said. “But I know that group in there, they love winning and they love supporting each other, and they find a way. So they’re looking forward to getting back to Miami and getting back to work on our next opponent.”

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