No. 4 Hurricanes roll to blowout road victory vs. Clemson

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CLEMSON, S.C. — The Hurricanes felt no pressure from a hostile Clemson crowd.

In front of a packed stadium that was rocking during pregame ceremonies, No. 4 Miami forced a three-and-out on its first defensive drive and took a quick lead on its second offensive play. Clemson never cut its deficit to less than a touchdown as the Hurricanes (5-0, 3-0 ACC) rolled to a 41-13 victory over the Tigers at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, on Saturday night. It was their largest margin of victory against Clemson since 1953.

Wide receiver Cooper Barkate was the first Miami player to find the end zone. He caught a screen pass from quarterback Darian Mensah and took it 61 yards for the game’s first touchdown.

Miami and Clemson exchanged field goals late in the first quarter before Mensah gave UM a two-score lead early in the second quarter. The star quarterback scrambled from the pocket and sprinted toward the end zone. He fumbled as he approached the goal line, but he fell on his own fumble for a 34-yard touchdown.

The Hurricanes’ defense frequently found its way into the Tigers’ backfield, racking up five sacks in the first half and holding Clemson to zero net rushing yards (26 with sacks removed).

Clemson did a good job of slowing down the Hurricanes’ offense in the second and third quarters, as UM punted or turned the ball over on downs on three straight drives. But Miami’s defense buckled down, picking up a huge stop on a fourth and 1 in Hurricanes territory. The Tigers called a trick play where quarterback Tate Reynolds feinted looking to the sideline for a playcall and the center snapped the ball to running back Gideon Davidson. Linebacker Chase Smith sniffed out the run and got the fourth-down stop.

The Hurricanes moved the ball methodically on the following drive, taking 7:56 off the clock on a 14-play, 83-yard drive that concluded with a 2-yard touchdown run by Mark Fletcher Jr.

Miami defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. forced a fumble from Reynolds on Clemson’s first play of the next drive. The Hurricanes took a 27-6 lead on Jake Weinberg’s second field goal of the game.

Tigers receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. helped cut into UM’s lead by taking a Reynolds pass 55 yards to the Miami 2-yard line. Clemson scored two plays later on a 2-yard run by Davidson.

But the Hurricanes put the game away with a nine-play scoring drive, capped by a 1-yard Fletcher score, that was composed of all running plays. It took 5:55 off the clock, and the Tigers could not conjure up any more offense. Freshman JJ Dunnigan picked off a Reynolds fourth-down attempt — his first career interception — and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.

Five takeaways

1. Handled the big stage

Miami-Clemson was a premier Saturday night matchup, with the game being broadcast on ABC and the lead ESPN team of Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler in the broadcasting booth. The bright lights did not dim the Hurricanes.

Miami scored early, and the defense dominated the Tigers. It was one of the first big tests UM has faced this year, and the Hurricanes handled it well. There will be bigger games to come.

2. Defensive pressure

Miami was constantly disrupting plays in the Clemson backfield. The Hurricanes sacked the freshman quarterback SIX times and put him under immense pressure.

Damon Wilson II led the team with 2.5 sacks, and Marquise Lightfoot, Omar Thornton, Third Scroggins had one each. Moten had half a sack.

Reynolds set a career high with 295 passing yards, but that was because the Hurricanes forced the Tigers to largely abandon the ground attack.

3. Injuries pile up

Miami has been snakebitten with injuries through its first five games, and more players were banged up this week.

Starting offensive linemen Matt McCoy and Max Buchanan both left the game with injuries in the second quarter and returned to the game. Starting defensive end Marquise Lightfoot also left the game and did not return.

4. Stop the run game

Clemson has largely relied on its running game for offense this year, averaging 158.25 yards per game. The Hurricanes silenced it.

The Tigers ended the game with 55 rushing yards on 32 attempts.

5. Ground and pound

While the Tigers’ rushing attack struggled, the Hurricanes turned to the running backs to ice the game. Miami held a 27-13 lead in the fourth quarter, which would have been enough to win the game. But to put the win on ice, Miami’s coaches turned to the running backs.

Fletcher and freshman Javian Mallory took the ball on each of UM’s nine-play drive that gave Miami a commanding 34-13 lead. They accrued 62 yards between them to seal the game.

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