The Miami Hurricanes made a statement on Saturday night, withstanding several injuries in their dominant, 41-13 win over Clemson. Up next for Miami is a much-needed bye week, followed by a matchup against in-state rival Florida State on Oct. 17.
Here are five takeaways from the win.
Clemson may not be the national title contender it was a half decade ago, but the Tigers are still talented. Additionally, playing at night in Death Valley is extremely challenging.
This didn’t matter for Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes, who jumped out to an early 10-0 advantage and maintained a comfortable lead throughout the game, even during the moments where injuries were piling up and Clemson seemed to have momentum.
“The resiliency of our team continued to show up, not only in the form of [withstanding injuries], but in the guys that had to step up and just kept going,” head coach Mario Cristobal said to reporters after the game. “It’s a great trademark to have as a team as you enter the middle of the season, and certainly we’ll look at the tape and learn a lot from it. I’m extremely proud of the way that these guys continued to battle and fight when so many guys went down.”
Miami has been afflicted by the injury bug this year, and this unfortunate trend continued against the Tigers.
Offensive linemen Max Buchanan and Matthew McCoy, cornerback Ethan O’Connor and edge rusher Marquise Lightfoot all left the game at some point with an injury. Fortunately, every player except Lightfoot eventually re-entered the game.
Cristobal did not offer an update when asked about Lightfoot’s injury.
“We won’t until Tuesday, Wednesday, something like that,” Cristobal said when asked about Lightfoot’s injury. “We’ll go back and evaluate and see where he’s at.”
Has Cristobal gone through a season like this where his team has dealt with so many injuries?
“Never have,” he said. “We had a very rigorous spring and camp, and we came out relatively clean. And these have been some absolutely brutal blows. No pattern to them because you always want to study what you’re doing in case there’s something – a common thread or pattern.
Miami’s electric passing offense has (deservedly) received a ton of attention and praise this season. Against Clemson, however, the Hurricanes relied on their ground game.
Starter Mark Fletcher Jr. ran for 77 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Freshman Javian Mallory was also very productive, running for 63 yards on 14 attempts. Quarterback Darian Mensah even made plays with his legs, most notably on a 34-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Miami went on a nine-play, 62-yard touchdown drive to secure the win. Every play on this drive was a run.
“As time has gone on, when you assess o-line play, we view it for what it is, and we measure progress, the metrics that we have for that are very tangible and concrete, and our o-line has been getting better and better and better, and it came a point in time where, ‘Let’s put the game on your backs, and let’s see what happens.’ And they did, against a team that’s been playing – I think they didn’t allow a touchdown for 20 drives, prior to our game,” Cristobal said when asked about the rushing performance. “The o-line just kept pounding away, pounding away and then did it there again at the end. Really proud of those guys.”
Even with Lightfoot leaving the game early with an apparent injury, the Hurricanes’ pass rush continued to impact quarterback Tait Reynolds and the Clemson offense.
Reynolds was sacked six times, and Miami registered 34 pressures.
“I think we were resilient and relentless. I think that our matchups and our continued work at technique and fundamentals and the way we practice showed up. I think Greentree showed up out here tonight,” Cristobal said.
Edge rusher Damon Wilson II led the team with 2.5 sacks.
“I feel like we just keep growing every week, like this is a game we actually go against a team that’s actually gonna throw the ball deep down the field, so I feel like that’s where we play best and just keep getting to the quarterback,” Wilson said. “I mean, that’s what we do.”
With all the injuries in the Hurricanes’ secondary, freshman safety JJ Dunnigan has assumed a starting role, and he played his best game yet on Saturday, picking off Reynolds late in the fourth quarter and returning it to the end zone.
First-year left guard Ben Congdon also made his first career start.
“Tremendous amount of credit for him,” starting center Ryan Rodgriguez said about Congdon. “He didn’t let the atmosphere become a factor. He was even-keeled, poised. He played physical, he played fun and I’m glad he’s out there, making the most of his opportunity.
Additionally, Mallory, tight end Gavin Mueller and defensive end DeAnthony Lafayette all contributed to the win.
