Clemson defense clamps down on Miami as Tigers win Top 10 ACC showdown
No. 7 Miami entered Saturday’s top 10 showdown at No. 1 Clemson with a Heisman hopeful at quarterback and a newfound belief that its offense was among the nation’s elite under first-year offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
Then the new-look Hurricanes were greeted by the same old dominant Brent Venables defense that has controlled the ACC for the past five years.
The Tigers, playing the 2020 season with eight new starters, kept Miami’s offense out of the end zone until the final nine minutes of Saturday’s 42-17 beatdown at Memorial Stadium.
Clemson harassed Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King all night long, with Baylon Spector sacking King for a loss of 5 yards on Miami’s first offensive play of the game to set the tone for the night.
“I thought our guys just played with great discipline and passion,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “Our preparation, the way they practiced, the way they watched film, invested extra time on their own really showed tonight and paid huge dividends.”
King, who entered the contest with the fourth-best Heisman odds, exited after completing only 12 of 28 passes for 121 yards, with no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. King did rush for 84 yards and a touchdown, but 56 of those came on one play. As a team, Miami managed 33 yards on its other 24 rushing attempts on the night.
The dominant defense held Miami to 210 total yards and was backed up by a Clemson offense that put up 550 yards of its own. The Tigers also forced three turnovers, while committing only one.
“Really, really proud of our coaches and players. We’ve got a lot of young guys out there playing,” Venables said. “I think our guys just really complimented each other up front and in the back end really well tonight.”
Star quarterback Trevor Lawrence tossed three touchdown passes and rushed for another as he continues to make his case for the Heisman trophy.
All three of Lawrence’s touchdown passes went to tight ends, with Braden Galloway catching two and Davis Allen adding one.
Travis Etienne should enter the Heisman conversation as well after rushing for 149 yards and a pair of scores. He set the FBS record for games with a touchdown in the process as he now has 39. Florida’s Tim Tebow and Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Dixon previously held the record at 38. Etienne also caught eight passes for 83 yards, leading Clemson.
The only weakness for the Tigers on Saturday was the kicking game as B.T. Potter had three field goals blocked, including one that was returned for a touchdown on the last play of the first half. The 61-yard attempt that was blocked by Jared Harrison-Hunte and returned 48 yards for a touchdown by DJ Ivey marked the only touchdown for Miami until King scored on a run on fourth-and-goal from the 7 with 8:31 left in the game.
“I’ve seen it in practice every day, but that’s a terrible decision by me. Ain’t nobody’s fault but mine,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of the blocked kick that was returned for a touchdown. “I’m just disappointed in myself... That’s about as bad a coaching decision as I’ve made.”
Next Clemson football game
Who: Clemson at Georgia Tech
Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium
When: Noon, Saturday, Oct. 17
TV: ABC
How they scored, stats: Clemson vs UM
First Quarter
CLE—Galloway 24 pass from Lawrence (B.Potter kick), 9:50.
Second Quarter
CLE—Etienne 2 run (B.Potter kick), 14:54.
MIA—FG Borregales 42, 3:53.
CLE—Galloway 11 pass from Lawrence (B.Potter kick), 1:14.
MIA- (Borregales kick).
Third Quarter
CLE—Etienne 72 run (B.Potter kick), 7:56.
CLE—Lawrence 3 run (B.Potter kick), 2:31.
Fourth Quarter
MIA—King 7 run (Borregales kick), 8:31.
CLE—D.Allen 22 pass from Lawrence (B.Potter kick), 4:32.
Attendance: 18,885.
TEAM STATS
- First downs: Clemson 34-9
- Rush yards: Clemson 258-89
- Pass yards: Clemson 292-121
- Time of possession: Clemson 38:23 to 21:37
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- RUSHING—Miami, King 14-84, Chaney 1-8, Harris 8-3, Knighton 1-0, Perry 1-(minus 6). Clemson, Etienne 17-149, Lawrence 8-34, Uiagalelei 2-17, Dukes 3-16, Mellusi 2-13, Dixon 5-12, Pace 2-9, Rencher 3-5, Phommachanh 2-3.
- PASSING—Miami, King 12-28-2-121, Perry 0-1-1-0. Clemson, Uiagalelei 0-1-0-0, Lawrence 29-41-0-292, Phommachanh 0-1-0-0, (Team) 0-1-0-0.
- RECEIVING—Miami, Jordan 3-31, Harley 3-17, Key.Smith 1-42, Wiggins 1-24, Harris 1-6, Mallory 1-5, Knighton 1-(minus 1), Chaney 1-(minus 3). Clemson, Etienne 8-73, Rodgers 7-62, Galloway 4-74, Ladson 3-43, Br.Spector 3-10, Powell 2-12, D.Allen 1-22, E.Williams 1-(minus 4).
- MISSED FIELD GOALS—Clemson, B.Potter 37, B.Potter 61.
Clemson football 2020 schedule, game scores
Sept. 12: Clemson 37, Wake Forest 13
Sept. 19: Clemson 49, The Citadel 0
Oct. 3: Clemson 41, Virginia 23
Oct. 10: Clemson 42, Miami 17
Oct. 17: at Georgia Tech, noon, ABC or the ACC Network (TBD)
Oct. 24: vs. Syracuse
Oct. 31: vs. Boston College
Nov. 7: at Notre Dame
Nov. 14: Open
Nov. 21: at Florida State
Nov. 28: vs. Pitt
Dec. 5: at Virginia Tech
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 11:18 PM.
