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The Clemson Tigers handled the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday by a final score of 40-10. Clemson came out to a 14-0 lead early and never looked back. CU now has a 40 game home win streak at Death Valley.
Before the game, the Canyonero keys to victory were:
1- Block some bodeee- The ‘Canes rushed for 1.3 yards per carry while allowing five sacks, three hurries, and seven tackles for loss. They indeed did not block some bodee, sorry Uncle Roscoe.
2- Get pressure on the Clemson QB- Miami did get pressure on DJ Uiagalelei. The ‘Canes sacked DJU three times and added three more hurries. Of course he scrambled for big gains because Miami has never figured out, no matter who the DC is, to not vacate the entire middle of the field against mobile QB’s.
3- Don’t make stupid mistakes- Miami had two turnovers, out penalized Clemson and negated a first down run with a cheap block behind the play. Add that to so piss poor drops and other issues and you get what is now Miami Football. Oh, and the safety. It’s like Brown and Jake Garcia have no idea where they are on the field. Their OODA Loop doesn’t exist. No internal clock or spatial awareness on either QB.
The Doppler
Miami’s third down woes returned on both sides of the ball. Miami finished 3-of-11 on 3rd down and 0-for-1 on 4th down. Clemson finished 14-of-19 on 3rd down and didn’t attempt a fourth down.
Miami turned the ball over twice, but did take the ball away from the Tigers three times. Of course, Miami had six penalties for 58 yards and Clemson only had two penalties called for just 19 yards.
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Miami did a good job in the kicking game. Andres Borregales made both of his kicks (one field goal, one PAT) and Lou Hedley bombed some punts deep- averaging 50.8 yards per punt and one inside the ten.
Brashard Smith averaged 29 yards per kick return, while Will Shipley was held to 12 yards per kick return. CU kicker BT Potter missed one field goal, a 59 yarder, but Clemson made all five of their PAT’s.
Miami O
Neither Jacurri Brown nor Jake Garcia were ready for the Clemson defense. Then again, neither was OC Josh Gattis. Miami is going to have to do some deep offensive soul searching in the off-season. The duo combined for a touchdown, an interception, a lost fumble, and 3.8 yards per pass attempt.
On the ground, Jaylan Knighton came back to reality. Knighton averaged 1.3 yards per carry versus CU, while Henry Parrish averaged three yards per rush. Brown also came back to reality with only 2.2 yards per carry. and that’s with a 40 yard carry!
After the 40 yard rush Miami was thumped by Jeremiah Trotter Jr three times. Brown inside, Knighton inside, and then on the pitch to Knighton again on 4th down. Miami doesn’t have that linebacker on campus, and hasn’t for decades. But also doesn’t have someone on offense to beat a Trotter Jr., either.
Miami completed nine passes to three receivers. Will Mallory and Colbie Young had four grabs a piece while Kahlil Brantley had one catch for his one yard TD on an ugly throw from Garcia who almost blows the wide open TD with his inaccuracy. The O-Line allowed five sacks, seven TFL’s and three hurries.
Above- How much more “Miami offense” can a play get. There’s not much I can break down for you here- it just is what it is.
Above- The lack of internal clock on these QB’s is unreal. Van Dyke’s went downhill before his injury, Brown doesn’t have one, Garcia’s is one of the worst I’ve seen in years and years. In the progression, the Rhythm route takes 1.8 seconds, read one is ~2.2 and read two (third in progression) is ~2.6..
So why do Brown and Garcia dance around back there for over three seconds and then look shocked they’ve been strip sacked? At what point do you not hit two reads, maybe three, then just run?
Above- This is the Garcia to Brantley TD where Garcia almost blows the throw. He also could’ve just ran this in like he did against UVA, this time more so!
Miami D
The Miami defense had highs and lows and when you lose the Josh Gattis Honorary Time of Possession Battle at the level of 38 minutes to 21 minutes, well, yeah you get kinda tired. That’s not to say the defense didn’t miss some key tackles or allow wide open TD’s, because they did. But considering how little Miami did on offense even through three quarters it came with the territory.
The defense held DJU to only 6.7 yards per attempt, Shipley to only 3.6 yards per carry, and only Jake Briningstool had a true explosive play in the pass game. As bad as “40” looks, the defense didn’t get worked very often, it was small cuts on 3rd down and offensive ineptitude.
Kam Kinchens, Wesley Bissainthe, and Leonard Taylor are guys who clearly can go at a high level, and are three nice building blocks heading into 2023. Kinchens had another big day with 13 tackles, one TFL, and two PBU’s. Bissainthe was one of the few defenders that could run with Shipley, Davis Allen and DJU. Taylor had two TFL’s and two hurries and has shown that five-star burst this season.
Above- DJ Ivey is there and once the ball is thrown the coverage is tight. But why is he in an off man bail technique inside the 10 yard line? He isn’t playing inside leverage, so he gives away the easy throw (glance) and defends the hard throw (sideline red zone fade). That just doesn’t make any sense to me schematically.
Above- The safety we’ve all heard about being a ‘box player’ gets Road Dogg’d into the end zone by DJU. He starts by breaking a tackle, then setting up an easy block, before outrunning a linebacker and a cornerback and powering through a safety.
Above- Why the defender runs with him and then lets him go I have no idea. It’s not even a full field crosser, this is just bailing on your responsibility in coverage. The communication errors on the back end continued on.
Above- Again, the defense had its issues, too, but they did their job more than the offense- clearly. I would mix up the staff a little on defense but not a DC change, yet.
Above- Down 16 with a chance to shut the door late and get back in but Miami gives up a huge pass before a Shipley, who wants it more?, touchdown.
The Wrap
This game went as expected. Miami played a real program and a real defense and got brought back down to earth. I think Mario Cristobal needs to keep Kevin Steele, but replace the defensive backs coach with someone that can move into the DC role in ‘24.
We’ll get deeper into off-season moves and the roster in a couple of weeks. Heading into Pitt Miami’s offense has to be more than Brown running the “QB Eagles” sweep play from Tecmo Super Bowl and incomplete or three yard completions. Something has to give.
I would assume Coach Cristobal would like to skip a bowl game, purge the roster, and get new blood in the off-season program ASAP.
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