Miami had its first true test on Saturday in a primetime matchup on the road in Death Valley against Clemson, and the Hurricanes passed with flying colors.
The Canes kept their foot on the gas the whole night, silencing the Clemson faithful in a 41-13 smackdown — as traveling Hurricane fans stormed the field in a statement win for the trajectory of the program.
It was all Canes from the start as UM’s first offensive play of the game was a 61-yard tunnel screen to Cooper Barkate who broke away from four defenders on the play.
Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal praised Barkate for being a “complete football player,” as his touchdown marked the Duke transfer’s most explosive play in the orange and green.
Both teams exchanged field goals before Heisman contenders Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney made their mark.
After Toney notched a 15-yard first-down catch and a 19-yard end around, a holding penalty put UM in positive territory. Mensah then went off-script, escaping the pocket down the middle of the field for a 34 yard touchdown.
In just three possessions, Miami put up 17 points solely due to three people: Mensah, Barkate, and Toney — last year’s ACC passing leader and the top two receiving leaders.
While offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson got creative throughout the night, he knew who’s number to call when the moment called for it.
The ability of this trio to put up 14 points in just four plays should scare the entire country.
Mensah and Toney have taken the spotlight so far, but Barkate’s performance gives a whole new layer to Miami’s offense.
Clemson’s gameplan was clear to limit Toney, as defensive back Ashton Hampton did a great job shadowing him, holding the sophomore to just five catches for 40 yards and no touchdowns. However, Barkate took the weight off of Toney to the tune of five catches, 98 yards and a touchdown.
And in the second half, Miami leaned on its run game to slowly wear down the Tiger’s defense.
The Hurricanes outran Clemson 192-55, with the majority of Clemson’s yards coming in garbage time — the Tigers had zero net rushing yards in the first half.
Miami’s Mark Fletcher Jr. tallied 78 yards and two touchdowns, both coming in the second half to push the score 24-6 and 34-13 respectively.
The Hurricanes defense arguably put up its best performance of the season.
Edge rusher Damon Wilson left his mark on Saturday with a whopping 11 pressures and 2.5 sack performance. Wilson, an offseason transfer from Missouri, showed the world why he was such a coveted addition filling in at Akheem Mesidor’s spot as a pass rusher and a leader on the line.
Marquise Lightfoot, Herbert Scroggins, and Omar Thornton also had sacks of their own.
Defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. returned from injury with an elite performance with 3 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and a pivotal forced fumble on Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds late in the third quarter to kill any shred of hope the Tigers had.
Freshman safety JJ Dunnigan also added his first career interception, taken back for a pick-six to put the cherry on top and close the game 41-13.
Dunnigan has emerged as a freshman All-American candidate for the Hurricanes and has filled in for injuries to OJ Frederique and Xavier Lucas.
However, Miami’s secondary — which has been ravaged by injuries — still has room for improvement.
Clemson wide receiver Bryant Wesco dominated with nine catches for 152 yards and a touchdown, while Tyler Brown tallied a game-leading 10 catches for the Tigers. While the chunk plays weren’t capitalized on by Clemson, future opponents for Miami will likely cash in — something the Canes need to focus on during the bye week.
Miami will need better pass protection, more production from Toney and a better performance from the secondary down the road — these critiques are ultimately outshined by the positives in this game.
The production from the transfer/freshman trio of Cooper Barkate, Damon Wilson and JJ Dunnigan should vault UM into the conversation as a real national championship contender.
It was a great day to be a Cane in Death Valley.