HIGH STAKES FOR ’CANES VS. CLEMSON
No. 1 Clemson is biggest test for UM
Many college football analysts and fans will try tomake the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes’ task in traveling to face No. 1 Clemson on Saturday night about “proving the U is back.”
That’s not what it’s about — regardless of the outcome.
Miami will truly be “back” whenit consistently competes for national championships again — and wins one, adding to the school’s collection of five. The Hurricanes (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) can’t accomplish that feat when they kick off against the Tigers at Memorial Stadium — also known as “Death Valley” — in another 7:30 p.m. prime-time ABC kickoff for UM.
However, what the ’Canes can prove is that they’re worthy of being on the same stage as Clemson (3-0, 2-0), which haswon five consecutive ACC titles, made four of the last five national championship games and won two of them.
UM didn’t do that the last time everyone rushed to proclaim the Hurricanes as “back.” Remember blowing out then-No. 3 Notre Dame in November of 2017 and reaching No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings the following week? Miami dropped three straight to finish the season, leading into disappointing 2018 and 2019 seasons. One of those losses to wrap up 2017was a 38-3 defeat at the hands of Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, which also happened to be the last time Miami was ranked this high.
UM coach Manny Diaz spoke at length this week about how this top-10 showdown shouldn’t be the peak but, rather, thes tart of a program consistently playing in these types of games, the way Clemson is so accustomed to.
“It’s just the next game,” said redshirt junior center Corey Gaynor. “If we treat it like the Super Bowl or the next game, it’s the same thing. We’re all focused on this football team, and we’re
just ready to go play football on Saturday.”
The Hurricanes have a chance to rebound from the miserable recent history against the Tigers — being outscored by a combined 96-3 in the last two meetings (They lost 58-0 in Al Golden’s last game as coach in 2015). They also can get their first win against a No. 1 team since 2000 (Florida State).
But Miami will have to contain star junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence and standout senior running back Travis Etienne. Lawrence, the projected top pick in the 2021 NFL draft, has thrown seven touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 73.3 percent of passes for 848 yards through three games.
“We have to be able to contest a lot of his throws,” said defensive coordinator Blake Baker. “Even when you think you have a guy covered, he is so accurate that he is going to put the ball in there. He has such great arm strength, such great accuracy, he’s really able to throw it in there. Just like an NFL quarterback, [throwing] into really tight windows.
“The other thing about Trevor Lawrence is his legs. He’s a problem. He’s 6-6. He’s 220.… He’s great, inmy opinion, when a play breaks down, extending that play and either throwing on the run or scrambling for yards. Once he gets into the open field, he’s a load to bring down.”
Thanks to Houston grad transfer D’Eriq King, Miami has a quarterback of its own that create havoc for opposing defenses.
“It’s so valuable,” Diaz said. “A guy who has been in some big stadiums and has played against some big opposition. If you just know D’Eriq, just his temperament. He’s got a cool, calm demeanor about him, a quiet confidence about him that gives everybody on the team confidence that, every week, we’ve got a chance to win if we protect him and do our job around him well.”
Also working to the potential advantage of the Hurricanes offense — with limited seating capacity at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic — it won’t be nearly as intimidating of a “Death Valley” atmosphere as it normally would be for a night game and top-10 showdown.
“I would think 20,000 plus crowd noise, it’ll [still] be loud and there will be good energy in the stadium, just for this kind of game,” said offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, whose uptempo, spread style has revitalized Miami’s offense. “We just got to calm down and play. We had some issues at Louisville, but I don’t think crowd noise had anything todo with it. At the end of the day, the way we run our systemand what we do lends itself to crowd noise shouldn’t be a problem.
“Once you get into the game and you’re in the arena, you don’t really hear all that stuff that much. If you’re coaching or playing and you’re actually in the game, you kind of develop that tunnel vision.”
Etienne has run for 243 yards and two touchdowns on 39 attempts this season and also has a receiving score. That follows a 2019 campaign where he totaled more than 2,000 yards rushing and receiving combined and 23 total touchdowns.
“Just finishing the tackle,” said redshirt senior linebacker Zach McCloud on stopping Etienne. “He’s a special talent, as everybody knows. Got to give credit where it’s due. We all have to, as a defense, just do what we do, and that’s run and hit, fly to the ball and get him on the ground as simply aswe can.”
Intercepting Lawrence, something that hasn’t been done in his last 314 pass attempts, to bring out the Turnover Chain could provide a big boost should it happen for a Miami defense that has had six takeaways the last two games.
Along with Lawrence and Etienne, cornerback Derion Kendrick and offensive tackle Jackson Carman are among other Clemson NFL prospects to look out for.
“Just like how they have their good players, we have our good players,” said senior safety Amari Carter. “It is a big game because everyone is saying it’s a big game, but there’s downs that have to be played. …. We also feel like we have the right to be here, and that’s on us to prove that.”
Whatever happens Saturday night, the possibility remains, depending on the rest of the regular season, that the two teams could meet again in the ACC Championship Game with a College Football Playoff spot on the line.