Courtesy of Miami Athletics:
Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of note, and quotes from Miami’s 41-13 win over Clemson on Saturday night at Clemson Memorial Stadium.
With the win, the Hurricanes improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play. They stand atop the ACC standings and held steady at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 rankings. Clemson, meanwhile, fell to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
The Recap
Already twice this season Miami has had to travel to play key ACC games.
But heading into their primetime Saturday night showdown at Clemson, the Hurricanes knew a different kind of challenge awaited them at Clemson Memorial Stadium.
Death Valley, as its more commonly known, is widely regarded as one of the loudest venues in the ACC, particularly when packed with more than 80,00 fans for a night game.
Miami hadn’t won there since 2010, with its last two visits in 2020 and 2022 ending in disappointment with Clemson outscoring the Hurricanes 82-27 in those two games.
That stretch of frustration finally came to an end Saturday – in dominating fashion.
The Hurricanes scored on their first offensive play when quarterback Darian Mensah connected with wide receiver Cooper Barkate on a 61-yard touchdown pass that staked Miami a quick 7-0 lead after the extra point just minutes into the game.
Miami never looked back after that.
Mensah went on to finish the game completing 18 of 27 passes and throwing for 227 yards. In the second quarter, he’d score on a 34-yard touchdown run of his own to give the Hurricanes a 17-3 lead.
Barkate, meanwhile, finished with five catches for a team-high 98 yards.
Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who missed last week’s win over Central Michigan while nursing an injury, returned to action on Saturday and scored a pair of touchdowns, including one on a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter that capped a run-heavy 9-play, 62-yard drive that pushed Miami’s lead to 34-13 and virtually put the game out of Clemson’s reach.
The Hurricanes capped the game’s scoring in the final minutes when freshman JJ Dunnigan intercepted Tigers quarterback Tait Reynolds and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.
It was the first interception of Dunnigan’s Miami career.
“I’ll say first and foremost that we went 1-0,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobalsaid. “Second of all, we were able to overcome a lot of injuries and play to a high standard. And knowing those guys in [that locker room], it’s awesome. A lot of them are talking about the plays that we could have performed a little bit better on, so it’s a great feeling to know there’s excitement, there’s enthusiasm, but there’s a hunger to get better.”
Numbers to Know
31 – Career rushing touchdowns for Mark Fletcher Jr. after his two-touchdown performance against Clemson. That ties him for third in program history with Willis McGahee. Fletcher needs one more touchdown to move into a second-place tie with Edgerrin James in the Miami record book and five to take the top spot currently held by Stephen McGuire with 35.
55 – Rushing yards allowed by Miami’s defense against Clemson. It marks the fifth time this season the Hurricanes have held an opponent under 100 rushing yards and the fourth time they’ve held an opponent under 60 rushing yards. Miami’s run defense currently ranks No. 1 among FBS programs, with opponents averaging a meager 42.6 rushing yards per game.
6 – Sacks by the Miami defense against Clemson. That was a season high for the Hurricanes. Damon Wilson II led the defense with 2.5 sacks, while Omar Thornton, Marquise Lightfoot, and Herbert Scroggins III each had a sack. Ahmad Moten was credited for combining on a sack with Wilson.
50 – Yards on Jake Weinberg’s first-quarter field goal. That was both a career and season-long kick for the redshirt sophomore from Boynton Beach. Weinberg had another kick, this one from 24 yards out, in the win. He has made five of the six field goals he has attempted this season and is 46 of 46 on extra-point attempts.
192 – Rushing yards for the Hurricanes in Saturday’s win. Fletcher led the way with 16 carries for 77 yards and Javian Mallory added 63 yards and 14 carries.
Quotable
“[Head coach Mario Cristobal] really instilled a level of discipline, just wanting to get better since that year. We’ve just constantly tried to improve and he’s always bringing in guys like Damon [Wilson II] who just want to get better. All week, Damon was telling me he wants to have his best game, and he says that every week. He’s my locker neighbor, so I love talking to him every day and bringing in guys like Damon, things like that, that’s why we’ve made such improvements.”
– Offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez, on how Miami’s program has grown and improved in the four years since its last visit to Clemson in 2022
“You can’t change your game plan if you have guys go down, that’s what [offensive coordinator Shannon] Dawson told me. We weren’t going to change the game plan, and those guys stepped up. They stepped up big time for us. So, they held their own and when those guys were able to come back, we closed out the game.”
– Quarterback Darian Mensah, on how Miami’s offensive line performed against Clemson despite dealing with some in-game injuries
“They had some dogs on that o-line and things like that. Our main focus was just going out there and doing what [defensive coordinator Corey] Hetherman and our position coaches had planned for us and just playing our best ball.”
– Defensive lineman Herbert Scroggins III on Miami’s defensive showing against Clemson
“We wanted to come in out of halftime and just strain and finish. That’s what Coach Cristobal always says and what our offense really strives on. And **** of catch from Mali [Toney] on that fourth down catch and then his catch up the middle. That just shows how talented he is.”
– Wide receiver Cooper Barkate on Miami’s 14-play, 83-yard third-quarter drive that took 7:38 off the clock and ended with Fletcher's first touchdown, a score that gave the Hurricanes a 24-6 lead
“The resiliency of our team continued to show up, not only in the form of that, but in the guys that had to step up and just kept going. It’s a great trademark to have as a team as you enter the middle of the season. Certainly, we’ll look at the tape and learn a lot from it, but I’m extremely proud of the way these guys just continued to battle and fight when so many guys went down. There were several true freshmen in the game at several points.”
– Head coach Mario Cristobal, on how Miami was able to not only stay competitive, but hang on for the win despite having several injuries against Clemson
Up Next
The Hurricanes have a much-needed off week and will use the next few days to rest and recover after a five-game stretch that featured three conference road games.
Miami is set to return to action Oct. 17 when it hosts rival Florida State at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Seminoles are currently 3-2 on the season and have won two straight, including a 38-7 victory over Virginia on Saturday.
In that win, quarterback Ashton Daniels had a school record-breaking performance, rushing for five touchdowns. He finished with 17 carries for 132 yards and completed 12 of 19 passes for 183 yards, while running back Ousmane Kromah had 17 carries for 80 yards.
Florida State is set to face Louisville (2-3) this week.
The Hurricanes and Seminoles have met 70 times in their stories history and Miami currently holds a 37-33 lead in the all-time series. The Hurricanes have won two straight against Florida State, including a 28-22 win over the Seminoles last season in Tallahassee.
Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of note, and quotes from Miami’s 41-13 win over Clemson on Saturday night at Clemson Memorial Stadium.
With the win, the Hurricanes improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play. They stand atop the ACC standings and held steady at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 rankings. Clemson, meanwhile, fell to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
The Recap
Already twice this season Miami has had to travel to play key ACC games.
But heading into their primetime Saturday night showdown at Clemson, the Hurricanes knew a different kind of challenge awaited them at Clemson Memorial Stadium.
Death Valley, as its more commonly known, is widely regarded as one of the loudest venues in the ACC, particularly when packed with more than 80,00 fans for a night game.
Miami hadn’t won there since 2010, with its last two visits in 2020 and 2022 ending in disappointment with Clemson outscoring the Hurricanes 82-27 in those two games.
That stretch of frustration finally came to an end Saturday – in dominating fashion.
The Hurricanes scored on their first offensive play when quarterback Darian Mensah connected with wide receiver Cooper Barkate on a 61-yard touchdown pass that staked Miami a quick 7-0 lead after the extra point just minutes into the game.
Miami never looked back after that.
Mensah went on to finish the game completing 18 of 27 passes and throwing for 227 yards. In the second quarter, he’d score on a 34-yard touchdown run of his own to give the Hurricanes a 17-3 lead.
Barkate, meanwhile, finished with five catches for a team-high 98 yards.
Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who missed last week’s win over Central Michigan while nursing an injury, returned to action on Saturday and scored a pair of touchdowns, including one on a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter that capped a run-heavy 9-play, 62-yard drive that pushed Miami’s lead to 34-13 and virtually put the game out of Clemson’s reach.
The Hurricanes capped the game’s scoring in the final minutes when freshman JJ Dunnigan intercepted Tigers quarterback Tait Reynolds and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.
It was the first interception of Dunnigan’s Miami career.
“I’ll say first and foremost that we went 1-0,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobalsaid. “Second of all, we were able to overcome a lot of injuries and play to a high standard. And knowing those guys in [that locker room], it’s awesome. A lot of them are talking about the plays that we could have performed a little bit better on, so it’s a great feeling to know there’s excitement, there’s enthusiasm, but there’s a hunger to get better.”
Numbers to Know
31 – Career rushing touchdowns for Mark Fletcher Jr. after his two-touchdown performance against Clemson. That ties him for third in program history with Willis McGahee. Fletcher needs one more touchdown to move into a second-place tie with Edgerrin James in the Miami record book and five to take the top spot currently held by Stephen McGuire with 35.
55 – Rushing yards allowed by Miami’s defense against Clemson. It marks the fifth time this season the Hurricanes have held an opponent under 100 rushing yards and the fourth time they’ve held an opponent under 60 rushing yards. Miami’s run defense currently ranks No. 1 among FBS programs, with opponents averaging a meager 42.6 rushing yards per game.
6 – Sacks by the Miami defense against Clemson. That was a season high for the Hurricanes. Damon Wilson II led the defense with 2.5 sacks, while Omar Thornton, Marquise Lightfoot, and Herbert Scroggins III each had a sack. Ahmad Moten was credited for combining on a sack with Wilson.
50 – Yards on Jake Weinberg’s first-quarter field goal. That was both a career and season-long kick for the redshirt sophomore from Boynton Beach. Weinberg had another kick, this one from 24 yards out, in the win. He has made five of the six field goals he has attempted this season and is 46 of 46 on extra-point attempts.
192 – Rushing yards for the Hurricanes in Saturday’s win. Fletcher led the way with 16 carries for 77 yards and Javian Mallory added 63 yards and 14 carries.
Quotable
“[Head coach Mario Cristobal] really instilled a level of discipline, just wanting to get better since that year. We’ve just constantly tried to improve and he’s always bringing in guys like Damon [Wilson II] who just want to get better. All week, Damon was telling me he wants to have his best game, and he says that every week. He’s my locker neighbor, so I love talking to him every day and bringing in guys like Damon, things like that, that’s why we’ve made such improvements.”
– Offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez, on how Miami’s program has grown and improved in the four years since its last visit to Clemson in 2022
“You can’t change your game plan if you have guys go down, that’s what [offensive coordinator Shannon] Dawson told me. We weren’t going to change the game plan, and those guys stepped up. They stepped up big time for us. So, they held their own and when those guys were able to come back, we closed out the game.”
– Quarterback Darian Mensah, on how Miami’s offensive line performed against Clemson despite dealing with some in-game injuries
“They had some dogs on that o-line and things like that. Our main focus was just going out there and doing what [defensive coordinator Corey] Hetherman and our position coaches had planned for us and just playing our best ball.”
– Defensive lineman Herbert Scroggins III on Miami’s defensive showing against Clemson
“We wanted to come in out of halftime and just strain and finish. That’s what Coach Cristobal always says and what our offense really strives on. And **** of catch from Mali [Toney] on that fourth down catch and then his catch up the middle. That just shows how talented he is.”
– Wide receiver Cooper Barkate on Miami’s 14-play, 83-yard third-quarter drive that took 7:38 off the clock and ended with Fletcher's first touchdown, a score that gave the Hurricanes a 24-6 lead
“The resiliency of our team continued to show up, not only in the form of that, but in the guys that had to step up and just kept going. It’s a great trademark to have as a team as you enter the middle of the season. Certainly, we’ll look at the tape and learn a lot from it, but I’m extremely proud of the way these guys just continued to battle and fight when so many guys went down. There were several true freshmen in the game at several points.”
– Head coach Mario Cristobal, on how Miami was able to not only stay competitive, but hang on for the win despite having several injuries against Clemson
Up Next
The Hurricanes have a much-needed off week and will use the next few days to rest and recover after a five-game stretch that featured three conference road games.
Miami is set to return to action Oct. 17 when it hosts rival Florida State at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Seminoles are currently 3-2 on the season and have won two straight, including a 38-7 victory over Virginia on Saturday.
In that win, quarterback Ashton Daniels had a school record-breaking performance, rushing for five touchdowns. He finished with 17 carries for 132 yards and completed 12 of 19 passes for 183 yards, while running back Ousmane Kromah had 17 carries for 80 yards.
Florida State is set to face Louisville (2-3) this week.
The Hurricanes and Seminoles have met 70 times in their stories history and Miami currently holds a 37-33 lead in the all-time series. The Hurricanes have won two straight against Florida State, including a 28-22 win over the Seminoles last season in Tallahassee.
