Welcome to another edition of What We Are Hearing!
It’s a primetime ACC showdown in Death Valley! After their playoff run to the National Championship Game last season, Miami has claimed ACC superiority despite the fact that they did not even appear in the ACC Championship last season and have not won the league in over 20 years as a member. The Tigers, who dominated the conference for a decade, have been all but forgotten after the humiliating road opener at LSU, despite the fact that they have won 3 straight since and are 2-0 in league play.
The Tigers and Canes are tied 7-7 all-time with 4 overtime games, including the last meeting in 2023. The Canes won a double-overtime thriller in Miami to snap a 4-game blowout losing streak to the Tigers. This will be just the second contest between Dabo and Mario Cristobal as head coaches, but they were on opposite sidelines as players in the 1992 National Championship! Dabo’s Alabama team came out with the win over Cristobal and the Canes in New Orleans.
The Tigers have come back from the precipice of the Baton Rouge disaster to win three in a row with a 2-0 start to ACC play. The Friday night road win at Cal wasn’t pretty offensively, but it was a solid road win nevertheless, and they overcame a disastrous scoop-and-score that gave Cal and its fans early momentum. The defense and special teams have been outstanding for three straight games. Nolan Hauser missed his first field goal of the season last week, from 49 yards, but he also made one and is 10-11 on the season. Bryant Wesco had a huge punt return for a touchdown to break the tie in the second half and give the Tigers momentum. It was their first punt return TD in 8 years! The defense has allowed just 6 points in the last 7 quarters and the last 3 second halves. Penn State transfer Elliot Washington, who was the “takeaway king” in August camp, has 3 interceptions in the last 5 quarters, and two of them sealed the game!
However, the offense has yet to get out of its own way and put together a complete game; turnovers, penalties, inaccurate passing, you name it. With No.4 Miami coming to town, the Tigers must play well in all three phases to have a chance. The Canes have the No.1 offense, No.2 defense and perhaps the No.1 overall draft pick at quarterback. Not to mention a Heisman candidate at receiver! It’s a night game in Death Valley, so the Tigers will have the crowd behind them, but they must execute and play well to give the crowd belief!
Saturday marks 11 years to the day since the “BYOG” win over Notre Dame in the hurricane. It was my first season in the press box, and I was still soaking wet all day from covering GameDay that morning! This could be a sloppy game, too, as there is 60 percent chance of rain. That might actually favor the Tigers, but let’s just hope for no delays for once! I didn’t get home until 9:30 after the noon UNC game, and I got home at 4 am after the last night game against Georgia Southern.
On to the matchup…
MIAMI SYNOPSIS
Obviously, the Canes were a hair away from winning the natty last season, and they have picked up right where they left off. For the past three seasons, they have plucked their starting quarterback from the portal and have hit the bull’s eye on all three! Cam Ward was the No.1 overall draft pick, Carson Beck took them all the way to the National Championship Game and now they have Darian Mensah, who led Duke to an ACC title last season and could be another No.1 draft pick! Through four games, he has put up video game numbers, with 14 touchdown passes and only 12 incompletions! Last season at Duke, he mounted a 94-yard drive in Death Valley to score the game-winning TD with 40 seconds left. Granted, the Tigers got a stop on 4th and 10, but the refs made a terrible PI call on Avieon Terrell, which gave Duke the game, but Mensah obviously won’t be rattled by the environment on Saturday night Incidentally, the ACC has that disgraceful PI call to thank for the debacle of Duke winning the league last season. Miami was left out of the ACC Championship Game because of the ACC tiebreaker rules. So, if Mensah hadn’t led Duke to that 94-yard drive in Death Valley, Miami likely would have won its first-ever ACC Championship. How’s that for irony?! Mensah has completed 94 of his 106 attempts for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns with no interceptions. He has only taken two sacks, but he is not a prolific runner. He has just 9 rushes for 52 yards and one score.
As I mentioned, Mensah has arguably the best receiver in the nation, helping him put up those video game numbers. Sophomore Malachi Toney already has 34 catches for 564 yards and 6 touchdowns! Primarily a slot receiver, he isn’t big, but he is lightning quick, a tremendous route runner and has a high football IQ to go with his relentless competitiveness. Possibly the best one-on-one matchup in the country this week will be Clemson CB Ashton Hampton on Toney. Those are two NFL first-rounders going head to head! Hampton has lived up to the hype and then some over the Tigers’ last three games. Ironically, his only interception so far this season was at the beginning of the LSU game, which gave the Tigers a field goal for their only lead of the game. He had 3 nice PBU’s last week at Cal.
As great as Toney is—and the Tigers will likely double him at times—don’t forget about Cooper Barkate (#18). The senior WR from Newport Beach, CA has 14 catches for 143 yards and 3 touchdowns. Elliot Washington will have to do a good job on an island with him.
As formidable as Miami is in the pass game, the Canes are equally impressive in the run game. As a former Miami offensive lineman, every Mario Cristobal team begins with the offensive line. And they have a great backs behind that stout offensive line. 6’2, 225-pound senior Mark Fletcher, Jr. (#4) is averaging 6.4 yards per carry with 3 touchdowns. 5’11, 210-pound freshman Javian Mallory (#21) averages a whopping 9 yards on his 25 carries and also has 3 scores. Both backs are local products from Ft. Lauderdale, just like the glory days of the Canes.
Defensively, the Canes lost a couple of NFL first-round defensive ends in Bain and Mesidor, but they are still very stingy on that side of the ball.
CLEMSON STATUS
The Tigers are on great shape from an injury standpoint, although Kourtney Kelly will like still be out. Also, Elijah Thurman and Corian Gipson will be a game time decision.
There is 60 percent chance of rain, but that might actually favor the Tigers if it’s a sloppy game. Just hope for no delays!
PREDICTION
CLEMSON 27 Miami 35
MORE CLEMSON FOOTBALL COVEERAGE HERE
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