Clemson Dominates First Half in Rout of Hurricanes
CLEMSON, S.C. — No. 9 Clemson's dominance of the Miami Hurricanes continued on Saturday.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw two touchdowns and ran for another as the ninth-ranked Tigers beat Miami 40-10 at Memorial Stadium.
Clemson (10-1, 8-0 ACC) did most of its damage in the first half, as Uiagalelei threw touchdown passes to tight ends Davis Allen and Luke Price and then ran eight yards for another touchdown.
B.T. Potter added a 32-yard field goal on the last play of the second quarter to give Clemson a 24-0 lead at halftime.
Uiagalelei finished the afternoon 22-of-34 for 227 yards. He also ran for career-high 89 yards.
The win was the Tigers' 40th consecutive victory at Memorial Stadium, the longest home winning streak since Nebraska won 40 straight from 1991-'98.
Clemson also clinched its 10th victory of the year, giving the program its 12th consecutive 10-win season, the third-best mark in FBS history.
The Tigers held Miami (5-6, 3-4 ACC) to 98 yards, including just eight yards in the first 30 minutes. The Hurricanes ran for just 30 yards on 23 carries.
The Hurricanes' quarterbacks combined to throw for 68 yards on 9-of-18 passing.
The Clemson offense, which had 228 yards in the first half and scored on four of its six possessions, could not keep its momentum going in the second half. The Tigers turned the football over three times, including a strip sack by Miami's Akheem Mesidor, which Jordan Miller returned 26 yards to the Clemson 10.
Miami cashed in three plays later when Jake Garcia threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kahlil Brantley with 13:45 to play in the game, cutting the Clemson lead to 26-10 at the time.
Clemson opened the second half with a missed field goal, an interception, and back-to-back lost fumbles before punting on its fifth possession.
The Tigers' defense continued to play well in the second half and even scored two points. Toriano Pride sacked backup quarterback Jacurri Brown for a safety with 1:34 to play in the third quarter for a 26-3 lead.
Clemson took a 7-0 lead with 9:26 to go in the first quarter when Uiagalelei threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Allen to cap Clemson's opening drive.
The Tigers have now scored six touchdowns on their opening drive this season.
It was also Allen's fourth touchdown catch of the season, which makes Allen (4) and Jake Briningstool (4) the first tight end duo in Clemson history to each record four touchdown catches in a single season.
The touchdown pass to Allen capped a 12-play, 75-yard march that took 5:34 off the clock.
After Miami did nothing with its first possession, Clemson extended its lead to 14-0 on its second possession, when Uiagalelei rumbled in from 8 yards out to cap another impressive drive to open the game.
The touchdown came with 4:05 to play in the first quarter and completed a 9-play, 57-yard drive that took 3:54 off the clock.
Clemson had 131 total yards in the first quarter and held the Hurricanes to minus 14.
The defense helped the offense out in the second quarter when R.J. Mickens tipped Brown's pass into the air and Jalyn Phillips picked it off, setting the offense up at the Miami 27.
The Tigers cashed in on the turnover six plays later. Offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter dug into his bag of tricks on first-and-goal from the three, as Mafah lined up as the fullback and Shipley the tailback in a classic I-formation look. However, Uiagalelei play-actioned off the run and threw back across his body to a wide-open Luke Price in the end zone for a 21-0 lead with 10:22 to play in the second quarter.
Player of the Game: Uiagalelei threw two touchdowns and ran for another. He completed 22-of-34 passes for 227 yards. He also ran for a career-best 89 yards.
Key Play: After giving Miami some life to start the fourth quarter, Uiagalelei found tight end Jake Briningstool wide open coming across the middle of the field. The 6-foot-6 sophomore rumbled to the Miami 3-yard line. Will Shipley scored on the next play to officially put the game away at 33-10 with 4:40 remaining.
Freshman Impact: Cornerback Toriano Pride recorded a safety with 1:34 to play in the third quarter after he sacked Miami quarterback Jacurri Brown in the end zone. That made the score 26-3 at the time.
Stat of the Game: Miami had 8 total yards in the first half.
Injury update: Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee did not play on Saturday for an undisclosed reason. It's the fourth game he missed this season. The Tigers were also without safety Tyler Venables (hamstring) and wide receiver Beaux Collins (shoulder). Walker Parks played at right guard, but left guard Marcus Tate was injured on Clemson's opening drive. He did not return to the game and was seen on the sideline in street clothes and wearing a brace on his right leg in the second half. Linebacker Trenton Simpson did play, and he played at the SAM position. He recorded a fourth-quarter sack and fumble, the Tigers' fifth of the afternoon. Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (shoulder) did not play.
Up Next: Clemson will host rival South Carolina (6-4) in the regular season finale next Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick off at noon and will be televised nationally by ABC.
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