Desmond Howard Believes Miami Challenges Clemson for ACC Championship
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Photo: Mario Cristobal at 2022 ACC Media Days; Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
It’s year one for the Mario Cristobal era as the leader of the Miami Hurricanes. Expectations are high, but just how high?
According to former Heisman Trophy winner and ESPN college football analyst Desmond Howard, the Canes can challenge perennial ACC and national power Clemson for the conference championship.
To begin, he’s confident in Cristobal and what he has already accomplished in Coral Gables, stating that, “Mario, he got the boosters to open up the checkbook.”
As for the coaching staff itself, Howard is also bullish on Miami as a whole by noting in his conversation Robert Griffin III, “I was at (Miami’s) spring practice, RG3, I mean, they got like (an) All-Star coaching staff.”
Cristobal did bring in a veteran coaching staff and one ripe with NFL and college experience. Jason Taylor, Ed Reed, Kevin Steele, Charlie Strong, and other members of the staff bring valued experience to Miami. As for the team that the Hurricanes would most likely be competing against for an ACC championship, Howard discussed that point as well.
“I believe that the ACC is wide open. You look at Clemson, they didn’t dominate the ACC like they used to last year. Last year they really struggled.
“And don’t forget, they lost their two coordinators, too. You got Tony Elliott that went to be the head coach at Virginia, and obviously Brent Venables went to Oklahoma.”
Below is the full clip of Howard talking about the Hurricanes:
To Howard’s points, here’s a little more about Clemson and what happened with their recent history.
Under the direction of Dabo Swinney, Clemson has been the juggernaut in the ACC from 2015-2020, running roughshod over the vast majority of ACC opponents and winning two National Championships.
This past season, however, Clemson’s offense was pedestrian by their standards. A few statistical facts from Clemson’s 2021 season:
- No Clemson quarterback passed for 300 yards in a single game.
- Starting signal caller DJ Uiagalelei had the Tigers’ highest single-game passing total, and that was only 241 yards against Connecticut, a team that finished 1-11 last season.
- Clemson scored 21 or fewer points six times.
With the Clemson offense struggling, the defense was still really good. With many top-notch defenders returning to the Tigers, this is going to be another top-notch unit once again. A few 2021 Clemson defensive statistics:
- Clemson’s total defense ranked No. 8, allowing 3.05.5 yards per contest.
- Even better, the Tigers allowed 14.8 points per game last year, coming in at No. 2 nationally.
- Future NFL player Myles Murphy is back for his junior season, and the 6-foot-5, 275-pound defensive end is coming off a season in which he produced seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss. He might be the ACC’s best defender.
Can Miami go toe-to-toe with Clemson in Year 1 under Cristobal? Howard certainly believes it’s possible.
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