Well, that was worth staying up for.
This Across the Pond Daily is being written with a cup of Tea after about four hours’ sleep.
Worth it.
No. 4 Miami went into Death Valley with first place in the ACC on the line and came away with a 41-13 win over Clemson.
The Hurricanes are now 5-0 overall, 3-0 in conference play and sitting alone at the top of the ACC.
Miami make the statement we were waiting for
Miami did not just go into Clemson and win.
They battered them.
Darian Mensah needed only two offensive plays to make an impact, finding Cooper Barkate on a quick screen that turned into a 66-yard touchdown and immediately took some of the energy out of Memorial Stadium.
Miami led 17-6 at half-time and, importantly, did exactly what Mario Cristobal had spent the week talking about.
They finished the game.
There was no repeat of the Wake Forest second-half drop-off.
Mark Fletcher Jr. scored twice after the break on his return, Mensah added a 34-yard rushing touchdown and freshman J.J. Dunnigan put the finishing touch on the night with a pick-six.
Miami walked into Clemson as roughly 17.5-point favourites.
Somehow, that line was not big enough.
Miami’s balance makes them difficult to stop
This was another composed performance from Mensah.
He completed 18 of 27 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown, then added that 34-yard rushing score.
There were louder statistical performances elsewhere in college football yesterday.
There probably were not many more controlled ones in a difficult road environment.
Barkate was excellent, finishing with five catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
And Fletcher’s return could hardly have gone better.
After sitting out against Central Michigan, he carried 16 times for 77 yards and scored twice.
Miami finished with 192 rushing yards, with Javian Mallory adding another 63.
That balance is becoming one of the most encouraging parts of this offence.
Try to slow Mensah down and Miami can run. Load up against the run and he has Barkate, Malachi Toney and others waiting.
There is no obvious answer at the moment.
Miami’s defence completely shuts down Clemson’s run game
The final score will grab the headlines.
The defensive performance deserves just as much attention.
Clemson managed only 55 rushing yards on 31 attempts.
That is 1.8 yards per carry.
Miami also recorded six sacks, nine tackles for loss and forced two turnovers.
Damon Wilson II was a nightmare for Clemson, finishing with 2.5 sacks.
Tait Reynolds threw for 295 yards, but Clemson never consistently turned those yards into points.
The Tigers scored one touchdown all night.
When they tried to establish the running game Miami had spent all week talking about, they went nowhere.
Through five games, Miami have now allowed only 49 points.
The one concern heading into the bye week
The only real cloud hanging over the night is the injury picture.
Miami had several players leave the game, including starting right tackle Matthew McCoy.
There has not yet been an official post-game diagnosis on McCoy, so there is no point guessing about severity.
That will be one of the biggest stories to follow over the next few days.
The timing of the bye week could hardly be better.
Miami have dealt with injuries throughout September and now get a chance to recover bodies before the next part of the schedule.
A full Miami at Clemson match report will be on Canes Across the Pond tonight, once I’ve had the chance to rewatch the game properly.
The Last Word from Across the Pond
Miami were supposed to win last night, but there is a massive difference between being a 17-point favourite and walking into Death Valley and proving it.
The Hurricanes did exactly that.
Mensah looked composed, Fletcher returned with two touchdowns, Barkate produced the explosive play that set the tone and the defence completely shut down Clemson’s running game.
Miami are 5-0, 3-0 in the ACC and alone at the top of the conference.
There are injury concerns to monitor and plenty still to improve, but this was the strongest statement of the season so far.
Miami went into Clemson with everyone watching and won 41-13.
You cannot ask for much more than that.
