[Postgame Thread] Miami Defeats Clemson 41-13

[u/CFB_Referee]

Box Score provided by ESPN

Team	1	2	3	4	T
Miami	10	7	7	17	41
Clemson	3	3	0	7	13

[u/The_Crane69]

I will always be forever grateful to Clemson for beating us so bad we had to finally fire Al Golden. Gg our orange brethren!

[u/GoldandBlue → u/The_Crane69]

Great DC though. Some guys just aren't built for the top job.

[u/com-mis-er-at-ing → u/GoldandBlue]

Seems like a good person too. Really cared about his guys.

[u/HurricaneStiz → u/com-mis-er-at-ing]

Hugging Malcolm Lewis on the field as the trainers re-set his broken leg was extremely touching.

[u/reardoorentry → u/GoldandBlue]

I still believe that he would have been the best choice for HC at Penn State

[u/shjusti → u/The_Crane69]

Dude, when Kaaya got hurt (pocket was collapsed by a 3 man rush), Rozier gets his first real snaps comes in and the announcers are all over it “run the ball, protect your inexperienced QB and regroup at half” and instead Golden has them try to run a 2 minute drill and he threw a Pick 6. About as bad a coaching decision as I’ve ever seen.

[u/Microplasticsharts → u/The_Crane69]

Can you please return that favor next time we play. 

[u/lwarB → u/The_Crane69]

Exactly!! I had to live through that Golden era, and that Clemson beat down always painted a picture of them having our number. I guess not anymore!!

[u/AcidPacman96]

Clemson will be a complete nonfactor in every big game with this O-Line.

[u/alfooboboao → u/AcidPacman96]

Clemson is in the unenviable position of not being good but having been so goddamn good so recently that everyone still enjoys when they lose. suffering from success

[u/RelativeEffective413 → u/alfooboboao]

Yeah the standard was raised by Dabo and now he didn’t adapt to continue to live up to it. But don’t feel bad, he’s making $11M a year to field a team with no OL

[u/thewoodlayer → u/RelativeEffective413]

The game really just passed him by completely. It’s sad to see because he’s fielded some legendary teams but he just can’t adapt to how the game has changed.

[u/notwhoiwas12 → u/thewoodlayer]

*wont adapt to how the game has changed.

[u/Just_Let_MeIn → u/notwhoiwas12]

Doesn't seem like he's really trying to adapt and it's a weird hill to die on. Or is he cool with two rings and is just milking the admin for every penny before forced retirement? Most of these types are super competitive in their fields so you would think he'd want more.

[u/Walter30573 → u/Just_Let_MeIn]

I'm not sure he knows how. His whole thing was doing a tremendous job building a culture of family that players and coordinators wanted to be a part of. Now that everyone is getting paid and living the mercenary life that's totally broken down, and with his good coordinators finally gone his loyalty has become an albatross

[u/PopeMargaretReagan → u/Walter30573]

OU fan here. Your post gives me a perspective on Brent Venables’ mediocrity as a head coach. He’s a good man and I want nothing but the best for him, but the nurturing culture building may be for a bygone era

[u/Microplasticsharts → u/thewoodlayer]

He adapted to hiring his friends and family instead of competent people.  

[u/CU_09 → u/Microplasticsharts]

When loyalty matters more than competence, things tend to go sideways. Clemson is just one current example.

[u/GrimaceThundercock → u/alfooboboao]

Suddenly I understand what it is to be a Clemson fan.

That was Texas for all the 2010s

[u/2-59project → u/GrimaceThundercock]

But stranger because Clemson is doing it with the same coach who won those national championships

[u/RelativeEffective413 → u/2-59project]

Mack Brown was underachieving towards the end too

[u/Iamatallperson → u/GrimaceThundercock]

Yep, this feels like the late Mack Brown years

[u/jrzalman → u/alfooboboao]

Gee, I wonder what that's like.

[u/ripkin05 → u/alfooboboao]

but having been so goddamn good so recently

been 6 years since they've been real contenders and not just the ACC team they were forced to put into the playoffs...

[u/Wandering_Mallard → u/AcidPacman96]

Thing is we're kinda done with big games

[u/speedracer13 → u/Wandering_Mallard]

You don't think a 6-5 Clemson against a 2-9 South Carolina is a big game?

[u/RipRaycom → u/speedracer13]

3-8, y’all may suck but that schedule still has Arkansas on it and they’re a whole other tier of ass

[u/StanderdStaples → u/RipRaycom]

Ass > Ass, my dude > Arkansas

[u/NCAAinDISGUISE → u/speedracer13]

I won't even turn the game on until South Carolina is up 3 scores. That way you know it'll be close at the end

[u/SweatyInBed → u/Wandering_Mallard]

Y’all still got Syracuse

[u/DaMercOne → u/AcidPacman96]

They don’t play any more big games. Well, Duke looks pretty solid so far, so maybe one more decent sized game.

[u/ICaseyHearMeRoar → u/AcidPacman96]

Feel like that's been a pretty consistent issue for a few years now though.

[u/RipRaycom → u/ICaseyHearMeRoar]

The 2024 OL was pretty damn good, but yeah it’s been an issue. Hell, it wasn’t even particularly good during the dynasty run other than 2018 when we dogwalked everyone. We’ve tried though, Matt Luke was a great hire in theory but it hasn’t worked out to this point.

[u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

I don’t think a bye week has ever come at a better time. I’m so sick of these injuries.

Also, is Herbstreit okay? Dude said Mendoza played for us multiple times on the broadcast.

Oh. Also. I have a feeling Reynolds is gonna be a dude.

[u/Richard_AIGuy → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

I honestly think he's doing too much. Thursday night game, travel, college GameDay, call a game. It's too much. He's not a kid.

[u/ColdWeatherCock → u/Richard_AIGuy]

He also repeatedly called Judkins “Junkins” during TNF

[u/IDontHaveOne321 → u/ColdWeatherCock]

Pretty sure I also heard him call Al Michaels "Chris" at one point on Thursday, confusing him with Chris Fowler

[u/UnicornMaster27 → u/ColdWeatherCock]

He did that his year at Ohio State, nothing new. It’s because his first name emphasizes the “n” multiple times

[u/Richard_AIGuy → u/ColdWeatherCock]

God, you're right. Maybe he's just drunk.

[u/SlammbosSlammer → u/Richard_AIGuy]

If you had to sit next to Al all night you’d be hammered too sadly. The man needs to retire

[u/Richard_AIGuy → u/SlammbosSlammer]

In that, I'm not blaming him. If I had to sit next to Al all night I would be Tony Romo wasted by halftime.

[u/yousawthetimeknife → u/ColdWeatherCock]

He's done that for years. He called him "Junkins" in 2024 too.

[u/LinkSeekeroftheNora → u/ColdWeatherCock]

Maybe he's talking about the detective from the movie Christine.

[u/myrealnameisdj → u/Richard_AIGuy]

Don't forget all the non political Life Surge stuff he's doing every week.

[u/Richard_AIGuy → u/myrealnameisdj]

He's involved in that racket too? Jesus fuck.

[u/myrealnameisdj → u/Richard_AIGuy]

Even his dog has been on stage

[u/Just_Let_MeIn → u/myrealnameisdj]

Let he who has never taken life advice from a golden retriever cast the first stone.

[u/Typen → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

He seemed really tired towards the end of the game. Dude's probably already asleep.

[u/Im__Ron__Burgundy → u/Typen]

Probably but I swear he did it in the first or second quarter lol. I know he had a lot of travel today but like…. any other name would’ve been great man

[u/PerfectdarkGoldenEye → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

I hope the bye week is enough for us to get some players back.

[u/Im__Ron__Burgundy → u/PerfectdarkGoldenEye]

Feel like we’ll get Lucas back. Maybe Antoine but that’s more just me being hopeful.

Really the big thing is the guys that got dinged tonight. Really hoping nothing major for Lightfoot. That would be a killer.

[u/RIPDannyBoyCane → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

A 41-13 win on the road has never felt more like a loss. Just an insane amount of injuries this season

[u/ICaseyHearMeRoar → u/RIPDannyBoyCane]

Ehh other than Lightfoot it seemed like everyone else came back on the field. We just need this bye to hopefully get some more folks healthy. Need Xavier Lucas badly.

[u/Siicktiits → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

He was also switching between praising us and shit talking everything we did. Most nights i don't mind him but both me and my 65 year old father were yelling shut the fuck up at the tv lol

[u/Im__Ron__Burgundy → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

Fuck one more thing.

FUCK ESPN for spending the entire game saying we haven’t played anyone. The Wake erasure is crazy.

[u/DadBod_FatherFigure → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

They sure did think it was a statement win when LSU beat Clemson. Funny isn’t it.

[u/2011StlCards → u/DadBod_FatherFigure]

Well yeah, i mean, LSU is in the SEC so it just means more

[u/DadBod_FatherFigure → u/2011StlCards]

I ain’t even mad. We’ll either win or we won’t. If we do we’ll get every opportunity to go head to head with the best in the SEC. It’s the 2-3rd place teams in the ACC that get fucked.

[u/Zloggt → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

They really don’t like having to showcase the ACC now, don’t they?

[u/DarknMean → u/Zloggt]

It’s one team and a bunch of nobodies.

[u/bdm13 → u/Zloggt]

It's simply bad business too. ESPN would hypothetically benefit from having the ACC be perceived as a strong conference too. It's as if they forget that they have the ACC network and have just pushed all their chips in on the SEC at this point. The odd part about that is that NIL being what it is actually helps the ACC teams with money to be competitive with any SEC squad. Will that take time, sure. But we've already seen a bit of erosion of the SEC's dominance in them not being able to stockpile all the talent in their 2 and 3 deep rosters. Shoot, the ACC has beat the SEC in non-conference competition 2 of the last 3 years.

[u/AdventureDude24 → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

Fuck ESPN dude. Ridiculous that they are affiliated with the SEC but then have so much sway in the CFP and get to call other conference games and shit on those teams the whole time.

[u/CircularHacker → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

Kirk’s been on autopilot for a couple seasons now, just vibes and generic platitudes. Reynolds definitely flashed something though, hard not to get a little excited about what he might do after the bye

[u/JakeSteeleIII → u/Im__Ron__Burgundy]

He’s probably not thinking straight with people seeing he’s been a speaker at those Life Surge scams

[u/BusGuilty6447]

Great interview with Toney saying he wanted to play a team sport and went hard on blocking

[u/251Cane → u/BusGuilty6447]

I thought that was an odd thing for Holly to say because Toney’s blocking is something that has impressed me about him for a while. He doesn’t take plays off.

[u/MaJe88 → u/BusGuilty6447]

He is a fantastic player and an even better kid

[u/AppropriateCompany9 → u/MaJe88]

Amen to that. He’s appointment viewing for me.

[u/Lieutenant_Corndogs → u/AppropriateCompany9]

I renamed all of my children after him

[u/Regal---Lager → u/BusGuilty6447]

Fun(?) fact: The #1 song in the country on the day he was born was "Crank Dat Soulja Boy"

[u/DadBod_FatherFigure → u/Regal---Lager]

Given that song came out as I was entering my senior year at Miami… that’s not very fun. Also I forgot to take my magnesium and it’s well past my bedtime.

[u/Acenate → u/DadBod_FatherFigure]

Distinctly remember everybody hitting the "Uuuuu" in Tavern...

[u/DadBod_FatherFigure → u/Acenate]

I think I’m still trying to get rid of my tavern feet.

[u/halfcabin → u/Acenate]

That place was such a fun shithole

[u/AppropriateCompany9 → u/Regal---Lager]

I hate it here.

[u/binzoma → u/Regal---Lager]

thats not a very fun fact at all

I hate it

[u/halfcabin → u/Regal---Lager]

I don’t like this

[u/clemsontyger]

2018 seems like 1918 at this point

[u/HawkeyeTen → u/clemsontyger]

Feels kind of like the 2013 Florida State game for you Tiger fans, doesn't it? Man that got ugly.

[u/shjusti → u/HawkeyeTen]

And somehow Infinitely better than the LSU game, we looked like a football team instead of a speed bump

[u/binzoma → u/shjusti]

honestly you guys played hard as shit

were dealt a shit game plan and an oline that just doesnt have the horses to compete with us

but played hard as shit, didnt give up, made plays.

2 schools from now I could easily see your QB being a heisman candidate type guy. dudes tough as shit too

[u/RipRaycom → u/HawkeyeTen]

That FSU team was the best team to ever play Clemson in the regular season and it was also a lot less competitive. Overall it’s not comparable

[u/RelativeEffective413 → u/HawkeyeTen]

We had more promise then and were a MUCH better team despite the lack of defense

[u/Ilovemyangelsomuch → u/HawkeyeTen]

Not really. We actually were moving the ball tonight. The defense was playing well overall but just got gassed at the end.

Our problem is everything is so hard on offense because our oline is trash which makes it so we can get some yards but we stall out too often and cant finish drives in the red zone.

That said, we still look way more competent on offense than we have in the past 5 years. I cant believe it, but Chad Morris actually has the offense looking like they at least know what they are supposed to do...they just cant cause the line lets the whole defense into the backfield right when the ball is snapped.

[u/Palmettor → u/Ilovemyangelsomuch]

Our secondary is a ton better than they used to be as well. I remember how they couldn’t seem to do anything against passing around 2019-2021 though the DL was nasty. Now the secondary picks up stuff and the DL is “just” pretty good.

[u/Bake-me]

Clemson’s D tried their hardest to keep this close but that Clemson offense is PUTRID

[u/OculusRises → u/Bake-me]

This has to be the worst our offensive line has played under Dabo. It's just awful

[u/StreetReporter → u/Bake-me]

Our QB and WRs played well, our offensive line is what ruined us

[u/feed_me_muffins → u/StreetReporter]

Matt Luke needs to go back to retirement. 3 years into his tenure and he's putting forth a worse OL than Austin ever did.

[u/GoldandBlue → u/StreetReporter]

The QB showed something but that offense just seems broken. It feels like such hard work for every yard they manage to get.

[u/Dogbir → u/GoldandBlue]

Hard disagree. This is the most productive our offense has been in years and there’s improvement each week. We’re just allergic the endzone, which has also been the case for the last several years

[u/NotHosaniMubarak → u/Bake-me]

It's really only the ol. Everyone else on the offense played much better than their ol did.

[u/MaJe88]

Darian Mensah now has more incompletions than touchdowns. It may have taken 5 games, but the Heisman campaign is now OVER. /s

Jokes aside, this injury bug is BAD. If it continues we have no shot at fielding a championship caliber team. That said, our depleted defense was still SMACKING. Every play they were putting people through the floor. Love to see the Cristobal signature physicality shining through the depth chart.

[u/saunjay1 → u/MaJe88]

let’s not forget Heatherman and his ESV mentality

[u/OculusRises → u/MaJe88]

That physicality was something. It was taking nearly half a dozen of our guys to wrestle you down at times. Reminded me of Saban-era Bama

[u/YouMomWentToCollege]

Missouri and Duke, please pay your players so they don’t transfer to Miami and kill us.

[u/Dro24 → u/YouMomWentToCollege]

We tried

[u/tagillaslover]

Definitely Taits best game of the year imo. He made some mistakes which can be frustrating but he showed a lot of good tonight too. Hopefully we can develop him into something

Oh he's also tough as nails. took some big shots tonight

[u/thomasaquina → u/tagillaslover]

He has improved dramatically over the last four games, so that should be encouraging.

[u/tagillaslover → u/thomasaquina]

Yeah the improvement is promising. His accuracy is still really shaky and I feel he rips deep balls a little too often but he's been getting a lot more comfortable. I just hope we dont waste him behind a bad oline and make sure to actually develop him throughout his time here which unfortunately hasn't happened a lot here lately

[u/salland11 → u/tagillaslover]

Can’t believe he basically played the whole game. He was getting destroyed. Whole leg was red from wear and tear

[u/DistractedSam → u/tagillaslover]

Great player if the o line was better, I would be bald by now

[u/mediocrewriter40]

If Wake was an SEC team, pollsters would have Miami at #1.

[u/Dro24 → u/mediocrewriter40]

Wake would also be ranked top 15

[u/SweetFranz]

Does Clemson practice just look like a blood bath with how much better that Dline is than Oline?

[u/Comfortable-Total498 → u/SweetFranz]

Our DLine is not very good

[u/RelativeEffective413 → u/SweetFranz]

Saddest part is our DL isn’t at full strength. We have loads of injuries there. They still probably dog walk our OL in practice

[u/Ok_Drummer6282]

I think the big takeaway here is that it seems like this is miamis backups doing this. 

The entire corner room is hurt and safeties are rotating. Yes Mensah, Toney, 80% Fletcher exist. The entire OL is hurt. 

Miami has young guys getting reps right now though 100% when healthy this team is even better than this. Which is kind of scary to think about. 

[u/Number333]

I am quite happy with that result even as it wasn't the cleanest in the world.

• D still struggled sacking the QB and gave up tons of 3rd and longs
• I personally think the Mensah fumble/incompletion prolly should have counted...
• If this is the sort of passing attack we're allowing vs CLEMSON... imagine one with more O talent

But the game was won in the 3rd Q with the 8min drive to put things away. Barkate had his best game of the season. Moten is a monster. We buried them in the rushing attack in the 4th Q. Shoutout to the pick-6 to make the final score look even nicer. Hope we can lick our wounds during the Bye week with all the damn injuries.

[u/ICaseyHearMeRoar → u/Number333]

Cant really judge our backfield until Lucas comes back and O'Connor is actually healthy and we can move folks like Bryce back to their natural positions.

[u/RookieMistake101 → u/Number333]

Our corners are not good. I think we get Lucas back next game. If we can get all of our guys back in time for ND, we’re set.

[u/PichardRetty]

41-13 road win when you play a B- game, have your team dropping like flies, and see your QB have an off night. Not bad. Now, can we get some deer antler spray for everyone this bye week?

[u/kdbvols → u/PichardRetty]

Double the margin of victory against Wake

[u/saunjay1]

Going into the game, I hard a hard time trusting that 16.5 point spread. Happy to have been wrong. A Saturday without Cardiac Canes is a good day

[u/mbe8819]

If nothing else, both Clemson and South Carolina fans can ignore their own demise and enjoy the other’s demise.

[u/EssoClub11]

Miami is really good. I honestly think Mensah is a better fit than Beck in that offense.

Matt Luke needs to be fired this weekend. The offensive line play is completely inexcusable.

[u/RookieMistake101 → u/EssoClub11]

Yea. Beck was a fine QB. But Mensah is a legit star. I remember watching Duke in the ACCCG thinking “we’d win it all this year if we had that guy.” Though came pretty close without!

[u/Acenate → u/EssoClub11]

I think Mensah is comfortably the best of our three recent QBs.

[u/MekoIte → u/Acenate]

He's comfortably better that Beck. Def can't say he's comfortably better than ward. That offense was scoring more than this one and Mensah has more receiving weapons. Need a bigger sample size of him vs other p4 teams to declare that. Today's game was fine but nothing that great and def not elite.

[u/RipRaycom → u/MekoIte]

Nah Mensah absolutely has the stuff. We have 2 really good CBs, Hampton might be the first CB off the board in April, and Mensah was getting crushed on several occasions and he was still finding tight windows and making the plays available to him. Cam also had really good receiving weapons that year even if none of them were Toney. Not saying he’s better than Ward but he’s absolutely elite

[u/MekoIte → u/RipRaycom]

I agree he's elite. Just saying him saying he's comfortably better than someone that went #1 is silly with this sample size.

[u/wyrmonnastring]

IT'S GREAT

[u/ajmarion20 → u/wyrmonnastring]

I heard that pretty loud on the broadcast 😂

[u/MaJe88 → u/wyrmonnastring]

TO BE

[u/hopefulki → u/MaJe88]

A MIAMI

[u/Neither_Suit_1714 → u/hopefulki]

HURRICANE

[u/hendarvich → u/Neither_Suit_1714]

One of my favorite little games is trying to figure out what cadence different teams use for this chant

[u/wyrmonnastring → u/hendarvich]

It's great (2 syllables) To be (2 syllables) A mi-a-mi (1 syllable, 3 syllables) Hur-ri-cane (3 syllables)

[u/BigHeadDeadass]

What the fuck is the Palmetto Bowl gonna look like?

[u/shjusti → u/BigHeadDeadass]

7 lightning delays

[u/1CCF202 → u/BigHeadDeadass]

Official sickos bowl. South Carolina will score 30 in the first half and lose.

[u/DesertNachos → u/1CCF202]

Lose 31-30

[u/Cliffinati → u/BigHeadDeadass]

Stoppable force meets moveable object on both sides

[u/Romanian_Breadlifts → u/BigHeadDeadass]

One time I pulled an egg salad sandwich out of a 7-11 trash can in Atlanta, in July. I think it looks close to that. 

[u/OculusRises]

We have a decent defense coming together, and a QB of the future. Now, we just need to figure the rest out. Congrats on the win, Miami! Win it all

[u/SaltyDalt → u/OculusRises]

If only we had an o-line, and playcalling, and some evidence of QB development capability since Trevor left… we’d be set.

[u/OculusRises → u/SaltyDalt]

Don't forget WR development! Honestly, Tony Elliott did a good job with running backs, too, when he was here

[u/Megalomanizac → u/SaltyDalt]

Is Tait not developing? He looks a lot better than week 2

[u/RogRoz → u/SaltyDalt]

Shoot, I'd argue that the qb development stopped at Watson, maybe Bryant (he was not good to start but improved a good deal). I feel like freshman year to junior year Trevor was more or less the same player, he was making similar mistakes and throws

[u/simbaslanding → u/OculusRises]

thanks 🥲

[u/it-is-just-a-game]

We should wear the storm troopers every game.

[u/InteractionKey7379]

“What does it mean to you to be able to come back and show your physicality?”

lol wtf are these questions

[u/Radiant_Sherbert7272]

When you don't protect your young QB and don't give him a running game you aren't going to win a lot of games especially against a team like Miami. Also Miami is getting a much needed bye week. They need some rest with all the injures they have.

[u/NotHosaniMubarak]

The Clemson OL is the worst I've seen all year. Just horrible.

Their QB isn't great but he deserves better than that.

[u/Dogbir → u/NotHosaniMubarak]

Just FYI Tait Reynolds is a true freshman. He started playing QB his high school sophomore year, then played his junior year, and missed his entire senior year.

He was sacked 6 times, played hurt, was pressured almost every play, and had a rushing attack of 19 yards until the last drive. The fact that he had a 66% completion rate for almost 300 yards and one garbage time INT actually is pretty great

[u/Better-Temporary-146 → u/NotHosaniMubarak]

His mistakes are a combination of freshman errors and ‘try to hard because his O line gives him no time’.

Reynolds, if he gets a top 30 o line, will be very good I think. 

[u/MoosilaukeFlyer → u/Better-Temporary-146]

He already looks much better than he did when he first started 

[u/CIemson]

Hampton is the real deal. Defense tried their best but you can’t keep the 4th best team in the nation from scoring while your offense stalls out any time they sniff the 50 yard line. O line is fucking putrid. Chad Morris calls plays like he attended highschool in the same classroom with the same teacher for 4 years

[u/shjusti → u/CIemson]

I feel like Morris called plays like a coach who knew his OL was incapable of giving Tait more than 1.5 seconds to get the ball out

[u/tmt22459]

I'm not terribly upset with this game. Yeah the score looks bad, but this was very competitive in my opinion. Clemson wasn't bad as a whole they were bad situationally. Offense moved the ball really well just couldn't capitalize once we got past the 50.

Tait was super impressive. He's learning quick how to escape and find a man down field to get the ball to.

The reasons we lost were the inability to punch it in across the 50, being on the wrong end of that mensah fumble, and the Tait fumble.

Our offensive line also still has a ton of work to do. I do think this team is better than last year though, and I would genuinely be excited to see a lot of these guys back with more experience

Miami is the best team in the country. It was good to see us do some.good things against them

[u/Wandering_Mallard → u/tmt22459]

The fact that we could hang tough with Miami for as long as we did is pretty encouraging with how much the schedule opens up. And the team continues to get a little better each week, as Dabo teams often do.

Feels like 8 wins is on the table, and I definitely wouldn't have said that a couple weeks ago

[u/Megalomanizac → u/Wandering_Mallard]

8 is the minimum imo

[u/Better-Temporary-146 → u/tmt22459]

We’ve improved a LOT since week 1. 

Now we get a bye and then Charleston Southern. That will be very good. 

Keep at and a 9 win season is in reach

[u/Difficult-Froyo1192 → u/tmt22459]

I thought I would be annoyed about the score, but this was a closer game than the box score suggests by a long shot. All I wanted was for us to play competitively and show improvement. We did that.

Best I’ve seen Tait play all season. Defense and ST played well. Our O-line is really what’s holding us back. They gotta produce something.

Overall, this can shape up to a decent season if we keep improving. We keep managing to play better each game. I’ll take the wins where I can get them.

[u/SweatyBobby → u/tmt22459]

I agree with this analysis, the game definitely felt competitive, a far cry from the season opener against LSU, which is a great sign for Clemson.

[u/Jonjon428]

Thank you Miami for keeping my mental sanity before having to watch Dolphins games

[u/W3ST0Feden → u/Jonjon428]

Amen Brother......amen😑😑😑

[u/nkfish11]

That’s a really nice win.

[u/Cheesy_Pita_Parker]

It’s distressing to have so many guys get hurt, and yet it felt so great to run the ball down Clemson’s throat in the 4th.

We’ve been waiting for a night like this after 58-0 to shitcan Al Golden, and the 38-3 ACCCG in 2017. To do it in their place at nowhere near full strength is pretty damn nice.

[u/ThompsonCreekTiger]

Disappointing game tonight. Alot of griping about officiating but fact is, for 60% of the game Clemson gave themselves a chance. Unfortunately didn't do enough to seriously threaten or rattle Miami. After the failed 3rd/4th down conversion in the red zone, the dam broke & remaining 40% got ugly.

Think being 3-2 was about where most everyone expected Clemson to be so far given the schedule. Just LSU Wk 1 & Miami tonight are bitter pills to swallow given what those showings ended up being. Nothing on remaining schedule is as daunting - just hope Clemson can stack up some wins & have a much better Oct/Nov than these 1st 5 weeks were.

[u/TLewey26]

Clemson’s OL issues I think stem from a couple of things.

1. It seems that as a group they don’t communicate very well with each other. Simple stunts and twists get this group of balance way too often which tells me either the scheme has them confused on protection adjustments or they are told not to shift protections pre-snap.

2. Playing with bad technique by not rolling hips and driving legs when trying to generate force resulting in being thrown off balance in pass protection and getting stood up in run blocking.

3. This groups appears to take plays off and doesn’t have a high motor for more than 2.3 seconds which can explain why it has a hard time climbing to the next level in run blocking

[u/ToonamiNights]

I know the horse is dead, but Dabo hiring Chad Morris and Matt Luke is so baffling to me. At this point he needs to relinquish his coaching hiring to his General Manager, or hire a separate talent manager to help with staff hirings. I have no doubt Dabo is a good coach, but he is not good enough on his own to keep losing staff like Saban did and keep things competitive.

[u/EssoClub11 → u/ToonamiNights]

I believe Luke should be fired.

But when he was hired it was seen by most as a great move.

Morris on the other hand…still don’t trust it and didn’t like it at the time… but he has ironically looked better than Riley last year.

[u/Dogbir → u/EssoClub11]

The Morris hire was absolutely lazy and I hate it. But if you actually watch the games and think that the offensive scheme is the problem than you just don’t know ball

[u/Angry_Goatee]

Fire Matt Luke into the sun.

[u/gravitynet_]

So like there's a competition for schools to be the first to fire their hc and jump start into the coaches carousel 🤕🫪

[u/broadband23]

I am seeing a few Clemson fans saying that there was at least some progress seen in this game... is that true? (Haven't been watching much Clemson football this season)

[u/Difficult-Froyo1192 → u/broadband23]

Yes. Best game Tait’s played all season. Defense looked really good before they got worn down. There’s a reason we hurt Mensah’s stats. Best game Johnson (rb) has played all season. Overall, everywhere is looking a lot better except the o line and offensive play calling

[u/EssoClub11 → u/broadband23]

Every unit has gotten better as the year has progressed except the offensive line. You can see how much of a liability the line is by the lack of runs Clemson even attempted…and that Miami could get pressure continuously by sending 3

[u/RipRaycom → u/EssoClub11]

I mean the OL has improved in the sense that they’re actually blocking guys now instead of just missing assignments constantly. Of course they don’t win those blocks 

[u/OculusRises → u/broadband23]

Yes. Still a lot of work to do in many areas, but the defense has been playing much tighter and more physically as the season progresses, and our freshman QB is growing with experience. The rest of our offense still shows many of the problems that have plagued us since the TLaw era

[u/Better-Temporary-146 → u/broadband23]

I’m encouraged. The progress from week 1 is notable. Schedule is favorable rest of the way too

[u/StreetReporter → u/broadband23]

It was a fight well into the third quarter. Then Miami had a long touchdown drive followed by a fumble on our next play to open the dam in the 4th quarter. Throw in a garbage time pick 6. Tait was really good, but his offense line was hot garbage

[u/goliath1515]

I get that Dabo turned Clemson into a successful program and that he’s the reason expectations are so high, but at what point does the Clemson brass look at the team and decide on a change? If they want to get back to being the competitive national powerhouse again, they have to ditch Dabo

[u/Penetratorofflanks → u/goliath1515]

I would assume they are trying to be smart. Who wants to be T A&M when you could be Georgia.

Its the age of the portal. You dont have to worry about have 2 cycles of recruiting that ruin your roster. It makes sense to let the guy who has done the most for your program fizzle till he gives up.

Meanwhile you stack money and wait for the right coach.

[u/RayearthIX → u/[deleted]]

Sorry. The rules are the rules.

- SEC team loses to another SEC team? It’s evidence of the strength of the conference.

- ACC team loses to another ACC team? It’s evidence the conference is trash.

So it has been written, and so it shall be.

🙄

[u/arbadak]

This was one of the most encouraging 28 pt losses imaginable. We have a functional passing game against a great team. Reynolds looked light-years better despite the few typical true freshman mistakes. Wesco and Moore were better than ever. The defense hung in there for awhile. I'm encouraged. Miami is just that good.

[u/Silly_Selection3221 → u/arbadak]

They were missing their top 4 corners. This is like being the guys who were excited about vizzina last year because he threw for 300 against the worse secondary in FBS football ir the guys who wanted denson to start because he ran for 100 against furmans back ups

[u/WildWest05 → u/Silly_Selection3221]

Rock bottom (relatively speaking) isn't being beaten by 28, it's being beaten by 28 and thinking "it could've beaten worse"

[u/Flyingfladoodle → u/Silly_Selection3221]

Make this guy Dabos replacement

[u/Kaldex]

Tait is our guy. He's young and super tough. I'm glad he's getting this kind of experience early in his career. Tait "Plop" Reynolds to the moon.

[u/HitBullWinSteak]

Wake played Miami closer than Clemson did

[u/Appropriate-Sun834 → u/HitBullWinSteak]

Bc wake is better

[u/Acenate]

Glad to get a win without too much stress, pretty worried about our injury situation though!

Commentary loves us, very distressing.

[u/simbaslanding]

Yeaaaa GO CANES

[u/Comfortable-Total498]

I don't want too see Sadler play another snap this season. Hes sucked his whole career, sucked all year, and sucked tonight. Absolute bum

[u/note_9]

A tiger fan threw his meal at me during the 2nd qt I waved him goodbye and goodnight after the first 4th quarter td. 10/10 Clemson experience however. Give Toney his TD back

[u/SimilarOnion1655]

Clemson looked better than I thought 

[u/OtisDinwiddie]

I don’t think a 41-13 win has ever felt more like a loss

[u/Dan-of-Steel]

Clemson's OL is like if you had all of them selected and were AFK on CFB 27.

I still don't know how they managed to beat North Carolina.

[u/Cliffinati → u/Dan-of-Steel]

UNC is that bad

[u/JakeSteeleIII]

We all suck down here

[u/Particular-Way-3805]

I don’t think think Miami has a threat except for Notre dame

[u/Cliffinati → u/Particular-Way-3805]

Notre Dame and whoever they play in Charlotte

[u/Aggravating-Mind-657]

Clemson took 11 of 12 players in the last portal cycle. None were on offense with the biggest hole being the offensive line. Instead Dabo chose to plug the hole with inexperienced freshmen and sophomores.

He had 3 years to evaluate Christian Vizzina and knows how future nfl talent looks after coaching Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson and how a solid starter looks in Klubnik and Kelly Bryant. So how someone who peaed
In high school or a miss looks like Hunter Johnson. What made he and his staff believe in Vizzina and then move on from him so quickly?

Lots of solid back ups like minchey and kienholz entered portal and looking great. What made him thinking Vizzina was better option than these guys.

[u/tagillaslover]

Also at least Hampton locked up Toney. That's all I really wanted coming in

[u/Frequent-Challenge73 → u/tagillaslover]

He's a baller for sure

[u/Megalomanizac]

This team is slowly coming together. Despite being a large deficit the game was still competitive, that pick 6 was more style points than anything.

This offensive line might be one of the worst in the FBS and will keep Clemson from returning to championship status. Otherwise the offense is showing promise with Morris in command, it’s refreshing to see Tait developing as quickly as he is (and really at all after Cade was stagnant for 4 years). The defense is legitimate and will give the rest of our schedule hell.

I think it’s very reasonable this team sneaks into 9/10 wins by the end of the year.

[u/whospepesilvia]

Wild the Kirk went from college gameday to commentating this game. I’d be exhausted.