No. 4 Miami Routs Clemson 41-13 in Death Valley to Take Sole Possession of First in ACC

No. 4 Miami overwhelmed Clemson 41-13 on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, taking sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference and winning in Death Valley for the first time since 2010. Quarterback Darian Mensah threw for 227 yards and a touchdown and ran 34 yards for another score, Mark Fletcher Jr. rushed for two second-half touchdowns, and the Hurricanes' defense sacked Clemson's freshman quarterback six times.

The win moved Mario Cristobal's team to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC heading into an open week and a home date with Florida State. Clemson fell to 3-2 and 2-1 in league play.

A two-play start

Miami set the tone immediately. After its defense forced a three-and-out on Clemson's opening possession, Mensah hit Cooper Barkate on a tunnel screen on the second play of Miami's first drive, and Barkate turned it into a 66-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 13:05 left in the first quarter.

The teams traded field goals, with Jake Weinberg connecting from 50 yards for Miami, before Mensah delivered the play of the half in the second quarter. He scrambled 34 yards toward the end zone, lost the ball just before the goal line and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown and a 17-3 lead. Mensah was 9-of-13 for 141 yards and a touchdown in the first half and added 33 rushing yards.

Miami carried a double-digit lead into halftime and then put the game away with a 15-play, 78-yard drive in the third quarter that ended with Fletcher walking into the end zone from 2 yards out for a 24-6 lead.

The fourth quarter featured four scores, shown below.

Clemson's lone touchdown came on a 75-yard drive capped by Davidson's 2-yard run. Fletcher answered with a leaping touchdown run, and Dunnigan closed the scoring by returning a desperation fourth-down throw 39 yards for a touchdown.

Mensah, Fletcher and Barkate lead the offense

Mensah finished 18-of-27 for 227 yards. Barkate caught five passes for 98 yards, Malachi Toney added five catches for 40 yards, and Fletcher ran 16 times for 77 yards and both of his scores. Miami rushed for 192 yards as a team, according to the Associated Press.

The numbers could have been bigger. A 58-yard touchdown catch by Toney was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty, and Mensah said afterward that the missed chances bothered him. He said the fact that Miami "left 14 points on the board makes me sick," according to the AP.

Mensah has been one of the nation's most efficient passers this season. In Miami's win at Wake Forest in September, he set ACC records for consecutive completions in a game, with 24, and across multiple games, with 35. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney called Miami "a really, really good football team" and said Mensah might be the first pick in the NFL draft, according to the AP.

Six sacks for the defense

Miami's front dominated the line of scrimmage. The Hurricanes recorded six sacks and 10 tackles for loss and held Clemson to 4.5 yards per play. Defensive end Damon Wilson II led the pass rush with 2.5 sacks.

Clemson true freshman Tait Reynolds set career highs by completing 29 of 44 passes for 295 yards, but he was under pressure all night and threw the interception Dunnigan returned for a touchdown. "The more we hit him, I think the more it affected him," Cristobal said of Reynolds, according to postgame coverage.

Miami also made two key fourth-down stops, including a goal-line stand on a Clemson fourth-and-1, with Ashton Hampton breaking up another fourth-down attempt. Clemson hurt itself with 10 penalties for 91 yards, according to the AP.

What it means for Miami

The victory gives Miami a clear path at the top of the ACC standings and strengthens its College Football Playoff resume. The Hurricanes have won all five games by at least 13 points, and the win at Clemson was their most impressive yet against a program that has dominated the conference for much of Swinney's 18 seasons.

Cristobal, in his fifth season at his alma mater, has built the kind of roster that can win on the road in a hostile environment. Saturday's victory was Miami's third ACC road win of the season, following victories at Stanford and Wake Forest, and it came against a Clemson team that had won three straight after its opening loss.

For Clemson, the loss dropped the Tigers to 0-2 against ranked opponents this season, following a 51-10 defeat at LSU in the opener. The Tigers have an open week before hosting Charleston Southern on Oct. 17.

What's next

Miami is off Saturday, Oct. 10, then returns to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens to host Florida State on Oct. 17 in the in-state rivalry. The Hurricanes host Pittsburgh on Oct. 24 and travel to North Carolina on Oct. 31.

Florida State arrives at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC under seventh-year coach Mike Norvell. The unranked Seminoles lost to SMU and at Alabama in September but have since won two straight, including a 38-7 win over Virginia on Saturday in which quarterback Ashton Daniels set a school record with five rushing touchdowns. They play at Louisville on Oct. 9 before making the trip to South Florida.

The bye gives Cristobal's staff two weeks to prepare for the Seminoles and a chance to clean up the penalties and missed opportunities Mensah lamented, as Miami tries to keep its unbeaten season and its hold on first place in the ACC intact.