DJ Uiagalelei passed for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a game- and career-high 89 yards and a score as host Clemson jumped on Miami early and cruised to a 40-10 victory in an Atlantic Coast Conference clash on Saturday.
The win gave the No. 9 Tigers (10-1, 8-0 ACC) their 12th consecutive season with at least 10 victories in addition to extending their home-field winning streak to an ACC-record 40 consecutive games. It is the ninth time in the program’s history the Tigers have finished undefeated in ACC play.
They end their regular season next Saturday with a nonconference matchup against South Carolina and will play North Carolina in the ACC championship game on Dec. 3.
The Hurricanes (5-6, 3-4) now need to win their finale at home against Pittsburgh to reach bowl eligibility.
The Tigers held the Hurricanes to 98 yards of total offense with only 30 coming on the ground, both season lows.
Freshman Jacurri Brown, who engineered Miami’s 35-14 win over Georgia Tech last week, struggled in his second start, going just 6-of-13 passing for 53 yards while rushing for just 22 more yards.
Jake Garcia started the fourth quarter and threw a 1-yard pass to Kahlil Brantley for Miami’s only touchdown after Jordan Miller’s 26-yard return of Uiagalelei’s fumble set up the Hurricanes at Clemson’s 10-yard line.
Uiagalelei was 14-of-19 passing for 128 yards in the first half and finished the game 22 of 34 with an interception. The Tigers had only scored a safety in the second half until Will Shipley’s 3-yard touchdown run with 4:40 remaining. Kobe Pace also scored from 1 yard out with 16 seconds left following Trenton Simpson’s strip sack of Garcia at Miami’s 36-yard line.
The Tigers established their defensive dominance early. They held the Hurricanes without a first down in the first quarter and to only 8 yards of total offense for the first half.
Clemson scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions to put the Hurricanes in an insurmountable hole. The Tigers finished with 447 total yards, including 207 rushing.
–Field Level Media
