The Miami Hurricanes football team suffered the most embarrassing, lopsided defeat in team history. This program officially hit rock bottom on Saturday under coach Al Golden’s watch, losing to the Clemson Tigers 58-0.
What went right:
Nothing.
What went wrong:
Everything.
The offense looked good on the first drive moving the ball before quarterback Brad Kaaya telegraphed a pass down the right sideline, resulting in an interception for Clemson’s junior safety Jadar Johnson.After that interception, the offensive line struggled to give Kaaya enough time for the play to develop.
Kaaya was hit on numerous plays, to the point where Clemson only rushed two defenders to still achieve a sack. Pathetic, embarrassing and mind-blowing.
To add insult to injury, Kaaya was then sacked on a play midway through the second quarter, resulting in a concussion that knocked him out for the rest of the game.
Another unproductive day of running the ball for the Hurricanes; chalk that one up to the offensive line’s inability to create a gap.
The defense looked more pathetic and incompetent than ever.
Clemson did what they wanted, when they wanted on offense throughout the game.
The blame isn’t so much on the secondary, as they contained Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson to a touchdown and only 143 yards on 15/19 attempts through the air.
The front seven on defense (lineman and linebackers) got bullied all game, allowing Clemson to rush for six touchdowns on a combined 416 yards.
This defensive performance is one of many embarrassing performances under defensive coordinator Mark D’onofrio, who many believed should’ve been fired after last season, yet Golden stood by D’onofrio.
Fans continue to wonder: “How many teams will run all over this defense year after year, until there is finally a change made?”
There’s not much to be said about this game other than UM got outplayed and out-coached from start to finish. Clemson came in, disrespected Miami in a number of ways. A pregame confrontation between the two teams lead to pushing and shoving, setting the tone that Clemson was unafraid of this Miami team.
Additionally, Clemson elected to stay on the field nonchalantly at halftime, rather than head to the locker room.
Some saw this as a disrespectful jab at Miami, as if Clemson were growing tired of making it look easy against UM. Many Clemson players also mocked UM fans and players by throwing up the “U” gesture.
Looking forward:
Clemson came into a rather unimpressive crowd at Sun Life Stadium (including the student section), and disrespectfully imposed their will over Miami. Clemson University has yet to win a single championship game in any sports program, yet played with swagger that was reminiscent of the championship winning UM teams.
Miami should feel humiliated after the mockery that occurred on Saturday. UM will take on Duke University at Wallace Wade Stadium, Saturday at 7 p.m.
Brandon Carusillo is a senior majoring in public relations and minoring in psychology. He’s from Coral Springs and wants to work as an entertainment agent when he graduates. He loves music, sports, writing and photography.
words_brandon carusillo.