Five takeaways on Miami’s offense at No. 9 Clemson

The Hurricanes were held to 98 total yards, which is the third-lowest in school history. The only two games where Miami had less yards was in 1951 against Kentucky (22 yards) and in 1965 against Notre Dame (87).

The Hurricanes ran 42 offensive plays for an average of 2.3 yards per play. The six first downs was the lowest since also having six in a 35-3 loss to Wisconsin in 2018. Just a terrible performance by the offense and everyone deserves blame from the head coach to the coordinator to the assistants and the players.

The Hurricanes managed just one first down and eight yards on 16 plays in the first half to give the defense zero support as they went into the break down 24-0. The eight yards was the fifth-fewest by a power five school in the first half since 2012. Jacurri Brown was sacked once and threw an interception among his 10 touches. The second half did not get much better, but the first half shortcomings did not help create any much-needed momentum.

After winning his first start last week at Georgia Tech, Jacurri Brown was unable to continue the momentum into his second start, albeit against a much better opponent. Brown finished the 6 of 13 for 53 yards and an interception before being replaced by Jake Garcia in the fourth quarter. Brown added 22 yards on 10 carries, which included a 40-yard run, but sacks added up. Brown’s first throw of the game to a wide open Xavier Restrepo was off target and he just was not able to get into a rhythm from there. Even a bubble screen was tipped and intercepted. Brown is still very young in his career and the experience could help him moving forward with an understanding of what it will take to win against a top-10 team on the road.

A week after running for 217 yards in a win at Georgia Tech, which was their most since the opener against Bethune-Cookman, the Tigers stuffed the running game. Miami was held to a season-low 30 yards on 24 carries. Brown led the way with 22 yards on 10 carries while Henry Parrish had 12 yards on four carries, Jaylan Knighton had 10 yards on eight carries and Jake Garcia had minus-14 yards on two attempts. The offensive was unable to get much push up front against a tough defensive line.

Colbie Young led Miami with six targets as he finished with four catches for 25 yards while Will Mallory had four catches for 42 yards on five targets as the two were by far the most involved in the passing game. Khalil Brantley was the only other player to catch a pass in the game as he caught a 1-yard touchdown on his lone target.