Podcast: D’Eriq King, Quincy Roche and UM’s blueprint to upset Clemson (it could happen!)
Are we feeling a little too optimistic? The Miami Hurricanes, off to their best start since 2017, are heading on the road this weekend to face the Clemson Tigers and it really does feel like they have a chance to upset the No. 1 team in the country Saturday.
Miami has its best quarterback in a decade and a rejuvenated offense. Clemson has the best quarterback in the country and maybe the best running back, but the defense doesn’t feel like the juggernaut it has been at times throughout the Tigers’ run of dominance in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
There’s a path to victory for the No. 7 Hurricanes on Saturday in Clemson, South Carolina. On the latest episode of the Eye on the U podcast, David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Miami Herald’s Hurricanes beat writer, lay out the blueprint for the Hurricanes (3-0, 2-0) to score their biggest win in at least 15 years.
It all starts, like everything has this year, with D’Eriq King. In Miami’s last meeting with the Tigers, the Hurricanes trotted out Malik Rosier at quarterback for the 2017 ACC Championship Game and proceeded to score just three points in a 35-point loss. King is getting early-season Heisman Trophy hype and the dual-threat quarterback will present Clemson’s defense with a challenge it might not see anything like again this season.
Of course, the Tigers (3-0, 2-0) have a pretty quarterback, too. Trevor Lawrence is the early season Heisman favorite and the favorite to go No. 1 in the 2021 NFL Draft, and he has Travis Etienne, perhaps the best tailback in the country, to hand the ball off to.
Miami has been all about the defense since coach Manny Diaz joined the program in 2016 as defensive coordinator. To upset Clemson, the Hurricanes might have to win a shootout and get a few big plays from their defense.
Fortunately for Miami, this is what Diaz’s defenses are all about. Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips make as good a defensive line tandem as the Tigers might see all year, and the Hurricanes are going to need to force the Tigers into some negative plays. A turnover chain sighting or two would help, too.
So, will Miami win? Probably not, but we really don’t think we’re crazy to think it might happen. It at least feels different than 2017.
