It was not in the cards for the Clemson Tigers on Saturday night. Despite the home crowd being in it and the weather cooperating, there was not much Dabo Swinney's team could do versus the heavily-favored Miami Hurricanes in primetime. Miami got out to an early lead and never looked back, winning 34-13 to become the first team to achieve a 3-0 mark in ACC play. As for Clemson, this was so rough.
While it was not all bad for the Tigers, the final score would not indicate that. Clemson did hang tough with the Hurricanes for extended stretches in this game. However, Miami's talent, and better yet, its higher level of execution wore Clemson down until the levees broke midway through the second half. Clemson can grow from this game, mostly because the Tigers have to. This game was a referendum.
Although Clemson lost this game in a blowout, there were at least a few positive takeaways to be had.
Winner: Tait Reynolds grew up so much in a very trying spot for Clemson
Even if Clemson did not win at home in primetime, the fans in Death Valley got to see Tait Reynolds' best game to date. He completed 29-of-44 passes for 295 yards and a pick through the air. Although he was under duress for the entire night, Reynolds still found ways to complete passes to nine different receivers. He did put it on the ground once, but the game was largely out of reach by then.
To put it simply, Reynolds grew up a ton in this game. He showed everyone watching that he has to be the starter the rest of the way. This was not an easy task for him, but he passed this test with mostly flying colors. Again, he is only a true freshman, but those few moments of magic we see every game were far more prevalent on Saturday night. Clearly, the more live reps he gets, the better he will play.
Clemson needs to keep this season on the tracks because it might have a future star at quarterback.
Clemson 4 star Tait Reynolds from Queen Creek HS. 191 yards passing and 26 rushing at the half #AllIn #CollegeFootball pic.twitter.com/Xl0iN4VLHV
— Az sports fan (@SportsFanInAz) October 4, 2026
Loser: Chad Morris may not have a working key card in the coming days
It is not working out. Dabo Swinney's decision to re-hire Chad Morris as his offensive coordinator has not taken through the first five games of the season. While it does not help that he has to work with a true freshman quarterback behind a wet paper bag of an offensive line, Morris got way too cute with his play-calling in a few key spots. When points are hard to come by, you cannot squander them away.
Morris' decision to use former quarterback, turned wide receiver Chris Denson out of the Wildcat in a crucial down and distance near the Miami end zone was something else. To then back that up with a fake timeout play to only have Gideon Davidson stuffed before the line of gain let everyone know that Clemson really had no shot winning the game beyond that point. Morris needs to be gone yesterday.
If Clemson wants to be a serious playoff contender again, it will need a serious offensive coordinator.
Winner: Clemson receiving corps showed up for the first time all season
Heading into the season, one could argue that Clemson's greatest strength was its deep receiving corps. While it has not been as deep as advertised, the trio of Tyler Brown, TJ Moore, and Bryant Wesco Jr. have all become reliable targets of Tait Reynolds. Wesco led the way with nine catches for 152 yards. Brown hauled in 10 catches for 76 yards. Moore had himself four catches for 39 yards.
Together, this trio can help get the most out of Reynolds' first year as the starter. The game may not fully be slowing down for him just yet, but having this pass-catching triumvirate working in his favor only helps. Once Clemson starts to play the soft middle belly of the ACC, or even the bottom of the barrel of this league, that is when the offense may finally take flight. Until then, this bad loss will hurt.
Over the last two weeks, Clemson has shown it can run the ball well, and now throw it a bit, too.
Loser: Dabo Swinney did not have his team in the right mindset to win
It is hard to pinpoint what exactly it was, but something was clearly missing from an overall mindset standpoint. Not to say Dabo Swinney did not have his team ready to play, but the Tigers did not seem to play with the necessary crashing sense of urgency they needed in this one. It was a home game versus the best team in the ACC, and Clemson came out flat. It felt like this team did not prepare well.
Had this been a Clemson team from yesteryear, we would not have seen as many mental errors repeatedly on display. Yes, they were frustrating Swinney to no end on the sidelines. Then again, the Tigers' non-chalant attitude coming in probably played a part in that. Miami may have had a massive speed advantage over the Tigers, but Clemson could never make the Canes pay when they had them.
Clemson will not play another team as talented as Miami this season, but this end result was telling.
Winner: Tom Allen's defense kept Clemson in this one for as long as it could
It does not matter that Clemson surrendered 41 points on the evening. Tom Allen had his defense fighting as hard as it could for as long as it could, given these trying circumstances. We have seen one defensive-minded team be let down by is meager offense time and time again. While the offense is improving in some ways with Reynolds at quarterback, Allen has to bail out Morris on every series.
This may get lost to time, but Clemson's defense is playing quite well at most levels. The secondary can border on outstanding on occasion. The tackling is not that bad. While Clemson's undermanned defensive line continues to be a work in progress at best, it is better than it was in Week 1. When will Vic Burley actually contribute? Who knows? The pass rush has its moments. This defense is decent!
Unfortunately, Swinney and the rest of his coaching staff is getting in the way of what Allen is doing.
Loser: Matt Luke's offensive line lacks toughness and is so embarrassing
Does Matt Luke do anything? He would be better served humming and throwing candy to the fine folks in the crowd than attempting to coach up this pathetic offensive line. While there may be times where the front five will occasionally road grade, those moments are few and far between. With a true freshman starting at quarterback, Reynolds might need more than two seconds to throw the football.
Of all the ups and downs this Clemson team has experienced over the season, the one persistent constant in the negative has been Luke's offensive line. The Miami defense devoured the Tigers' guards all night long. Clemson averaged 1.8 yards per carry on the evening. It allowed Reynolds to get sacked six times. This unit was supposed to be an area of strength. It is Clemson's Achilles' heel now.
Until Clemson becomes even the slightest modicum of nasty up front, nothing is going to change.
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