Gideon Davidson proving Mario Cristobal right will be what it takes for Clemson to stun Miami

It took a minute for him to get going, but there is nobody stopping Gideon Davidson now. Clemson's sensational sophomore running back has taken the ACC by storm. Over the last two weeks, he has rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on North Carolina, only to reach 159 yards on the ground and two trips to pay dirt at Cal a week later. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal is well aware of his skill set.

"Tremendous contact balance. He can accelerate, he runs behind his pads, runs through tackles, rarely gets tackled by the first guy,," Cristobal said of Davidson after watching the tape of him versus North Carolina and Cal. "He presents a tremendous threat on any given touch to take it to the house. He did it against North Carolina. He did it against Cal this past week. Just a really impressive player."

Cristobal may have discovered the ingredients to Clemson's secret sauce of late, but it is easier said than done slowing down Davidson. As the Tigers continue to bring along true freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds, Davidson's game comes even more into focus. On the offensive side of the ball, he is Clemson's most important player. The sheer home-run threat he offers scares even the best teams.

Gideon Davidson's home-run threat makes him so hard to game plan for

Admittedly, so much needs to go right for Clemson to win this game. However, it is nearly impossible for Clemson to prove victorious over Miami if Davidson does not go off. This is because Reynolds is too green to be trusted to put the Tigers' offense on his back just yet. In time, he may be able to do that. Unfortunately, he has accepted his role in this game. He does not need to be the hero in this one.

Because offensive coordinator Chad Morris will want to run the ball around 40 times on Saturday night, we can reasonably expect for Davidson to get between 20 and 25 touches. Reynolds will tuck it and run a handful of times, but neither Chris Johnson Jr. or Jarvis Green have emerged as a change-of-pace back to spell Davidson. Add in the fact David Eziomume is out for the year, and there you go.

Cristobal and his staff have other players they will need to game plan against. However, Davidson is clearly the top priority for Corey Hetherman's defense. If Clemson can beat Miami through the air at home, then so be it. Reynolds is immensely talented, but he has not played a team like Miami just yet. Jake Dickert did not do him any favors by saying that Wake Forest is the more physical football team.

In short, Davidson will have to play like his position coach did in undergrad. CJ Spiller was the catalyst for great change at Clemson. His rise to prominence in the backfield helped usher in an era of high-octane offense under Dabo Swinney in the years to follow. Why would Davidson not want to learn from him? Clearly, that is happening, as Davidson has unlocked the home-run power from his coach.

It may take an explosive play or two out of Davidson for Clemson to shock Miami on Saturday night.

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