MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Ajay Allen got the go-ahead score on a 3-yard run in the second overtime, and shorthanded Miami ended the game on a fourth-down stop to stun Clemson 28-20 on Saturday night.
Emory Williams, playing in place of injured Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, completed 24 of 33 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown for the Hurricanes (5-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Williams engineered two scoring drives in the fourth to erase a 17-7 deficit.
Cade Klubnik connected with Jake Briningstool on a pair of touchdown passes for Clemson (4-3, 2-3). The Tigers turned the ball over three times in the first half, and paid for that.
Allen also got the 2-point conversion to put all the pressure on Clemson in the second OT. On the game’s final play, needing no more than a yard for the end zone, Klubnik faked a handoff and rolled left — only to have no chance of getting past Miami linebacker Corey Flagg, who made the tackle and the Hurricanes sprinted onto the field in celebration.
Van Dyke walked with a slight limp when he entered the stadium, and it became clear about an hour before the game that he wasn't going to play. And Williams struggled mightily for much of the game, getting only 31 yards on his first 10 completions.
But he stepped up at the end, as did Miami's defense, and the Hurricanes' two-game slide is over.
Field goals capped each team’s first series after regulation; Jonathan Weitz kicked a 31-yarder for Clemson, Andy Borregales connected from 35 yards for Miami to tie it at 20 and send the game to a second overtime.
Clemson's 17-7 lead in the fourth was erased by a pair of sustained drives by a Miami offense that found some life.
Williams found Young from 11 yards out with 8 minutes left in regulation to get Miami within a field goal — capping a 15-play, 75-yard drive. And Borregales tied the game with 1:51 left, after a 10-play, 43-yard drive that followed the Hurricanes forcing Clemson into a three-and-out.
The loss means Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has to wait at least one more week before becoming the school’s outright leader in wins. He remains tied with Frank Howard for the most in Tigers history with 165.
THE TAKEAWAY
Clemson: This was a deviation from the norm for so many reasons. Clemson had been 16-3 in the Swinney era in regular-season games following a bye week, 47-10 in night games since the start of the 2015 season — and had blown out Miami in each of the last four meetings between the schools by a combined score of 178-30.
Miami: The Hurricanes were 0-5 in home ACC games since the start of last season. That matched the longest home losing streak in conference games — going back to the Big East days as well — in program history. The Hurricanes also dropped five straight ACC games at home during a stretch spanning 2007 and 2008.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Clemson was second in the “also receiving votes” department of last week’s AP Top 25, though it’s hard to believe any voters would have the Tigers on their ballot this week. Miami — which fell out after last week’s loss to North Carolina — might have set itself up for a return to the poll at some point.
UP NEXT
Clemson: Visit North Carolina State on Oct. 28.
Miami: Host Virginia on Oct. 28.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
