Miami head coach says this isn't a big game for Clemson

Manny Diaz leads his team out of the tunnel earlier this season (Photo via ACC).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Oct 06 15:39:27 GMT-04:00 2020

Don’t expect Miami head coach Manny Diaz to provide any bulletin board material for his program’s matchup with top-ranked Clemson this Saturday. Diaz even told the media Tuesday that while the game is a big game for his Hurricanes, it’s just another game for a Clemson program that has thrived on the big stage for several years.

Clemson and Miami meet up Saturday night (7:30 pm, ABC) in the most anticipated matchup of the young season, and Diaz knows his team will have to match the Tigers’ aggressiveness.

“When you play a game like this, motivation is just the cover charge,” Diaz said. “Once you get in, Clemson is going to play very hard. They are very disruptive and aggressive on defense. They are going to run every front and every coverage and they are going to play extraordinarily hard and be very physical. If you don’t match that, you can forget it. You don’t have a chance.”

Part of the Canes’ focus will be on stopping Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

“I think he’s unique to those guys not just in style, but just in style of offense that they played in. They’re not going to turn him into a runner until sometimes the red zone,” Diaz said. “He will pull the ball. All you have to do is look at the Ohio State game a year ago. He ran a quarterback draw and outran the entire Ohio State defense, which was filled with first round NFL Draft picks from like 60 or 70 yards out. So he can roll. I think the really aggravating part is when you are doing a good job in pass coverage and he’s got the ability to break away from a pass rush and either scramble to throw, he’s really, really good throwing on the run, or just tuck it and get a first down.

“He’s one of those guys it just seems like eats up your angle because he gets to the sideline, the defender could never really get a hit on him because he’s got these long strides and finds a way to get out of bounds for a first down. It puts a lot of stress on your defense and that’s why he is the player he is.”

Diaz was asked if this was a statement game for his program and his answer was insightful.

“Forget about even following Miami as, anyone who follows college football, statement games are always statement games until there’s another statement game. That goal post of whatever statement you’re trying to make always moves regardless,” Diaz said. “What we’re trying to do, we're trying to get ourselves in a position where playing these games is not extraordinary for Miami anymore. That we are in these types of prime time matchups, the College GameDay thing, playing teams like Clemson.

"This is how you build a program to be in these positions and have it feel kind of natural and normal, which is exactly what it does to Clemson. This is a great opportunity for us in terms of what we’ve done over the first three weeks to go test ourselves against one of these teams that are very comfortable in these settings and has had to earn the right to be there. They weren't always this way. That was kind of a thing for them early on. And someone told Clemson that there was a statement game and they had to sort of move through these same guide posts to get to where they’re at today.”

Diaz then detailed what it will take for Miami to pull off the upset and said that for Clemson, this isn’t a big game.

“It doesn’t really change the job, right? There’s still a football game you have to win on Saturday and to do that, you have to do the things that it takes to win a football game,” Diaz said. “We’ve got to win the battle of turnovers. We’ve got to win the battle of explosive plays. And I think third down and red zone are going to be crucial in this game. If you look at what Clemson did on third and long offensively against Virginia and when they get down to the red zone, they just score touchdowns.

“I just think for the players and coaches alike, no matter what the hype that surrounds the game, it’s still just going to be decided by the things that decide football games. So we’re trying really hard to focus on doing those things against a team that, again, this is not a big game to Clemson. This is what they do. We got to get our program where it’s the same way. We should just go play football against those guys.”