CLEMSON, S.C. – Death Valley hasn’t been particularly kind to the Hurricanes in years past.

In fact, heading into this primetime showdown at Clemson, Miami hadn’t won at Memorial Stadium since 2010, its last two visits in 2020 and 2022 ending in disappointment.

That stretch of frustration ended in dominant fashion Saturday night.

The fourth-ranked Hurricanes scored on their first offensive play and never looked back in what was ultimately a 41-13 win over the Tigers in a crucial ACC matchup for both teams.

With the win, the Hurricanes improve to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play and head into their off week atop the conference standings.

Quarterback Darian Mensah, who came into the game as the nation’s leader in completion percentage, delivered another impressive performance, completing 18 of 27 passes and throwing for 227 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for another score.

Meanwhile, running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who missed last week’s game against Central Michigan with an injury, returned to the lineup and scored twice, including on a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter that capped a run-heavy, nine-play, 62-yard drive that virtually iced the game for the Hurricanes.

Wide receiver Cooper Barkate led Miami with five catches for 98 yards, while fellow receiver Malachi Toney had five catches for 40 yards, with two of those catches helping extend a third-quarter scoring drive.

“I’ll say first and foremost that we went 1-0,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said of the way Miami played at Clemson. “Second of all, we were able to overcome a lot of injuries and play to a high standard. And knowing those guys in [that locker room], it’s awesome. A lot of them are talking about the plays that we could have performed a little bit better on, so it’s a great feeling to know there’s excitement. There’s enthusiasm, but there’s a hunger to get better.”

After their previous visits to Clemson, the Hurricanes came into Saturday’s game expecting the environment at Death Valley to be plenty loud – and it was, for much of the game before Miami pulled away and some of the crowd began heading for the exits.

But in the game’s opening minutes, Miami did its best to try and silence that crowd.

After forcing a three-and-out on Clemson’s opening possession, the Hurricanes needed just one play to get on the board.

Mensah connected with Barkate on a 61-yard scoring play that gave Miami the lead just two minutes into the game.

It was Barkate’s fourth touchdown of the season, and it came after several Hurricanes – including offensive linemen Ryan Rodriguez and Matt McCoy – delivered some massive blocks that helped pave the way for Barkate to scramble through the Clemson defense.

“Really, the o-line is what it was,” Barkate said. “It parted the Red Sea for me. I just caught it, went inside and then saw nothing but green grass, so, all thanks to them.”

Said Mensah, “How else would you want to start a game? And it was an easy throw for me, but again, great execution from my guys up front.”

The Hurricanes added to that lead on their next possession with a 50-yard field goal from Jake Weinberg that capped an adventurous 12-play, 58-yard drive during which Clemson thought it had forced – and recovered – a Miami fumble that it returned for a would-be touchdown.

Officials ruled, though, that Mensah threw an incomplete pass, and the Hurricanes closed out the drive with Weinberg’s long kick that pushed Miami’s lead to 10-0.

Clemson, though, answered on its next drive with a long field goal of its own.

The Tigers drove into Miami territory, but on 3^rd-and-3, Keona Davis pressured Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds, forcing an incompletion and the Tigers (3-2, 2-1) settled for a 48-yard field goal from Nolan Hauser just before the first quarter ended.

Mensah and the Hurricanes would push Miami’s lead again immediately after that.

This time, the score came after the quarterback scrambled on a 34-yard run that ended when he fumbled, then recovered the ball, in the end zone.

“I thought he had awesome numbers with both his arms and with his legs,” Cristobal said of Mensah’s performance Saturday. “Commanded the offense, putting us in the correct run check, extending plays, made some awesome throws, got hit a few times as well … I thought he had great command in a great environment. I thought he was great.”

After another Hauser field goal just before halftime cut Miami’s lead to 17-6, the Hurricanes pushed their lead again in the third quarter after Fletcher’s first touchdown of the night, a 2-yard rush that capped a 14-play, 83-yard drive that took 7:58 off the clock.

In the fourth quarter, Weinberg added another field goal – this one from 24 yards out – and Fletcher scored again to secure the win.

“I think we relied heavily on those guys up front in the second half and they stepped up,” Mensah said of Miami’s offensive line, which dealt with a series of injuries Saturday. “It’s awesome to have younger guys who can step into a role, into an environment like this. It’s just big time and we’re going to need more of that as the season goes on.”

The Hurricanes did add one more score late, just before the game ended and fittingly, it came from the defense.

Freshman JJ Dunnigan, who has played well for the Hurricanes throughout the early portion of the second, intercepted Reynolds and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown with 1:49 left.

It was the first interception of Dunnigan’s collegiate career.

“The continued experience gained by our freshmen due to circumstances, really, it’s going to pay off in the long run and it paid off tonight. It paid off [with] JJ Dunnigan, right,” Cristobal said. “JJ was banged up coming into this week, runs out there, 10 men on the field, gets out there right in time, covers the guy, returns it for a touchdown. I mean, so many things to be proud of.”

Miami’s defense made things difficult for Reynolds and the Tigers all night.

The Hurricanes totaled six sacks and nine tackles for loss in the win and held Clemson to just 55 rushing yards.

Damon Wilson II had 2.5 of those sacks, along with three tackles, while Omar Thornton and Bryce Fitzgerald each had a team-high seven sacks. Thornton also had a sack, and Ahmad Moten Sr. forced a fumble.

Now, after earning conference road wins against Stanford, Wake Forest and Clemson, the Hurricanes will turn their focus to a much needed off week before returning to action against rival Florida State on Oct. 17 at Hard Rock Stadium.

And while they may not play next week, Cristobal and the Hurricanes made it clear they plan to use the next few days to get healthy and continuing to find ways to improve.

“We’re only in Game Five, right? The tough road is ahead,” Cristobal said. “We’re honored to be here tonight, awesome with the win. Let’s get healed up. Let’s get to work. We have to get a lot better at a lot of things. We have to get a lot better.”

Said Mensah, “It’s a huge win and I don’t want to try to focus on the negative things, but to be honest, we left 14 points on the board offensively, which just makes me pretty sick. So, huge win for the Canes. I’m super proud of our guys for coming out here and playing the way we did, but we’ve got some stuff to clean up.”