The Clemson Tiger s were unable to pull off the upset on Saturday night, falling to No. 4 Miami 41-13 at home. However, the game was not as lopsided as the score deems it to have been.
Head coach Dabo Swinney's group had players who were unable to meet the moment while others excelled under the lights in the primetime slot. Those will be the names that Clemson should rely on at it heads into the bye week this upcoming weekend.
So, as we do every week, here are players who raised and lowered their respective stock for the Tigers last Saturday.
In the game that had most fans watching for Hampton's opponent throughout Saturday's game, Malachi Toney, Hampton had the better day in the end.
The junior finished with five solo tackles and two pass deflections, both coming on intended passes to Toney. One of those included a pivotal fourth down on the first Miami drive in the second quarter, while Hampton showed off his shutdown speed to turn the ball over on downs. The breakup gave the Tigers necessary momentum to look to close the lead, although that was short-lived.
Hampton improved his draft stock, which should be one that sees him get selected on the first day of the 2027 NFL Draft. Of course, we don't know if that will be the case until the season ends.
This might be a surprising one, but when Clemson's defense needed an answer, there were others who simply made bigger plays. We'd expect those to come from Brown as the team's leader.
As a returning third-team All-American in 2025, Brown finished with one solo tackle, contributing other tackles when Miami was running the ball efficiently. Clemson's defense couldn't get off the field after the middle of the third quarter, which allowed the Hurricanes to run up the score and make the final an ugly one.
In a game with primetime expectations, you expect the best players to meet the moment. Names like Hampton were able to, but I don't think I can say the same thing about Brown in the loss.
I think it's safe to say that Brown is playing like his freshman year self, and he showed that as quarterback Tait Reynolds's main security blanket on Saturday.
He finished with 10 receptions for 76 yards, leading the team in catches in a contest where Clemson needed to keep up offensively to win. That was a career-high for Brown in the loss, never reaching a double-digit amount of receptions in his first three seasons as a Tiger.
Although Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore steal the show by the media when looking at Clemson's scouting report, Brown perhaps is the most productive with what he's given. Look for him to continue to be a valuable contributor for the Tigers as they look to contend in the ACC.
We saw other Clemson defensive tackles make impacts defensively in the game, but I can't say the same about Adams on Saturday.
The sophomore finished with only one tackle on the interior, being unable to slow down the Miami rushing attack with 192 ground yards in the game. The pass rush only got to Miami quarterback Darian Mensah twice with sacks, but one of them was another lineman: Andy Burburija.
Another defensive tackle, Vic Burley, helped stuff a 3rd-and-1 that forced Miami to give the ball back to Clemson. The Tigers' defensive tackle room still has starting spots up for grabs, and although Adams will continue to get reps there, he's got to start producing.
Clemson's wide receiver room woke up for the first time last weekend, and Wesco was one of the beneficiaries of that.
He finished with a career-high in both receptions and receiving yards, finishing with nine for 152 yards, respectively. The former five-star capped the night off with a 55-yard catch-and-run, even making a Miami defender fall in his scamper across the field.
It's a comforting feeling to see that Reynolds is getting more confident when throwing to his receivers, but having a highly-touted receiver standing out with him, like Wesco, is helpful to have as Clemson continues ACC play in three weeks. Look for that connection to grow in the next weeks.
Clemson's offensive line could be argued to be the program's worst position group this season, and we saw mistakes with nearly every player who went in on Saturday. That began and ended with Sewell, the center.
In the game's first third down, he gave Reynolds a high snap that made him jump, being stuffed at the line of scrimmage on a quarterback draw because of it. Whether if it was penalties or missed assignments, the unit was unable to get Reynolds comfortable in the pocket, making most of the plays on the run or on a certain side of the field.
It's difficult to see if Clemson's offensive line will show the improvement necessary to compete with the regular season already almost halfway done. However, if there's any player who could raise his stock more in the next games, it will be Sewell.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/clemson as Clemson Stock Report: Who Raised or Lowered Stock After Miami Loss .
