With CharMar “Marty” Brown out for the rest of the season, Miami’s backfield has a clear opening, and Jordan Lyle is right in the middle of it. The No. 4 Hurricanes keep leaning on the run even with an explosive offense and Darian Mensah at quarterback, and that approach gives the junior another chance to get rolling after a stretch full of setbacks.
Lyle’s road back has not been simple. The Fort Lauderdale native lost much of his sophomore year to injuries, then dealt with a legal case involving alleged fleeing from police and a team suspension.
Now he’s back in the mix, activated and fully participating in practice. His return came just after Brown was ruled out for the season with a severe right knee injury.
Miami still has options, and plenty of them. Senior star Mark Fletcher Jr. sat out last Saturday’s 52-3 win over Central Michigan at Hard Rock Stadium as a precaution, but he is not on the ACC injury report and appears ready to return. Even so, if the Hurricanes want to keep from needing more backs to step in, Lyle may still have a real role to play.
Against Central Michigan, he logged 16 snaps, carried six times for 16 yards, and had a chance to score before coughing up the ball while diving for the end zone. Right guard Jamal Meriweather recovered it and was credited with the touchdown.
Miami does not need Lyle to become the player he once looked like he could be after that promising freshman season. It needs him to be efficient, useful, and ready when called on.
That’s the kind of challenge waiting at Clemson, where UNC’s Benjamin Hall showed how a back can punish an inconsistent run defense. In Clemson’s 28-20 win, Hall ran for 130 yards on 18 carries, added a receiving touchdown, forced 10 missed tackles, and picked up 100 of those rushing yards after contact.
Lyle has the kind of burst that can stress a defense both between the tackles and on the edge, and he said at Miami’s Media Day before fall camp that he wanted to improve his balance. He’ll get a chance to show that Saturday at Memorial Stadium, better known as Death Valley, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. E.T. on ABC.
In Other News...
Miami Looked Like A Title Contender But One Concern Is Growing
Miamis win over Clemson did a lot more than add another quality result to the rsum. The Hurricanes backed it up with a defense that held Clemson to 13 points and just one touchdown, while the offense found enough explosive plays to keep control of the game. Cooper Barkate delivered the kind of breakout performance that can change the feel of a season, highlighted by a 61-yard touchdown catch, and Darian Mensah added scoring through both the air and on the ground.
The problem for Miami was everything that happened around the win. The Hurricanes were dealing with multiple injuries by the end of the game, including to key offensive linemen and cornerbacks, and while some players were able to return after leaving, the list of in-game issues kept growing. For a team that just looked every bit like a title contender, the concern now is less about whether Miami can beat top competition and more about how long it can keep doing it with so many bodies being asked to hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Miamis Biggest Worry After Clemson Has Nothing To Do With The Score
Miami left Clemson with a convincing 40-13 win in a primetime matchup, and the performance had the feel of a complete road statement even with several key players banged up along the way. The Hurricanes absorbed injuries on both lines and in the secondary, yet the defense still smothered Clemsons rushing attack and finished with six sacks while the ground game produced 192 yards and three touchdowns.
The bigger concern now is less about the scoreboard and more about how Miami comes out of it physically as the calendar turns to Florida State. A rivalry game of that size demands depth and health, and the Hurricanes have already seen how quickly their margin can shrink when the injuries start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Gave The ACC No Real Case Against No. 1
Miamis win over Clemson did more than add another eye-catching result to the ledger. It gave the Hurricanes a weekend built on both style and substance, the kind of showing that tends to linger in the ACC pecking order. With Miami stacking up as the leagues benchmark in scoring and defense, the argument around the top spot is starting to look less like a debate and more like an acknowledgment of what has already happened on the field.
Around the conference, a few teams flashed enough to keep the race interesting, from Pitt and Duke to SMU and Louisville, while others like Florida State, Virginia Tech and Clemson continue sorting out where they really fit. But Miamis combination of a statement win and season-long consistency leaves the ACC with a familiar problem: if the No. 1 team keeps handling its biggest tests, there may not be much left to argue about. The next stretch will show whether anyone can make that case anyway. [Read more 🡒]