CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ If Miami wanted a glimpse of the future, the Hurricanes need only look across the field at Bank of America Stadium.
Clemson has been college football's model of consistency under the leadership of Dabo Swinney. Since taking over the program in 2009, the Tigers have been to the ACC Championship Game five times.
The Hurricanes hope to earn that level of success, but those milestones remained well out of reach Saturday.
Clemson scored touchdowns during three of its first four possessions to open up the game before cruising to a 38-3 win over Miami Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 74,372 fans. It was the second-largest crowd to watch the championship game in ACC history.
Quarterback Kelly Bryant started the game by completing his first 15 passes, setting a new ACC championship record, and the Tigers outgained the Hurricanes 231-64 in the first half.
No. 1 Clemson (12-1) will return to the College Football Playoff semifinals looking for its third consecutive trip to the national title game.
Miami (10-2) can take consolation with a spot in a New Year's Six bowl game, most likely closer to home at the Orange Bowl, where the Hurricanes have made eight appearances since 1936. The most recent Orange Bowl trip was in 2003.
Offensive struggles that plagued the team during last week's loss to Pittsburgh continued to haunt the Hurricanes Saturday against Clemson.
Miami was just 2 of 8 on third-down conversions, with the offense failing to string together first downs. The Hurricanes were forced to punt the ball five times in the first 30 minutes.
The 'Canes scored their first points of the game _ a 22-yard field goal by Michael Badgley _ with 3:29 left in the contest.
For the second consecutive week, quarterback Malik Rosier struggled to get anything going offensively as Clemson's defense hounded the redshirt junior much of the night. Rosier was 6-of-12 passing for just 27 yards in the first half.
Running back Travis Homer, who managed just 12 rushing yards last week, couldn't do much better on this night, finishing with just 41 yards.
The defense stalled as well, allowing a season-high 38 points. Miami entered the game ranked third in the country with 29 takeaways, but the 'Canes could only muster one turnover while Clemson forced three of their own.
It was another disappointing performance for a Miami team that rose to as high as No. 2 in the playoff rankings before dropping after last week's loss to the Panthers.
Injuries played a big factor in the Hurricanes' loss.
Miami was without two of its top three offensive playmakers in tight end Christopher Herndon and receiver Ahmmon Richards, who combined for 64 receptions and 916 receiving yards this season. Their absence was felt, with Braxton Berrios and Michael Irvin II trying to pick up the slack.
This year's ACC championship featured a dream matchup for the conference, with two teams boasting the highest combined rankings in the title game's history. Both programs combined for seven national championships between them: Miami (5) and Clemson (2).
ACC commissioner John Swofford was pleased with the importance assigned to his conference's game.
"We would take that every year for the ACC Championship Game to in essence be a quarterfinal playoff game," Swofford said. "That just elevates the game so much more."
But that what started out as a dream ended up being a nightmare, especially for the Hurricanes.
The last time these two teams met, Clemson handed Miami its worst loss in program history _ a 58-0 thrashing at Hard Rock Stadium in 2015.
The loss shouldn't overshadow a special season during which Miami snapped a seven-game losing streak to in-state rival Florida State, knocked off Notre Dame and won the first ACC Coastal Division title in school history.
