Mario Cristobal isn’t treating Clemson like a soft spot on the schedule, and for good reason. Miami may be the favorite to win the ACC, but the Hurricanes’ coach knows better than to stroll into a game like this with blind confidence. He’s seen enough over the years to understand the kind of trap these spots can become.
On Monday, Cristobal pointed to the part of Clemson’s game that has been doing the most damage lately: the second half. The Tigers have outscored opponents 42-6 across the final two quarters of their last three games, and they haven’t given up a second-half touchdown in any of their three wins this season. That’s the kind of detail that matters when you’re heading into a primetime road game and trying to avoid letting things get messy.
This one has the feel of a grind. Clemson gets a home-night setting and the possibility of some shaky weather, which only adds to the Tigers’ chances of hanging around.
Miami has bigger tests ahead, but this is exactly the sort of matchup where Cristobal’s teams have sometimes made life harder than it needs to be. He’s seen Miami get clipped in games it should have handled, and he knows how quickly a comfortable night can turn into a fight.
What stands out about Clemson right now is how organized it looks. Rich Bisaccia’s special teams group has become a real strength, Tom Allen’s defense has been steady, and Chad Morris’ offense, while still taking its time, is starting to show a legitimate run game. Put that together, and Clemson looks like a team with some structure behind it.
That kind of discipline is something Miami hasn’t always had in its corner. The Hurricanes have talent, plenty of it, but consistency and control haven’t always come naturally. And in Death Valley, Clemson’s home-field edge is a different kind of problem altogether.
The bigger picture is that Clemson has started to look harder to finish off. The Tigers aren’t the same team that kept letting leads slip a year ago.
They’re playing with more urgency after halftime, and that makes them dangerous even when the matchup on paper leans the other way. Opponents know one mistake can snowball fast.
So even if Miami is the better team overall, Clemson still has a path to make this one uncomfortable. If the Tigers can get anything going offensively, they may be able to keep it close enough to threaten the kind of upset that would echo around the season.
In Other News...
Clemson Faces A Growing Availability Worry Before Huge Miami Test
Clemson is entering a crucial stretch with availability becoming a bigger part of the conversation than the opponent on the other sideline. Ahead of the Miami game, Dabo Swinney said several injured players are still being monitored, with some getting work in practice and others continuing to work back from recent injuries as the Tigers try to sort out their depth before a marquee ACC matchup.
The group includes Corian Gipson, Elyjah Thurmon and Devarrick Woods, all of whom are still in uncertain territory heading into the week, while backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina remains out with an elbow issue. Defensive tackle Kourtney Kelly is making progress from an ACL tear, but Clemson is still waiting to see how much of this injured core will actually be available when the Tigers need it most. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Faces One Huge Test After Its Cross-Country Win
The trip to Berkeley ended the way Clemson needed it to, with a 24-10 win over Cal and a quick turnaround back home to South Carolina afterward. Dabo Swinney liked the effort his team showed in managing the long haul, and the Tigers were back on the practice field Sept. 28 as they shifted attention to what comes next.
What comes next is the kind of game that can define an ACC season, with No. 4 Miami arriving in Death Valley on Oct. 3. Cross-country trips have not always been kind to league teams in the game that follows, so Clemsons focus now turns to whether it can carry the same edge from California into a matchup that will tell plenty about where the Tigers stand. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Surging Secondary Now Faces The Test Fans Feared Most
Clemsons secondary has spent enough of this season building momentum that a matchup like this feels less like a detour than a measuring stick. The defense showed against Cal that it can make life difficult for a productive passing game, and that matters now with Miami coming in boasting a quarterback who has been accurate, aggressive and hard to rattle early in the year. Ashton Hampton and Elliot Washington II have both flashed the kind of playmaking on the back end that can change drives in a hurry, giving Clemson reason to believe this group can hold up when the stakes rise.
The problem is that Miamis offense brings a level of rhythm and efficiency that tends to stress every coverage mistake, and Clemson knows the challenge is bigger than simply sticking with receivers for a few snaps. This is the kind of game that can validate all the progress the Tigers secondary has made, or expose just how far it still has to go against an attack that has not given opponents much room for error. For Clemson, the attraction is obvious: if the back end can stand up here, it says something real about where this defense is headed. [Read more 🡒]