The ACC race gets a spotlight game Saturday night, and it comes with a familiar feel: Miami and Clemson, the league’s only 2-0 teams, meeting in Death Valley with first place on the line.
For Miami, this is the kind of stage the Hurricanes have been chasing for years. They’re 4-0 overall, ranked No. 4, and carrying the look of a team built for something bigger than a strong September.
They also have a chance to keep building on a start that has already separated itself from the rest of the country. Miami is beating opponents by an average of 42.8 points per game, the best mark in school history through four games, and the offense has been rolling at 51.8 points per game.
The Hurricanes have jumped on teams early, holding three of four opponents to under 100 yards of offense in the first half.
That’s the backdrop for Darian Mensah, who has spent the first month making a real Heisman Trophy case. Through four games, the Miami quarterback has completed 88.7% of his passes at 11.4 yards per attempt with 14 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
This matchup gives him a national-stage test against a Clemson defense that has tightened up against the pass over the last two weeks. With the rest of the college football world watching, Mensah gets the kind of opponent that can sharpen an award argument fast.
Miami’s trip to Clemson also carries some program history. The Hurricanes have been in the ACC since 2004 and still haven’t won the conference title in football, despite plenty of strong seasons and a run to the national championship game last season.
They’ve played in the ACC title game only once, and that came against Clemson in 2017. Miami lost that night, becoming the third of six straight teams to fall to the Tigers in Charlotte.
The all-time series is as even as it gets. Miami and Clemson are tied 7-7, with each team winning half its home games and each side taking one of the two neutral-site meetings.
Clemson has its own milestone hanging in the air. Dabo Swinney is one win away from tying Bobby Bowden for the most head coaching wins in ACC regular-season play at 117.
Swinney already owns the conference record for overall wins as an ACC head coach, thanks in part to postseason success, but this one would carry extra weight after a rocky start to the season. Clemson took a brutal 51-10 loss to LSU, then steadied itself with three straight wins.
A victory here would not only pull the Tigers level with Bowden, it would also land as a loud response against one of the ACC’s most powerful current programs.
There’s also a reason Clemson believes it can make this uncomfortable for Miami. Even with the talk around Swinney and the transfer portal, the Tigers’ pass defense has been the clear strength of the last two weeks, and some of the key pieces have come through transfers. Clemson has allowed fewer than 150 passing yards in each of its past two games, including a strong showing against California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
That’s why the expectation here is for a tighter, slower game than the number suggests.
Pick: Under 47.5
Miami vs. Clemson
Date: Saturday, October 3 Time: 7:30 p.m.
ET Location: Memorial Stadium - Clemson, South Carolina
TV: ABC Live stream: Fubo (try free)
In Other News...
Miami Injury Report Just Raised Clemson's Biggest Game Week Question
Miamis first injury report ahead of Clemson offered a useful early snapshot of where the Hurricanes stand entering one of their biggest games of the season. Mario Cristobal said several players who have missed time recently are trending toward returning, and that matters for a roster still trying to get back to full strength at the right moment. The added depth should help Miami on both sides of the ball as the stakes rise and the margin for error shrinks.
The most watched name on the report is cornerback Lucas, who is listed as questionable but is making progress toward a return. For Miami, his status is the kind of late-week detail that can shape how the defense approaches Clemson, especially against a team that will test every available matchup. The Hurricanes have reason for optimism with the overall health picture improving, but the final answer on Lucas still leaves one of the weeks biggest questions hanging. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Heads To Clemson With A Chance To Change The ACC Order
For much of the last decade, the ACC has run through Clemson, with the Tigers stacking conference championships, national titles and a reputation as the leagues standard-bearer. Miami, meanwhile, has spent years trying to climb back into that conversation, and under Mario Cristobal the Hurricanes have started to look more like a program ready to make the jump from promising to relevant again.
Now they head to Clemson with a chance to turn that progress into something bigger than one win. Miami has been more competitive in the series lately, including a recent victory, and this trip offers a real measuring stick for where the Hurricanes stand in the conference pecking order. If Miami can follow through in a game like this, the ACC hierarchy could start to look a lot different. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Heads To Clemson With Depth Suddenly Under Pressure
Miamis trip to Clemson is arriving with the kind of injury uncertainty that can quickly reshape a game plan. The Atlantic Coast Conferences first availability report lists several Hurricanes already ruled out, including tight ends Luka Gilbert and Owen Ruskavich, running back CharMar Brown and cornerbacks Romanas Frederique Jr. and JaBoree Antoine, a mix of absences that touches both the skill spots and the secondary.
The larger concern is how much more of the depth chart could still be in flux by kickoff. Cornerback Xavier Lucas and linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin Jr. are among the players tagged questionable, with game-time decisions expected, leaving Miami to manage a short week of preparation while waiting on final answers. For a road game at Clemson, where every available body matters, the uncertainty could end up being as important as the matchup itself. [Read more 🡒]