Clemson Football Expected to See Miami's Top Players in ACC Clash

The Clemson Tigers face their best opponent all season, arguably, this weekend at home, seeing the No. 4 Miami Hurricanes at Memorial Stadium.

A heavy favorite to win the conference, head coach Dabo Swinney could pick up a statement win in conference play by taking out the team with the most weapons this season. However, despite some of those pieces being out in Miami’s game last week, they are expected to return.

On “The Joe Rose Show”, a Miami sports radio talk show, head coach Mario Cristobal said that he expects running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. to play against the Tigers on Saturday night, being two of the Hurricanes’ most important pieces on their roster. Both were critical contributors throughout Miami’s national championship run, even before falling to Indiana in the final.

Fletcher was on the Preseason All-ACC team and was a Third Team All-ACC honoree after the 2025 season. However, the College Football Playoff was where the running back made a name for himself to enter 2026 with plenty of momentum.

He recorded over 90 yards rushing in every game in the four-game postseason, including 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the national championship. This season, Fletcher has recorded 230 yards and three rushing touchdowns, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. He did miss Miami’s most recent game against Central Michigan with an upper-body injury, though.

After that win this weekend, Cristobal said it was for precautionary reasons.

“We feel Mark is healthy and ready to go,” he said. “He was banged up to the point where it may not have been the best choice to put him in there tonight.”

Early on, for Clemson, it hasn’t been as efficient with defending the run, especially with a banged-up interior on the defensive line. The Tigers have averaged 157.8 rushing yards allowed per game, which is 13th in the ACC in doing so.

On the flip side, the Hurricanes are the best in the ACC at defending the run with only 39.5 yards allowed per game this season. Now, they add their keystone piece on the defensive line back, who has only played in one game this season.

Moten finished with 4.5 tackles for loss at defensive tackle for the ‘Canes last season, but the senior had half a tackle for loss in the team’s ACC win over Wake Forest.

Those aren’t the only names that the Tigers have to worry about, however, seeing the most important piece last season, quarterback Darian Mensah. Formerly with Duke last season, Mensah finished with 361 yards and four touchdowns in the game that Clemson lost on a two-point conversion by the Blue Devils late.

Of course, the main receiver to look out for is sophomore Malachi Toney, who is deemed as a top-two receiver in the country. He already has 564 yards and six touchdowns in four games for Miami this season.

However, if Clemson wants to declare itself as a frontrunner of the ACC, it has the chance to do so on Saturday night against an offensive powerhouse and a defense that can make teams pay. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. with the broadcast on ABC.

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