Clemson at Miami Staff Predictions
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It's do-or-die time for the Miami Hurricanes with the Clemson Tigers coming to town. The 4-2 Canes need to get past the last two games and start over, including limiting penalties and turnovers.
The Saturday night game inside Hard Rock Stadium should be a good one. Here's what the AllHurricanes staff believes will happen.
Brian Smith, Publisher - Miami 27 Clemson 24
Look for there to be plenty of yards for both the Miami and Clemson offenses, but each defense to knock completely break inside the red zone. The key here will be the kicking game.
Miami's kicker, Andres Borregales, will hit the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining prior to the Canes fending off one last effort by the visiting Tigers. To get there, a few players will stand out for both squads.
Miami's Leonard Taylor III will have a monster game in which he stuffs the run multiple times and records a sack of Clemson signal caller Cade Klubnik. Also on UM's defense, Francisco Mauigoa will lead the team in tackles with nine.
For Clemson, the running back duo of Phil Mafah and Will Shipley goes for 150 yards combined, but a fumbled exchange will be costly to the Tigers. Lastly, this game is going to be full of emotion and it's going to help the Hurricanes.
Miami players are going to play with their hair on fire. They have their backs against the wall. Look for outstanding effort to deflect passes, make extra blocks, and flat out get after Klubnik. Miami survives in a thriller.
Alex Donno, Podcaster - Miami 24 Clemson 20
Both of these teams should be better than 4-2 right now. Miami has self-sabotaged with 9 turnovers in their past four games. Clemson has out-gained all six of their opponents head to head but rank 121st in the country in red zone scoring.
The Hurricanes will be feeling extra urgency coming off two straight losses. Effort was not their problem against North Carolina. Clemson's offense can't hurt them on the perimeter the way the Tar Heels did. I expect Miami to bounce-back with a good run-stopping performance against Will Shipley and Phil Mahfa.
On offense, the Hurricanes should get a boost from tight end Elijah Arroyo being healthy again. He provides an important weapon for Tyler Van Dyke. I expect Miami to hit just enough plays in the passing game to get a close win. Something to watch for is Clemson's problematic field goal kicking. They've only connected on 4 of 10 field goal tries this year. In a tight game, that could be costly.
Liam Willerup, Writer - Clemson 30 Miami 27
I want to believe that Miami can turn their season around with this game, but I think they'll fall just short of it on Saturday night.
North Carolina's defense forced four turnovers on the Hurricanes, despite being an average defense at best; Clemson on the other hand is one of the better defenses in the country. The Tigers have allowed just 175.5 yards per game while keeping quarterbacks to just a 54% completion mark.
With those numbers in mind, a lot of pressure will be on Tyler Van Dyke to turn it around as he's thrown five interceptions in the past two matchups. While it won't just be on the passing game, his turnovers have been significant and take Miami out of these type of games.
However I do still see a close game, as Clemson is just not what they've been over the last decade. The Tigers dominated last seasons matchup in a 40-10 win, but Miami's offense is far from what that 2022-23 team was. Regardless, I see a close loss for the Hurricanes before they go into two of their lesser matchups in Virginia and NC State in the following weeks.
Corey Carmona, a.k.a. Chalupa Batman, Podcaster - Clemson 24 Miami 17
I'm expecting a physical, intense and closely contested game that will come down to who can impose their will at the line of scrimmage.
For Miami to have a chance of winning, their defense will need to focus on stopping or at least containing Shipley, Mafah, and Clemson's rushing attack. This might involve loading the box, maintaining gap discipline, and ensuring solid tackling to prevent long runs. If Miami's defense can successfully limit the effectiveness of Clemson's running backs, they have a shot to pull off the upset.
Offensively, the Canes will have a similar game plan to Clemson, I expect to see Henry Parrish, Jr. and Don Chaney, Jr. both quite a bit this week, Controlling the flow of the game, protecting the football and keeping Clemson off of the field is the recipe for success this week if the Canes want to escape with a win.
I believe it’ll be a close, hard-fought game with Clemson coming away with the win. In games like these, it often comes down to which team can control the line of scrimmage, limit turnovers and execute their running game with consistency and efficiency.
Rowdy Baribeau, Writer - Clemson 37, Miami 23
Miami's defensive front was outmatched against North Carolina and Clemson's defensive front is a tier above UNC's. Regardless, I expect Miami to attempt to establish a run game, which it has struggled to do ever since its loss to Georgia Tech.
Miami will need to ramp up its physicality and be more disciplined on defense if it wishes to defeat the Tigers, who have outscored Miami 178-30 in the last three matchups.
Tyler Van Dyke will have to get back to the game he was playing during the first four weeks of the season and limit the turnovers, which he has struggled to do over the past two games. He also needs to work on spreading the ball around more and get Colbie Young back into the fold.
If Miami's defensive front can contain Clemson QB Cade Klubnik, it gives the defense the best chance of stopping the Clemson offense. The Hurricanes will also have to account for Will Shipley, who is one of the best tailbacks in the ACC.
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