Heavily-favored No. 4 Miami, Clemson meet in clash for sole possession of first place in ACC

No. 4 Miami missed out on an opportunity to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game last season after midseason losses to Louisville and SMU came back to bite the Hurricanes, leaving them on the wrong side of a tiebreaker.

The Hurricanes (4-0, 2-0 ACC) seem determined not to leave any margin for error this time around.

Last year's national championship runner-up has been dominant so far, outscoring opponents 207-36 with the closest game being a 33-20 victory against Wake Forest.

Miami has the country's top offense, averaging nearly 600 yards per game. Duke transfer Darian Mensah is completing 88.7% of his passes while averaging more than 300 yards passing per game with 14 touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Miami's offensive numbers are just “unreal.”

“This is a team that, in my opinion, really don’t have any weaknesses,” Swinney said. “It’s a really, really talented football team across the board.”

Clemson's defense allowed 51 points and 644 yards in its season-opening loss at No. 11 LSU but has improved since. During its current three-game win streak the Tigers have surrendered just 12.3 points and 282 yards per game and did not surrender an offensive touchdown in Friday night's 24-10 win over Cal.

Beating perennial ACC power Clemson (3-1, 2-0) in Death Valley on Saturday night stands as a crucial next step for the Hurricanes in their quest to reach the ACC title game for the first time since 2017.

Miami and Clemson are the only two 2-0 teams in conference play, so the winner takes over sole possession of first place for now. (Four other teams are 1-0 in ACC play.)

Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said his team won't be taking Clemson lightly despite what happened in the LSU game.

“Certainly they didn’t get off to the start they wanted in game one, but since then have been playing really high-level football in a lot of different ways,” Cristobal said.

There was a time when Clemson was unbeatable at home, winning 40 straight games at Memorial Stadium during one span from 2016-22.

But the Tigers enter this one as a 17 1/2 home underdog, the largest ever in the Swinney era. In fact, Clemson has never been even a double-digit underdog at home under the future College Football Hall of Fame coach.

It's also the worst underdog point spread of the Swinney era regardless of site.

Tait Reynolds took over as Clemson's starting quarterback in Week 3 and has orchestrated wins over ACC foes North Carolina and Cal, but remains a work in progress.

Clemson’s offense ranks 120th in the FBS for points per game (21) and 127th for total yards per game (314) despite having two of the country's most explosive wide receivers in Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore.

Clemson has relied heavily on its running game, defense and special teams to get back on track. Running back Gideon Davidson, who has run for a combined 326 yards and three touchdowns in Clemson's three wins, has Cristobal's attention.

“Just tremendous contact balance. He can accelerate. He runs behind his pads, runs through tackles, rarely gets tackled by the first guy. Explosive," Cristobal said. “... He presents a tremendous threat on any given touch to take it to the house.”

Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr., a preseason AP All-American, and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. are expected to return after sitting out last week's win over Central Michigan with injuries.

Fletcher leads Miami with 230 yards rushing and three TDs while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Moten is a key cog up front for Miami and has three three tackles and half a sack this season.

Both of Clemson's home games this season have been marred by two-hour lightning delays, with the Georgia Southern contest not ending until after 1 a.m. and the North Carolina win serving as longest in school history.

The National Weather Service forecast for Saturday calls for a 70% percent chance of precipitation and showers are expected during the day with possible thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.

“It’s been a weird year," Swinney said. “We’re kicking off at 7:30, and it’s one of the earliest kickoffs we’ve had all year. We’ve had two 9:30 kickoffs and a 10:30 kickoff (on the West Coast at Cal). Even the noon kickoff (against North Carolina) was the longest game in Clemson history. It’s just insane.”

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