Miami vs. Clemson: No. 4 Canes chase huge Death Valley win
No. 4 Miami brings a perfect record and one of the nation’s hottest quarterbacks to Death Valley on Saturday, Oct. 3, trying to win at Clemson for the first time since 2010. The Miami vs. Clemson game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium on ABC, with the Hurricanes (4-0, 2-0 ACC) and Tigers (3-1, 2-0) both unbeaten in conference play.
It’s Miami’s first trip to Clemson since a 40-10 loss in 2022, when the Hurricanes were 19.5-point underdogs in Mario Cristobal’s first season and gained only 98 yards, according to CBS Sports. This time, Miami is a 16.5-point favorite, the largest spread Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has faced in his tenure, CBS Sports Research found.
The Miami vs. Clemson series is tied 7-7. Miami is 2-2 at Clemson, winning in 2005 and 2010 and losing in 2020 and 2022, per the Miami Herald.
Miami vs. Clemson game information
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 3
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C.
- TV: ABC
- Records: No. 4 Miami (4-0, 2-0 ACC) at Clemson (3-1, 2-0 ACC)
Miami Hurricanes outlook
Miami enters Miami vs. Clemson after winning at Stanford (45-6) and Wake Forest (33-20) and routing Florida A&M (77-7) and Central Michigan (52-3) at home. Quarterback Darian Mensah, who transferred from Duke after a legal fight over a reported two-year, $8 million deal that ended in a settlement, has completed 94 of 106 passes for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns without an interception, per ESPN.
His 88.7 percent completion rate and 14 touchdowns against only 12 incompletions are the best marks by an FBS quarterback since at least 1998, CBS Sports reported. He also set an ACC record with 24 straight completions in the win at Wake Forest.
Mark Fletcher Jr. leads the ground game with 230 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries, and Malachi Toney leads the receivers with 34 catches for 564 yards and six scores. Both were hurt in the Sept. 18 win at Wake Forest, and Miami has lost running back Marty Brown (knee) and receiver Joshua Moore (upper body) for the season, according to FOX Sports.
Clemson Tigers outlook
Clemson enters Miami vs. Clemson on a three-game winning streak since a 51-10 opening loss at LSU, beating Georgia Southern 22-7 and North Carolina 28-20 at home before winning 24-10 at California. True freshman Tait Reynolds has started the last two games, both wins, after starter Christopher Vizzina was hurt in Week 2, CBS Sports reported.
Reynolds has completed 54 of 84 passes for 521 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Gideon Davidson leads the ground game with 346 yards and three scores on 59 carries, and T.J. Moore leads the team with 21 catches for 196 yards.
The offense now runs through coordinator Chad Morris, who held the job from 2011 to 2014 and last called plays in college in 2020. With little film on his current scheme, Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said his staff went back to tape from 2013, 2014 and 2020. Clemson ranks 120th or worse nationally in scoring, passing and total offense, according to CBS Sports.
Key matchup: Miami’s offense vs. Clemson’s defense
Clemson opened 2025 at No. 4 in the preseason AP poll and finished 7-6, its worst record in 15 years, after years of avoiding the transfer portal, CBS Sports noted. Defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s unit now faces a Miami offense built largely through the portal.
“Everybody says you want to affect that guy. Well, you got to find a way to do it too, you know, because right now nobody’s done that yet,” Allen said of Mensah.
Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson still respects the setting. “They’re hard to beat at their place. They’re hard to beat in general. I don’t know if they’ve gotten beat at their place a ton over the last decade,” Dawson said.
Players to watch
Darian Mensah, QB, Miami
Mensah has thrown for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns in four games and has yet to throw an interception. Swinney called him “an elite, elite player” this week, per CBS Sports.
Gideon Davidson, RB, Clemson
Davidson has 346 yards and three touchdowns on 59 carries. Keeping Miami’s defense honest on early downs will be critical if the Tigers hope to shorten the game and limit Mensah’s possessions.
What to watch in Miami vs. Clemson
Both sides in Miami vs. Clemson are among six ACC programs still unbeaten in league play, so the winner becomes an early front-runner in the conference race. A Miami win would extend its perfect start a year after the Hurricanes reached the national title game, where they lost 27-21 to Indiana. A Clemson win would be its first over a top-five team at home since 2003, according to CBS Sports.
Miami has only two road games left after Clemson, at North Carolina on Oct. 31 and at Notre Dame on Nov. 7, per the Miami Herald. Elsewhere in the ACC, two more unbeaten teams meet Friday in our Pitt vs. Virginia Tech preview.
Reporting from CBS Sports, FOX Sports and the Miami Herald contributed to this story. Statistics and schedule: ESPN.