Miami is still nursing a national-title heartbreak. Clemson is starting almost from scratch. Something has to give under the Death Valley lights.
Bush’s Picks
MIACLEM
MIACLEM
OverUnder
Best BetMiami
Miami brings a proven, turnover-averse quarterback and a defense that returns six starters plus a notable pass-rush addition, while Clemson is trusting a first-time starter behind a rebuilt offensive line. The Canes have the deeper, more tested roster top to bottom right now.
Miami
+Reached the 2025 CFP title game at 13-3
+Added proven Duke transfer QB Mensah (34 TD, 6 INT)
+Returns 1,000-yard rusher Fletcher, six D starters
−Coming off a gutting title-game loss to Indiana
−First true road test in a hostile venue
−New pieces like Mensah, Wilson II still need reps together
Clemson
+Deep, talented returning WR duo in Wesco/Moore
+Death Valley home-field, program pedigree
+Added ballhawk transfer safety Jerome Carter III
−Just 7-6 in 2025, program at a crossroads
−Lost 9 drafted starters, including QB and LT
−Vizzina largely unproven as a starter
This one's a study in contrasts at quarterback. Miami hands the keys to Duke transfer Darian Mensah, who threw 34 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions last season and now has a 1,000-yard rusher in Mark Fletcher and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Cooper Barkate and Malachi Toney around him. Clemson counters with Christopher Vizzina, who spent two years learning behind Cade Klubnik and now gets thrown into a true road environment as a first-time starter.
Clemson's offseason was less about building and more about replacing. The Tigers had 9 players drafted, tying a school record, and lost their quarterback, top receiver, starting running back and left tackle in the process. New/old offensive coordinator Chad Morris is back to try to modernize an attack that leaned too heavily on Klubnik improvising, while SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. and sophomore Gideon Davidson try to stabilize a backfield that also needs answers up front.
Show fees
11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
MIA Miami
CLEM Clemson
Miami, by comparison, is building on continuity. Cristobal's group returns six starters on defense and added Missouri pass-rush transfer Damon Wilson II to a unit that already has real juice. The roster overhaul the Canes needed happened last offseason, not this one, and it shows in how many established pieces are already in place heading into the fall.
Miami Hurricanes
Sep 26?vs Central Michigan—
Sep 18?@ Wake Forest—
Sep 10?vs Florida A&M—
Sep 4?@ Stanford—
Clemson Tigers
Sep 25?@ California—
Sep 19?vs North Carolina—
Sep 12?vs Georgia Southern—
Sep 5?@ LSU—
Recent form.
The backdrop here matters. Miami went 13-3 and made it all the way to the CFP National Championship before falling 27-21 to Indiana, a game the Canes had within 3 points three separate times before an interception near their own goal line sealed it. That kind of ending either fuels a team or lingers, and a road trip into Death Valley — as loud and hostile a venue as exists in the sport — is about as tough a measuring stick as an early-October game gets.
Miami Hurricanes
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Clemson Tigers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Clemson isn't without weapons to make this competitive. Bryant Wesco Jr. and TJ Moore give Vizzina a legitimate downfield duo, five-star linebacker Sammy Brown anchors a defense that also adds Old Dominion transfer safety Jerome Carter III, who tied for second nationally in interceptions a year ago. It's a program at a crossroads trying to prove last year's 7-6 finish was the outlier, not the new normal — and there's no better stage to start than a home night game against the team that just played for it all.
