Miami football looks for biggest win in years against Clemson in Week 6

Miami football goes on the road to face the premier program in the country in Clemson as the Hurricanes seek a program-defining win.

To say that Miami has an opportunity in front of it is an understatement. The Hurricanes have been mired in mediocrity for the better part of the last 15 years and have not been able to play in many games like this.

Saturday presents a chance for the Hurricanes to declare themselves as an ACC title game frontrunner and a playoff contender and the Hurricanes full believe that they are capable of going on the road and taking down Clemson.

Clemson will be more than ready for the challenge on Saturday.

While Miami has not had many big games like this in recent years, Clemson has played in plenty and Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne have plenty of big game experience and that should prove big on Saturday. It has been a while since Clemson has faced a formidable challenge from within the conference and the Hurricanes have the Tigers’ full attention and they will be ready to play from the opening snap and Miami must meet their energy.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is 3-1 against Miami since he was hired in 2009 and winning the last two by scores of 58-0 and 38-3. The two teams have not met since the 2017 ACC title game and it also marks the last time that Clemson lost either a conference game or a regular season contest when the Tigers were upset by Syracuse. They have had some scares such as in 2018 against Syracuse and last season against North Carolina and the Hurricanes are hoping that they can provide the same scare as the other teams have.

The game on Saturday night will pit the premier program in the country against a team that is trying to return to glory and earn their biggest win in years which makes the stakes that much higher.

Here is how you can watch Clemson vs. Miami on Saturday:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 10
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Clemson, S.C.
Venue:  Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

For Clemson on offense, the key will be to avoid turnovers and giving Miami the short field to give them easy points.

Trevor Lawrence has gone 11 straight games without a turnover and has not been pressured much this year. The offensive line is thought to be the weak point of the Tigers’ offense and Miami has great pass rushers. Protecting Lawrence will be key in preventing turnovers.

On defense, the line must get pressure on Miami quarterback D’Eriq King and make him uncomfortable. He has yet to turn the ball over this season and mobile quarterbacks have given Clemson trouble over the years and Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong had some success last week. The secondary can’t allow any big plays, which is something that Virginia also did last week.

For Miami on offense, big plays are going to be key for the Hurricanes. It is going to be hard to sustain long drives against this defense and Miami is going to have to create chunk plays through the air with the running and passing game. D’Eriq has to be the best player on the field Saturday if Miami wants to have a chance Saturday night.

On defense, Miami must get pressure on Lawrence and force him to turn the ball over. The linebacker spot has been weak so far and the tackling not the best and that will be a problem against a back like Travis Etienne. Not missing tackles and getting pressure are going to be paramount if Miami wants to score the big upset on the road.

Betting Odds

Odds via The Action Network

Spread: Clemson -14
Over/Under: 62.5

Prediction

I’m buying the hype that Miami is a much better team than they have been recently and things look to be on the upswing under Manny Diaz. The offense is fantastic and the Hurricanes have the defensive playmakers to keep this game close. There are areas where Miami can exploit Clemson in their secondary and on their offensive line and this will be a game heading into the fourth quarter.

I just don’t think that Miami can make it a 12-round fight against Clemson and land that knockout punch that it will need to pull the upset. Expect a fun shootout and for Clemson to come out on top in the end thanks to big games from Etienne and Lawrence.

Final Score: Clemson 38, Miami 31