Miami Football: 2023 game-by-game predictions for Hurricanes

Clemson (L)

Clemson has won its last four encounters with Miami, with the average margin of victory being a staggering 37 points. To add to the horror, the Tigers are coming off of an 11-win run that saw them win yet another ACC title.

The only advantage that the Hurricanes have is the luxury of playing at home, but how much could that possibly change when looking at two teams whose paths have been so different? I expect Miami to not just lose this one, but lose it in ungodly fashion.

Virginia (W)

Similarly to the UNC game, this could be a very entertaining matchup, as the last five meetings between the Canes and Cavaliers have been decided by eight points or less. But remember, just because two squads play well against each other doesn’t always mean that the game is hard to call.

Virginia is one of the few ACC football programs that had worse luck on the gridiron than Miami football last season.

To put the Cavs on the road to face a team that both had a better record than them and won the last installment of their series does not sound like it would end well for UVA fans.

The Cavaliers have shown time and time again that they have the ability to keep things close, but I just don’t see them going as far as downing the Canes this year.

@ North Carolina State (L)

The competitive games just keep coming, as the North Carolina State Wolfpack have a reputation for struggling with the Hurricanes in recent memory.

The two Atlantic Coast powers don’t play often, sharing turf only twice since 2016 (with both times resulting in a Canes win), but they still manage to put on a performance that feels like nothing less than an annual showdown between two heated rivals. And, with NC State being a stronger program than Miami over the past several years, their duels are all the better with the inclusion of an upset factor.

That level of fierceness shared between these squads makes this game one of the hardest to call, but I’m willing to give the Wolfpack the edge for two reasons.

Reason number one: NC State will be the home team. Raleigh can be a booming place to play, and especially if the Pack has been having a promising season up to this point, the atmosphere is bound to be deafening.

Reason number two: The opponents that surround this game on Miami’s schedule will certainly make things harder on the Hurricanes. Their last three games leading up to this one have involved a road trip to Chapel Hill, a battle with the defending ACC champs, and what was likely a close call against Virginia. The next game up after this one? A trek into Tallahassee to face the dreaded Florida State Seminoles.

Basically, the Canes have this brutal road game caked with several other hassles that are no less tiring. NC State isn’t great, but it’s good enough to beat them under those kinds of circumstances.