The Miami Hurricanes come into Saturday's game against the Clemson Tigers as big favorites. It's a matchup that will define the race for the ACC championship and could have implications for years to come regarding job security and recruiting. Here are four predictions for how things will play out in Death Valley.
1. Darian Mensah throws his first pick, but he still has 300 yards on the night
Mensah has not thrown an interception in the first four games of his Miami Hurricanes career (106 attempts). But, all streaks must come to an end.
He threw six interceptions in 14 games at Duke last season on 500 attempts, and six in 13 games at Tulane in 2024. Obviously, the Miami offense is built different, and he has gone long stretches without an INT before, but the odds aren't in his favor. Clemson will get one on Saturday night, although, it won't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Part of the reason that it won't matter is because Mensah is going to go for at least 300 yards against the Tigers' secondary. For the season he is averaging 302.8 passing yards per game. He had 401 yards against Stanford and 338 yards against Central Michigan. He had 252 against Florida A&M (and would have easily had more if the game was competitive). Wake Forest was able to hold him to 220 yards, but he was on pace to eclipse 300 before the offense somehow stalled in the second half.
If that isn't enough...
On the defensive side, Clemson has allowed 859 passing yards in four games (214.8 per game) and has four total interceptions. Outside of the LSU matchup, the Tigers have been formidable. Yards-wise it won't matter, but they'll grab a turnover through the air.
2. Malachi Toney puts up 100 receiving yards even as Clemson tries its best to contain him
For the season, Malachi Toney has 34 catches for 564 yards (141 yards per game) and six touchdowns. He has cleared 100 in three of four games this season: 234 at Stanford, 114 at Wake Forest and 120 against Central Michigan. In the same vein as Mensah, he would have had over 100 receiving yards against Florida A&M if the game was actually competitive.
Toney already has seven career games with 100 yards and a touchdown, tied with Michael Irvin, Xavier Restrepo and Wesley Carroll for the Miami record. Clemson will try to prevent him from breaking the record, but Mensah finds a way to get him the ball no matter what, so they won't be successful.
If that isn't enough...
WR Josh Moore is also out for the season, and while other receivers will be stepping up in his place, it's still on Toney to be the main guy.
3. There will be some hope to start the game for Clemson, but the Miami offense will roll
Miami hasn't faced much adversity this season and going on the road to Death Valley will present a new challenge for the Hurricanes. It's safe to predict that it might take one drive to adjust to the environment.
If that isn't enough...
Miami's first series against Central Michigan had two false starts and a sack, and Wake Forest showed that Miami's offense isn't invincible. This isn't to say that it will last longer than a drive, the 7-0 lead will just come a little later in the first quarter.
4. The Miami defensive front will have themselves a night to remember
Miami is allowing 9.0 points per game and Clemson is averaging just 21.0, with a passing offense that ranks 127th in the nation (156.3 yards per game, 27.3% conversion rate on third down and four interceptions thrown).
The Hurricanes had four sacks and eight tackles for loss against Central Michigan, both season highs, without Moten and with Armondo Blount limited.
If that isn't enough...
Ahmad Moten Sr. and Blount are expected to play. The interior being closer to whole is how Miami will be able to shut down the Clemson offense, which has scored 10, 22, 28 and 24.
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