The Miami Hurricanes are going to be good in 2026...real good. It is widely expected that the Hurricanes will winthe ACC and compete for the CFP championship. That doesn't mean they will necessarily roll through a mostly manageable schedule. There are a lot of wins on the slate, but a few opportunities to stub their toe.
Miami will miss out on the two teams that are likely to be the toughest competition in the conference — SMU and Louisville. The Hurricanes also don't have to deal with N.C. State and knock out their cross-country trip to Stanford in the first game of the season. But the consensus is that the October 3rd date against Clemson is one that has the biggest potential to be a road block.
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5️⃣0️⃣ DAYS AWAY! pic.twitter.com/9xSI5OS3Fk
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) July 16, 2026
Miami's first test of the 2026 season will be on the road against Clemson
Clemson isn't what they were 10 years ago. Heck, the Tigers aren't what they were five years ago. But they have talent, and they have a coach that has won two national championships and can always pull a rabbit out of his hat on any given week. Miami opens the season on the road against Stanford, but that's not a tough road environment. Clemson is a tough road environment, and it's a place where the Hurricanes haven't won since 2010, when Dabo Swinney was in his second season and hadn't learned how to recruit yet.
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As Rivals/On3 personality JD PicKell points out, college football can be crazy and there's never a good reason to discount Clemson at home against any team.
"I'm trying to account for the madness that is baked into every single college football season. I don't love the fact that Miami will have had absolutely zero tests before going on the road and playing what I imagine will be a very desperate Clemson team," PicKell said on his YouTube show.
Clemson is a test that Darian Mensah and Miami should pass
Here's the good news: Darian Mensah has already won in Death Valley. He put 46 points up on the board for Duke last year, so the new Hurricanes quarterback isn't going to be scared of the situation. The lack of a test is a little concerning, but Mario Crisotbal doesn't allow his teams to let up. They practice hard and they play hard. The internal competition in Coral Gables is a real thing. The leadership among the players is a real thing. Miami isn't going to be up for the challenge. The Hurricanes are going to want to shut that raucous crowd up early.
Last season, Miami didn't really have a road test until the end of the season against Pittsburgh and the Hurricanes smoked the Panthers. Then they followed it up with a win at Texas A&M in the first-round of the CFP. This season the road test will come much earlier, and it'll be after what's basically a 4-game extended preseason. Clemson deserves respect. The Tigers just won the ACC two seasons ago and Swinney's teams have shown that they are most dangerous when counted out. So, I expect Miami to walk into Death Valley with full understanding of the challenge and the opponent, and then leave with a statement win.
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