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The Clemson Tigers prepare to run down the hill at Clemson's game against Central Michigan at Clemson's Death Valley. (Photo by Tom Priddy /Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
The Miami Hurricanes head to Death Valley Lite to take on the Clemson Tigers on October 3rd, 2026, kickoff time TBD. I was actually planning on attending this game. I even booked a hotel room a few months ago. Then last week, I went to Clemson’s website to look at single-game tickets. The site is run by Ticketmaster. Um, what?! Why?! Ticketmaster is the worst. Just as I expected, tickets are crazy expensive. Hotel reservation cancelled. At least I still have my Wake Forest trip to look forward to.
Looking at the 2026 NFL Draft, it would be hard to guess Clemson finished last season 7-6, 4-4 in ACC play. The Tigers tied a school record with nine players drafted. Even more impressively, all nine were selected in the first five rounds, with five coming in the first two rounds. Sheesh.
The Tigers have a lot of talent to replace for this season. Head coach Dabo Swinney seems confident based on the way he has spoken during his interviews this offseason. Swinney finally dipped his toes in the transfer portal pool as he realized it was a necessity to keep up with the NIL-era college football powers.
Clemson Offense
On offense, the Tigers have to replace the big four: Quarterback, No. 1 receiver, starting running back, and left tackle. Three-year starting QB Cade Klubnik was drafted by the New York Jets. Thoughts and prayers to Cade; the Jets are rough. Left tackle Blake Miller went to the Detroit Lions in the first round. Stud receiver Antonio Williams and converted receiver to running back Adam Randall (who I really liked) had their names called as well. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of Klubnik, and Williams wasn’t always healthy, that is a lot of talent and experience to replace on one side of the ball.
The Tigers hope to have found their man under center in Christopher Vizzina. He backed up Klubnik the past two seasons. As far as Vizzina goes, I defer to the experts. Luckily, our Justin Dottavio broke him down just a couple days ago. Check it out!
Clemson is looking good at receiver with Bryant Wesco Jr. and TJ Moore returning. Wesco is explosive and gets down the field in a hurry, averaging over 17 yards per catch in 2025. Moore was a highly touted five-star coming out of high school and backed it up last season as a true freshman, with 837 receiving yards.
Former Miami Hurricane and SMU Mustang running back Chris Johnson Jr. is now with the Tigers. Johnson has showed flashes each of the last two seasons, but hasn’t been a consistent performer. If he puts it together, Dabo will have a true weapon in the backfield. Alongside Johnson is Gideon Davidson, a true sophomore who was the nation’s fourth-ranked running back coming out of high school.
Clemson Defense
The Tigers have always had a good, if not great, defensive line under Dabo. While it could be argued it was an underperforming unit in 2025, the talent was there. Defensive tackle Peter Woods went in the first round, defensive end TJ Parker went in the second, and defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart went in the fifth. For 2026, Will Heldt appears to be the leader on the d-line. He is coming off of a 7.5 sack season and looking to make even more of an impact.
Former five-star Sammy Brown returns to lead the linebacking core for the Tigers. Brown has been solid in his two seasons. Can he become one of the best linebackers in the country? If the answer is yes, Clemson will probably have an awesome defense.
The Tigers have another high draft pick to replace in the secondary in Avieon Terrell, a second-round selection. This is the position group where Dabo went heaviest in the portal. Clemson brought in three transfers to go along with their top three returning players. Cornerback Ashton Hampton has been in the program going on three years and brings the most ability. Transfer safety Jerome Carter III from Old Dominion hopes to create more turnovers. He tied for second nationally in interceptions last season and is expected to start.
Early Prediction
If this game was played Week 1 with both teams healthy, I’d say Miami would be favored by between 3.5 and 6 points. And I think that would be fair. The Canes should be favored on the road against this version of the Clemson Tigers. More importantly for Canes fans, our boys should take care of business against this version of the Clemson Tigers. It won’t be easy, especially if the game is at night. Still, I say Miami wins 27-20.
GO CANES!
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