Clemson has the opportunity to put itself back on the map on Saturday night, but oddsmakers are not giving them much of a shot.
Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are 16.5-point home underdogs against No. 4 Miami under the lights in Death Valley, but Clemson should be buoyant after rhyming off three wins on the spin, albeit against Georgia Southern, UNC and Cal.
Is Clemson’s improvement real? Or are the Tigers out of their depth against the high-flying Hurricanes?
Miami vs. Clemson odds, prediction
Miami is 4-0 and has outscored its opponents 207-36, but the Hurricanes have yet to really be tested.
In fact, its toughest opponent, Wake Forest, easily covered as 20.5-point underdogs against the Canes in Week 3.
Whether or not Clemson should be billed as a “tough test” remains to be seen, but this is still a trip to Death Valley against a talented roster.
And don’t look now, but the Tigers have trended in the right direction of late.
While the offense is still a work in progress, it has moved in the right direction with Tait Reynolds under center. The freshman isn’t surging up the charts, but he is doing enough to open things up for Clemson’s running game, which has really hit its stride lately.
Reynolds’ development has been part of the equation, but the offensive line has also turned a corner since getting run over at LSU in Week 1. Keeping Miami’s ferocious defense at bay is a monumental task, but the Tigers stand a chance to hang with them in the trenches.
Clemson’s offensive improvements have been marginal, but defensively things look much more encouraging. The Tigers kept a lid on Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele last week at Cal, and its secondary has the talent to ask some serious questions of Darian Mensah and the Hurricanes in Week 5.
On paper, this may look like a mismatch, and you won’t find too many people rushing to bet the Tigers, but it’s also important to note the stylistic matchup at play Saturday.
Swinney and his staff know that Clemson can’t compete with Miami in a shootout, but they can hang around if they’re able to drag this contest into the mud.
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With its running game clicking, I’d imagine that Clemson will do everything it can to keep the clock moving and limit possessions.
Miami will want to do the opposite by putting the ball in the air, but the Canes are actually a pretty slow-moving offense, averaging 28.2 seconds per play (106th in FBS).
This stylistic matchup makes it pretty tough to cover a three-score spread, especially on the road against a talented roster.
Buy low on the Tigers.
The Play: Clemson +16.5 (-110, DraftKings)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
