ESPN predicts the final score of Clemson football vs. Miami Hurricanes

It doesn't get much tougher than this for the Clemson Tigers in Week 5 of the 2026 college football season. Clemson faces the fourth-ranked Miami Hurricanes, a team that Dabo Swinney and the rest of the sport has founds no obvious flaws in through the first month of the season. The Hurricanes (4-0 o

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What is the story about?

It doesn't get much tougher than this for the Clemson Tigers in Week 5 of the 2026 college football season. Clemson faces the fourth-ranked Miami Hurricanes, a team that Dabo Swinney and the rest of the sport has founds no obvious flaws in through the first month of the season.

The Hurricanes (4-0 overall, 2-0 ACC) are averaging almost 52 points per game, which ranks third nationally. Led by quarterback Darian Mensah, Miami leads the nation in total offense with 588.8 yards per game. Mensah himself is tied with Southern California's Jayden Maiava for the most passing touchdowns (14) and is seventh in passing yards (1,211).

Miami smoked Central Michigan, 52-3, at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 4. While the Hurricanes' strength of schedule ranks 129th

out of 138 FBS teams according to ESPN's SP+, the average margin of victory for Mario Cristobal's team this season is nevertheless 42.7 points.

Clemson (3-1, 2-0) has shown signs of getting off the mat after an embarrassing Week 1 performance in a 51-10 loss at LSU in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have won three straight, including Week 4's scruffy 24-10 victory against the California Golden Bears in Berkeley.

Clemson's defense dominated the night, holding Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to a career-low 119 passing yards and the Bears' offense to 231 total yards. The Tigers picked off Sagapolutele twice and used a 65-yard punt return from Bryant Wesco Jr. in the third quarter to take the lead. Gideon Davidson's 75-yard touchdown run with 2:58 remaining put the game out of reach.

Will the Tigers stun college football and win their fourth straight, or is Miami simply too talented to fall even in a hostile environment such as Clemson's Death Valley?

Clemson transfer named among Week 4’s top portal performers

📸 Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network , USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/jR2OVmzxmZ pic.twitter.com/cxn6qIbeW7
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) September 30, 2026

Will Clemson football pull upset of the year against Miami in Week 5?

Ahead of Clemson-Miami, ESPN's Bill Connelly predicted the final score using his popular SP+ metrics. Connelly has the Hurricanes winning by three scores, which is in line with what oddsmakers are saying.

Connelly's final score prediction: Miami 33, Clemson 15.

He gives the Hurricanes a win probability of 87%.

Where Clemson football sits in ESPN SP+ rankings entering Week 5

Clemson is No. 54 in the ESPN SP+ team rankings, down nine spots from this time last week.

The Tigers have an overall rating of 4.9, down from 7.1 a week ago. Clemson is one spot below ACC rival Florida State (5.7) and one spot ahead of South Florida (3.9) in ESPN's team rankings.

To break down Clemson's rating by units, SP+ gives the Tigers a 23.5 rating on offense (No. 91 nationally, down 17 spots from last week) and an 18.9 rating on defense, which is 24h nationally and is up three spots from before the Tigers' win at Cal. In special teams, Clemson is given a 0.3 rating, which ranks 19th in the nation.

Miami is No. 5 in the SP+ team rankings with an overall rating of 25.7, which is one spot behind the Indiana Hoosiers (26.9) and one spot ahead of the Alabama Crimson Tide (23). The metrics give the Hurricanes a 39.5 rating on offense (No. 8 nationally) and a 14 rating on defense that's also No. 8 in the nation.

What are ESPN SP+ rankings?

According to Connelly, SP+ is "simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise."

"SP+ is not a résumé ranking, so it does not automatically give credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling -- no good predictive system does," he adds.

Clemson football vs. Miami Hurricanes: start time, TV channel for Week 5

TV commentators, multiple channels to show Clemson football vs. Miami

📸 Adam Hagy, USA TODAY Sports https://t.co/YHm7N3pjT1 pic.twitter.com/jyp0h12tHL
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) September 29, 2026

Kickoff for Clemson-Miami in Week 5 of the 2026 college football season is 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Clemson Memorial Stadium. The game can be seen on ABC, with an alternate "Command Center" viewing option available on ACC Network. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will have the call of the game. Holly Rowe will report from the sidelines.

Additionally, the Clemson Athletic Network feed of the game featuring Tigers radio voices Don Munson and Tim Bourret can be heard on SiriusXM channel 234.