Clemson Football: Oppo Research – Miami Hurricanes

Following a bye in Week 7, Clemson Football returns to the gridiron on the road in Miami Gardens, Florida in Week 8. The Tigers will face the Miami Hurricanes on October 21st in Hard Rock Stadium. Time and network have not been announced.

Clemson leads the all-time series 7-6 over the Hurricanes, with a 40-10 victory in Death Valley in 2022. Clemson is currently on a four-game winning streak dating back to 2015.

Head coach Mario Cristobal returned to his alma mater in 2022 after four seasons coaching the Oregon Ducks. His first year brought a lot of excitement to South Florida but the results didn’t match the expectations. An early season upset against Middle Tennessee exposed the problems that couldn’t be fixed in one offseason.

Cristobal has changed up his staff in an effort to right the ship. Josh Gattis is out at offensive coordinator. Shannon Dawson comes over from the Houston Cougars to take over play calling duties. Like Clemson, Miami is hoping an injection of air raid philosophy will rejuvenate the offense.

Target number one for that rejuvenation is quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. The ACC Freshman of the Year from 2021 dealt with injuries and never meshed with Gattis’s system. The hope is that Dawson can draw on what made Van Dyke special as a freshman. The skill players don’t jump off the page, but Miami is hoping scheme can compensate.

On the defensive side, Lance Guidry joins after a couple seasons coordinating for Marshall. He will have a mixture of transfers and established players to try to improve upon a very average 2021 performance.

Clemson Football and Miami both shifted to an air raid-based offensive system this offseason

In many ways, this Miami squad is really no different than previous teams. On paper, they look good, but after being picked by so many people over the years, most pundits have become weary of being wrong when the Canes continuously underachieve.

With regards to Miami’s efforts to fix the offense, there are a lot of similarities with Clemson as they approach the 2023 campaign – a shift to an air raid-based scheme, a quarterback with potential and a cast of receivers who don’t jump off the page.

Cristobal has a reputation for being conservative. Will he allow Dawson to make the decisions? Or will their styles clash?

Miami 2022 Statistics

All stats per teamrankings.com against FBS competition only

• Points per game: 19.4 (114th)
• Yards per game: 348.5 (97th)
• Points allowed per game: 28.0 (66th)
• Yards allowed per game: 378.3 (52nd)