Clemson Football: 5 most important ACC non-conference games of 2024

Miami at Florida

When: Saturday, August 31st at 3:30 PM

Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida

Around the time that Clemson and Georgia will be wrapping things up in Atlanta, the Hurricanes will kick off their season on the road at The Swamp.

The perception of Clemson is that they are good, but Georgia is on another level right now. This means that the Tigers don’t necessarily have to win the game to earn some respect.

The perception of the Canes is that on paper, they should be a very good team. There appear to be two things holding them back: consistent underachieving performances in the past decade and a coach (Mario Cristobal) who has a reputation for underachieving considering the talent he has had at his command.

The perception of the Florida Gators is that they are in trouble and their head coach, former Clemson offensive coordinator Billy Napier, is squarely on the hot seat.

The expectations are that Miami should win this game.

The reality is that Florida does have some talent, but certain factors have taken the spotlight away from that. Quarterback Graham Mertz is considered underwhelming to most fans.

Miami is favored right now, but it isn’t a big number. The Canes are favored by 2.5 points on the road. The oddsmakers aren’t willing to go beyond a field goal difference in this game right now.

This is a situation where the ACC needs Miami to exceed expectations and win handily. Perception becomes reality, and if a contender in the ACC barely gets by a sub-par SEC team, it won’t look good.

NEXT: Tennessee vs NC State