Miami 41-13 Clemson (Oct 3, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Miami · Clemson

No. 4 Miami5-041

Clemson3-213Final

Sat, Oct 3 · Memorial Stadium (Clemson, SC), Clemson, S.C. · Crowd 80,463

No. 4 Miami routed Clemson 41-13.

We had Miami favored. It won.

Next: Miami beat Florida State 43-35, Sat Oct 17

Next: Clemson beat Charleston Southern 37-0, Sat Oct 17

Top comment in the game thread

Saying that was firm control with absolutely no hesitation a few seconds into the review is wild

Q1 4:44 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Oct 3

How it swung

The turning point: Mensah 61-yd TD pass to Barkate, Miami goes ahead 7-0 (Q1, 13:05). Miami went from 77% to 93% to win. Fans right then: “I don’t know if it’s possible to run that play better than Miami just did.” r/CFB game thread

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Miami a 69% chance, and the closing betting line (Miami was a 14-point favorite) put it at 87%.

Pick-six

Miami · Q4 1:49

FinalMiami 41-13 ClemsonMiami wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The play that swung it

1Q1 13:05Mensah 61-yd TD pass to Barkate, Miami goes ahead 7-0Miami 77% → 93% (+16)

The play that swung it

1Q1 13:05Mensah 61-yd TD pass to Barkate, Miami goes ahead 7-0Clemson 23% → 7% (−16)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q1 13:05Miami executed a beautifully run tunnel screen for a touchdown.Barkate!! 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶r/CFB game thread
Q1 4:44Fans argue Mensah lacked firm control on overturned fumble rulingQuoted at the top of the page.That was about as “firm control” as I have on my lifer/CFB game thread
Q3 1:41Fans argue Reynolds fumbled as officials uphold the callI think it's a fumbler/CFB game thread
Q4 12:09A player was seen heaving on the sideline.I took it back a couple of plays on this drive cause I saw some weird liquid go across the field. Think I saw the vomit get knocked out of someone.r/CFB game thread

Miami’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Miami -14), at 65% for Miami (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Clemson or Miami flair (1,690 and 1,548); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Miami’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Miami scored on 6 of its 10 drives; Clemson on 3 of its 12.

Miami’s drives are teal, Clemson’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

“We can't even snap a ball well”

A Clemson fan

How fans reacted

Quiet

It was the first quarter that had fans talking the most.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was quiet; the crowd was busy.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

Miami fans

injuries“Can we end this game without any more injuries for both squads? That’d be great.”

fletcher“Mensah and Toney get the highlights but this team goes as far as fletcher and Mallory can take them.”

starters“Damien Wilson wasn’t super impressive to me before tonight. That said, get the starters out of the game!!”

healthy“"So great to see Fletcher healthy! Hes happy and smiling!" Sir, hes clearly injured and wincing in pain”

Clemson fans

line“Our o line is just watching tait run for his life. They should be ashamed”

morris“"great designed play by Chad Morris" That might be the first time I've heard that in a long time”

false“If they didn’t pull that false start and sack we likely punch it in there”

refs“Is this what it’s like to not be the ACC sweetheart? The refs used to be on our side!”

Both sets of fans kept coming back to: call, ball, back, don.

What it cost

Miami’s chance to make the playoff rose from 68% to 74%.

Make the playoff

Miami · won68% → ▲74%

Clemson · lost9% → ▼4%

Win the conference

Miami · won59% → ▲63%

Clemson · lost7% → ▼3%

Win the title

Miami · won5% → ▲6%

Clemson · lost0% → 0%

Before the game (October 2, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Miami 41, Clemson 13

Miami covered −14 by 14. The total, 54, went over 49.5.

Team totals	Miami	Clemson
Total yards	419	350
Passing	18 of 27, 227 yds	29 of 44, 295 yds
Rushing	35 for 192 yds	31 for 55 yds
First downs	25	22
Third down	4 of 11	8 of 18
Fourth down	1 of 2	1 of 3
Turnovers	0	2
Penalties	6 for 58 yds	10 for 91 yds
Time of possession	32:29	27:31

Miami leaders

Passing Darian Mensah 18 of 27, 227 yds, 1 TD
Rushing Mark Fletcher Jr. 16 for 77 yds, 2 TD; Javian Mallory 14 for 63 yds
Receiving Cooper Barkate 5 for 98 yds, 1 TD; Malachi Toney 5 for 40 yds

Clemson leaders

Passing Tait Reynolds 29 of 44, 295 yds, 1 INT
Rushing Chris Johnson Jr. 5 for 32 yds; Gideon Davidson 7 for 25 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Bryant Wesco Jr. 9 for 152 yds; Tyler Brown 10 for 76 yds

No rain through the game

76° at kickoff · no rain recorded

October game-day temperatures at Memorial Stadium (Clemson, SC)

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

First quarter, 14:32 left7:47 p.m.

Miami 0, Clemson 0 · Clemson 17% to win

no rain · 76°

Reynolds 2-yd run

Measured at Clemson/oconee County airport, 2.5 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last 4 games

Miami · 4-0

Rated 10th in our preseason ratings, 8th now.

4 straight wins, one over ranked or top-40 competition.

W 52-3 vs Central Michigan #130 of 668

won by 49 as a 41.5-point favorite

W 33-20 @ Wake ForestTop 25 #73 of 668

won by 13 as a 20.5-point favorite

W 77-7 vs Florida A&M #216 of 668

won by 70 as a 59.5-point favorite

W 45-6 @ Stanford #93 of 668

won by 39 as a 24.5-point favorite

Last 4 games

Clemson · 3-1

Rated 11th in our preseason ratings, 27th now, down 16 spots.

3-1 in its last 4 — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

W 24-10 @ California #74 of 668

won by 14 as a 2.5-point favorite

W 28-20 vs North Carolina #100 of 668

won by 8 as a 3-point favorite

W 22-7 vs Georgia Southern #85 of 668

won by 15 as a 20.5-point favorite

L 10-51 @ LSUTop 25 #27 of 668

lost by 41 as a 10-point underdog

Week by week

Clemson

Wk 1Lat LSU10-51
Wk 2Wvs Georgia Southern22-7
Wk 3Wvs North Carolina28-20
Wk 4Wat California24-10

Miami

Wk 1Wat Stanford45-6
Wk 2Wvs Florida A&M77-7
Wk 3Wat Wake Forest33-20
Wk 4Wvs Central Michigan52-3

Power rating by week

Miami is rated 4.1 points ahead as of week 4. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Clemson’s EPA/play against Miami, 79 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Clemson’s EPA/play against Miami’s defense
Clemson offense, 8th percentile · Miami defense, 87th
Clemson’s passing EPA against Miami’s defense
Clemson offense, 5th percentile · Miami defense, 71st
Clemson’s explosive plays against Miami’s defense
Clemson offense, 17th percentile · Miami defense, 59th

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

MiamiClemson

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

The series is tied 7-7

14 meetings since 1945 · Miami won the last meeting

2023Miami 28-20
2022Clemson 40-10
2020Clemson 42-17
2017 · neutral siteClemson 38-3
2015Clemson 58-0

Each line is Clemson’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Miami fans are feeling it about like the typical fanbase this week (59th among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.

Miami favored by 14 · Total 49.5

How games like this usually go

Miami by 14, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 385 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 7 points toward Miami.

The total fell 6 points.

The books’ cut: 4.2%, the margin built into the odds

Weather at kickoff

Warm and dry. Feels like 79° at kickoff.

Miami at Clemson · Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 · Memorial Stadium, Clemson

79°feels like at kickoff
Dryno rain at kickoff
98weather score, Comfortable
Tiedfor the best of the day's 9 kickoff times

At kickoff, Oct. 3, 2026.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Later kickoff times scored higher that Saturday

Games in this time zone used 9 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was tied for the best of the day's nine kickoff times. At Memorial Stadium that day, a 3:30 pm kickoff would have scored 78, against 98 at 7:30 pm.

11 am: 88, Mixed
noon: 86, Mixed
12:45 pm: 83, Mixed
2 pm: 79, Mixed
3:30 pm: 78, Mixed
4:15 pm: 85, Mixed
6 pm: 93, Comfortable
7:30 pm: 98, Comfortable (this game)
8 pm: 98, Comfortable

Weather score at each kickoff time.

Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.

At kickoff, Oct. 3, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.

Home field

Clemson is worth +1.7 points (±4.3) more at home than on the road since 2018 — bottom third of FBS, 12th percentile.

82% at home, 75% on the road against FBS opponents (40-9 home, 30-10 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -4.0 at home vs. away over 98 games — inside the ±6.1 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 622 miles to get here.

Last meeting in our History pages

Miami 28, Clemson 20Oct 21, 2023

Our History pages cover 4 of their meetings since 2015.

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

Clemson2nd2-0
Miami3rd2-0

Full ACC standings

No. 4 Miami routs Clemson 41-13