ESPN analyst favors Miami over Clemson in preseason win total projections

Greg McElroy sees Phil Mafah anchoring the Clemson offense this season.

by TigerNet Staff - Thu May 02 11:46:17 GMT-04:00 2024

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy is bullish on both Miami and Clemson this college football season, but if he's given a choice between the two on a better win total, he's favoring the Hurricanes right now.

Both teams are given an over/under of 9.5 wins by Vegas currently (FanDuel), which is even with Florida State for the highest total for an ACC program.

Neither side is coming off of a sterling season, as Clemson finished below that 9.5-win mark last year for the first time since 2010 and tied with Duke and North Carolina for sixth in the ACC standings. Miami went 7-6 and hasn't reached double-digit wins since the penultimate season for Mark Richt there in 2017 (10-3).

McElroy sees a Clemson team growing up and taking steps forward, however.

"You look at the biggest difference-makers -- at times last year -- and they were all true freshmen," McElroy said on his podcast this week. "I would expect a significant bump from TJ Parker. I expect a significant bump from Khalil Barnes. I expect a significant bump from Peter Woods. I think those are realistic to be expected. Now can you replace Nate Wiggins? Probably not. Can you adequately replace Jeremiah Trotter? Probably not, but I love what Phil Mafah is going to be. I think it's going to be a grind-it-out outfit offensively. I think he showed last year he is a premier back in the ACC. Runs with great power and patience. I hope that Cade Klubnik, here in year No. 2 working with Garrett Riley the offensive coordinator, he's going to be even more comfortable and even more ahead of where he was at this point last year.

"You bring back eight starters on defense. I know the production might not necessarily be there, but a lot of guys who have played a lot of football are back. Losing Trotter and Wiggins, but you still have Barrett Carter there at the weakside linebacker spot. You got a bunch of really good players that are recruits at a high level that are going to be stepping in, and we saw just how much freshmen can make an impact last year. There's DeMonte Capehart upfront and RJ Mickens in the back-end -- I think they're going to be in a really, really good spot there going into the season, especially on the defensive side of the football.

"Just have to be a little more consistent offensively, and Clemson could be cooking with gas this year."

But in the podcast exercise, McElroy had to pick the most likely team to top the 9.5-win total, and he gives the Hurricanes the edge.

"Looking at Clemson, I think worst-case scenario is a nine-win team," McElroy said. "Miami, I think worst-case scenario is ten wins. So, coming out of the spring with the additions that Miami has made, I lean Miami in the preseason heading into 2024 (on win total)."