6 ACC teams gearing up to steal a College Football Playoff bid from Miami Hurricanes

Through the first half of their season, the Miami Hurricanes have been perfect. Although a flawed team in the eye of the beholder the No. 6 Hurricanes are 6-0 overall and 2-0 in ACC play heading into the first of their two bye weeks. Miami's two ACC victories have come by the skin of their teeth, as they went down to the wire with Virginia Tech in Miami Gardens and on the road to Cal in Berkeley.

To be totally honest, Miami was my pick to win the ACC at the start of the year. The colorful combination of Miami alums Bruce Feldman and Kevin Clark inadvertently persuaded me. It would be so cool to see Miami return to its former glory as The U once again. They have a massive talent advantage over the rest of the ACC, but they play too lose for my liking. Also, there is Mario Cristobal.

At this point of the season, Miami is better than I expected. I had them going 5-1 at this stage of the year with a road loss to Cal. I was off by two points... Still, I have a few concerns with this team, one that I think can be exploited with a combination of superior coaching, great quarterback play and a bit of luck. Right now, I feel there are six ACC teams chomping at the bit to take the Canes' playoff spot.

Let's start out with a program who is shockingly 4-1 on the season and is 2-0 in ACC play already.

6. Virginia Cavaliers (4-1) (2-0)

At roughly the halfway point of their schedule, you have to like the Virginia Cavaliers' chances of going bowling. The Hoos are 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Anthony Colandrea has gone from being the Whoopsie Daisy King to a quarterback UVA can win with. Losing to Maryland in the non-conference may end up hurting them, but beating Boston College and Wake Forest is a start.

If Virginia beats a reeling Louisville team this weekend in Charlottesville, then we have to take Tony Elliott's team a bit more seriously. Yes, they have the likes of Clemson, Notre Dame, Pitt and SMU remaining the schedule, but those teams also have to play Virginia, I guess. I am only including Virginia in this argument today because of their record. They have already massively overachieved.

Virginia won't play Miami during the regular season, but they are the type of team Miami can lose to.

5. Duke Blue Devils (5-1) (1-1)

I don't trust Duke, and you probably shouldn't either. At 5-0, the Blue Devils had a chance to achieve bowl eligibility last week at Georgia Tech, but came up dead. While Manny Diaz's team went a perfect 4-0 in the non-conference, their only ACC win up to this point came over arch rival North Carolina, who might be on quit watch. Duke should get to bowl eligibility at 6-1 vs. Florida State in two weeks.

Although I am skeptical if they are going to beat SMU at the end of the month, the Blue Devils could be the ideal trap game candidate for the Hurricanes to fall into. Duke may have just suffered a loss to SMU at home. Miami could be riding high after obliterating Florida State in their huge in-state rivalry game. Keep in mind that Diaz was Mario Cristobal's predecessor in Miami, and what could go wrong?

We also need to factor in Maalik Murphy being the type of quarterback who can give defenses fits.

4. Syracuse Orange (4-1) (1-1)

I don't know if the upstart Syracuse Orange are going to be able to stay on track for the duration, but they could definitely hand Miami an unexpected loss this season. So far this year, Syracuse has two wins over teams ranked in the top 25 at the time of their meeting. They beat Georgia Tech weeks and ago just ended UNLV's shot at winning the Group of Five. Kyle McCord is blossoming in front of us.

Should Syracuse beat traditional rival Pittsburgh on Oct. 24 to get to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in ACC play, there is a chance the Orange could be playing for a spot into the ACC Championship Game at the end of the season vs. Miami at home. I would not want to be the Hurricanes in that one, especially if they are also playing for a spot into the College Football Playoff play-in game as well. Watch out for SU!

Under Fran Brown, the Orange play like a team that fears absolutely nobody, and it shows up big time!

3. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-0) (1-0)

2 Legit, 2 Legit 2 Pitt! Look at those feisty Pittsburgh Panthers now. I don't know if they are winning in spite of Pat Narduzzi, but Eli Holstein seems to be a revelation at quarterback for them. He is closer to The Fake Slide King Kenny Pickett to converted tight end Phil Jurkovec. This team is fun, but I am not entirely sure how good they are. Pitt has only played a dying North Carolina team in conference play.

I think the non-conference wins over traditional rivals Cincinnati and West Virginia matter a good deal. Those look to be two halfway decent teams in the middle of it all in the new Big 12. While Pitt's remaining ACC schedule is varying shades of brutal, if Holstein is the best thing to happen to Panthers football since Larry Fitzgerald, I will allow it. Holstein might even be better than Cam Ward.

Under Narduzzi, Pitt can hang with anyone. Conversely, they could also lose to a Western Michigan...

2. SMU Mustangs (5-1) (2-0)

I feel vindicated. SMU was my pick to get to Charlotte and fall to Miami in the ACC Championship Game. Initially, I was taking more horseradish shrimp cocktail concoctions to the dome than Rhett Lashlee going to Indianapolis to not watch any of his players participate in the Scouting Combine. As it turns out, his team might be St. Elmo's Fire! They are 5-1 and 2-0 in ACC play. There is also this...

You know who SMU's one loss on the season is to? That would be a tough three-point home loss to currently unbeaten and Big 12 contender BYU. If BYU wins the Big 12, then that looks good for SMU possibly getting in as an at-large out of the ACC. It would be bad for these other teams, but not the Ponies! Keep in mind that Lashlee was Manny Diaz's great offensive coordinator before .. at Miami.

SMU looks like one of the three best teams in the ACC right now, but are they better than the Canes?

1. Clemson Tigers (4-1) (3-0)

It was always going to be little ole Clemson... For as painfully frustrating as this team is to cover with Dabo Swinney running the show, his Tigers have bounced back resoundingly since getting their clock cleaned by Georgia in the Aflac Kickoff game way back in Week 1. While I don't think Clemson has beaten anybody worth a damn yet, they are beating their opponents both thoroughly and soundly.

Outside of undefeated Pitt, I don't see any potential slip-ups on the horizon for Clemson. At 11-1 (8-0), they will be going to Charlotte. Entering Week 7, I would have Clemson as one of my 12 playoff teams. They would join Miami as the two ACC teams getting in. However, should Miami and Clemson meet in Charlotte with matching 11-1 records, the loser may not have the resume to get into the CFP.

Miami has way more talent on offense, but Clemson seems to have a defense, one that will travel.