After back-to-back close games — and a pair of controversial calls that went in their favor — the Miami Hurricanes are still 6-0 and ranked No. 6 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll.
But it’s the Clemson Tigers who are projected to win the ACC and secure an automatic berth in the College Football Playoff, according to the latest postseason projections from USA TODAY Sports.
Dabo Swinney’s team is projected as the No. 3 seed in analyst Erick Smith’s updated playoff and bowl game forecast. Smith sees Clemson facing the Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs in the Peach Bowl at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Clemson (4-1) moved up four spots from last week’s USA TODAY Sports projections, and six seeds overall from No. 9. The Texas Longhorns are the new projected No. 1 seed following the Alabama Crimson Tide’s shocking 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt in Week 6.
Per Smith:
“(M)oving up into one of the top four seeds is Clemson. While Miami wasn’t an upset victim thanks to a questionable non-call during its miraculous comeback at California, the Hurricanes fall out of the ACC championship spot in favor of the Tigers.
Smith and USA TODAY Sports aren’t the only ones who moved Clemson ahead of Miami in playoff projections entering Week 7.
Over at CBS Sports, analyst Brad Crawford favors the Tigers over the ‘Canes as well. Crawford also sees Clemson as the No. 3 seed, facing either Alabama or Oregon in the Peach Bowl.
From Crawford’s projections:
“Red-zone issues aside, Clemson handled Florida State with another impressive performance offensively. This group has figured it out since the opening loss to Georgia and looks the part on both sides of the football. SMU and Pitt are two others — along with Miami — at the top of the ACC challenging the Tigers.”
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Next up for Clemson
Clemson will look to keep rolling when they take on Wake Forest at noon ET Saturday in Winston-Salem. The game can be seen on ESPN. The Tigers are ranked No. 10 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.
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