Clemson Tigers are once again setting the marker in the ACC. After failing to repeat their championship heroics in 2023, they have made a strong start holding a 3-0 conference record and are 4-1 overall. With an eye on a 9th championship, Dabo Swinney’s team is hitting all the right notes as they occupy the top spot in ACC. So who can stop Dabo’s Tigers?

Well, Miami Hurricanes may want your attention. With a 2-0 record in the conference and a 6-0 record overall, Mario Cristobal has got the fans dreaming of a first championship. They are showing the hallmarks of a team capable of winning the title with their recent win comeback win against California, making everyone sit up and take notice. But which team Josh Pate thinks has the edge?

There is no doubt that both the Tigers and the Hurricanes have been the team to watch out for in the ACC so far. In fact, many would argue that ACC’s best chance of landing two teams in the playoff is for Miami and Clemson to win out and face each other in the league finale. Based on the current form, it is very difficult to pick a winner out of these two, but Pate has his mind made up.

Speaking on his College Football Show on YouTube on Sunday Pate brought up Clemson’s last win against the defending ACC Champions Florida State Seminoles. He described how he believed the Seminoles were in with a chance, but in the end, the Tigers “did what Clemson does” as they won the road game 29-13.

He mentioned, “At the moment, I think Clemson is the class of the ACC… but Miami would probably be favored over them, and I think the model would favor Miami over them. I’d pick Clemson if they play Miami right now. I’ll say that if no one else will.” Pate’s take goes against the odds which favor Miami with +140 while Clemson trails in second with +195. SMU is a distant third with odds of +430.

Pate addressed this scenario and backed his pick saying, “Could be controversial, but I’m just going what my eyes see right now. Clemson’s playing pretty good ball.”

Clemson have put together a good stretch, as they came through their first four games, a thrashing of NC State at 59-35 and Stanford at 40-14. The most impressive of the lot has been the quarterback Cade Klubnik, who has gone over 1,400 yards through the air and multiple scores.

The win over Florida further underlined their credentials as they look to bank on current form and history to secure another ACC championship title. On the flip side, the Hurricanes look unstoppable. They have shown their capability to produce big plays at critical moments so far.

Against California last Saturday, they were down by 25 points in the second half, before a stunning turnaround saw them win 39-38. A week earlier they had come back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech to win 38-34. Hence, a clash between the two sides is a mouth-watering prospect.

When it comes to getting the team in the right shape at the right time, nobody does it better than Dabo Swinney. While Mario Cristobal is also bringing the beast back to Miami, the season continues as a must-watch. Though Josh Pate believes that Clemson will prevail if they play the Hurricanes, a few days ago, he picked Miami to win the ACC Championship and the third seed.

Pate believes the Hurricanes will win the ACC

The Hurricanes are having a fantastic start to the season and continue to win games. While there are certain areas they need to improve, like the bad penalties that nearly cost them against California and the defense allowing too many big plays, there is no doubt, they have emerged as a strong contender for the title.

It is possible that Miami will earn a College Football Playoff berth as the only team from Florida to play in the 2024 postseason. Before the season, Pate picked Miami as one of the top seeds for the college football playoffs. On the October 3 edition of his podcast, he went through his pre-season picks and made a change by placing Texas as the first seed.

He said, “Texas wins the SEC and is my number one seed. Ohio State wins the Big 10, they are my number two seed. I have got Miami winning the ACC, just as I did. I’ve got them for the number 3 seed, just as I did.” At the moment, Pate’s prediction could turn out to be true, given how Miami have started. But let’s not forget, that Clemson have history in this conference and that could be a big difference when it comes down to handling the pressure of competing in a high-stakes game.