Taking stock of where the Miami Hurricanes stand as they enter bye week with a 6-0 record

It hasn’t always been the prettiest, especially during the past two weeks as they began Atlantic Coast Conference play, but the Miami Hurricanes enter their bye week exactly where they want to be in one key sense: They are undefeated.

Miami has started the season 6-0 for just the third time in the past 20 seasons, with the other such instances being 2017 and 2013. It has them ranked No. 6 in the country and keeps them in the thick of the College Football Playoff conversation with the field expanded to 12 teams and the highest four-ranked conference champions receiving automatic bids into the field.

The Hurricanes are one of just 12 undefeated teams left in college football this season, along with No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Penn State, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 14 BYU, No. 18 Indiana, No. 22 Pitt and unranked Army, Navy and Liberty.

With Miami on a bye this week as it hits the halfway point of their regular season, let’s break down the Hurricanes’ season to this point and preview what’s ahead.

How the first half unfolded

The Hurricanes cruised through their nonconference schedule, outscoring the likes of Florida, Florida A&M, Ball State and USF by a combined 209-44.

Once ACC play began, though, the Hurricanes had to overcome multiple 10-point deficits to beat Virginia Tech 38-34 and rally from a 25-point third-quarter hole for its 39-38 win over Cal.

The Hurricanes lead the country in total offense (583.8 yards per game) and are second in scoring (47.7 points per game). The defense overall has slipped a bit as of late, allowing 72 points in two conference games but is still among the country’s best in many categories including interceptions (tied for second with 10), tackles for loss (fourth with 47) and sacks (tied for fifth with 20).

The standouts

Cam Ward: The star quarterback has easily lived up to the hype and preseason expectation through his first six games at Miami. He leads the country in passing yards (2,219) and passing touchdowns (20) in addition to having three rushing touchdowns. He was integral in both of the Hurricanes’ comeback efforts against Virginia Tech and Cal.

Xavier Restrepo: The fifth-year senior wide receiver ranks seventh nationally with 585 receiving yards on 32 catches and has five touchdown catches. Restrepo ranks fourth all time in UM history in career receiving yards (2,302) and catches (163) while also being tied for ninth in receiving touchdowns (15). He is only 20 catches and 246 receiving yards away from setting the school records in those categories.

Tyler Baron: With Rueben Bain Jr. sidelined for the majority of Miami’s first six games — playing just three snaps against Florida and missing the next four games with a soft tissue injury before returning Saturday against Cal — Baron has been the Hurricanes’ top edge rusher. His 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks are both tied for 16th nationally.

Simeon Barrow: The Michigan State transfer has become an integral part of Miami’s interior defensive line. Barrow has 17 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, so far this season. He has recorded at least one sack in three of the past four games.

Francisco Mauigoa: The senior linebacker leads the team in tackles (32) and pass breakups (three), ranks tied for second in tackles for loss (five) and also has two sacks and an interception.

What’s left to be desired

Run game: The Hurricanes are going to be a pass-first offense. That’s comes with the territory of having a quarterback such as Ward. But the Hurricanes aren’t going to abandon the run, not when they have a group like Damien Martinez, Mark Fletcher Jr. and Jordan Lyle at their disposal.

But Miami ranks 44th nationally in rushing offense, averaging 183.83 yards per game (an average that is still heavily inflated by four big runs in nonconference play when games were all but decided). Martinez is averaging just 4.42 yards per rush after averaging more than 6 each of his two seasons at Oregon State.

Cleaner starts from defense: Miami’s defense ultimately locked things down in both of its comeback wins in conference play — holding Virginia Tech and Cal to just 10 second-half points each (Cal also scored on a third-quarter pick-six). But the Hokies and Golden Bears combined for 45 first-half points and 444 yards of offense in the opening 30 minutes of their games.

UM turned things around late both times, but playing with fire on a weekly basis will could eventually prove costly.

What’s ahead

The Hurricanes have six more conference games to close out the regular season once they come out of this bye week.

It starts on Oct. 19 at Louisville, which on paper should be UM’s toughest game to date. The Cardinals started the season 3-0 before dropping back-to-back games to Notre Dame and SMU by one score to drop out of the AP top 25. The Miami-Louisville game is scheduled for a noon kickoff and will be televised on ESPN.

After that, Miami has back-to-back home games against FSU on Oct. 26 and Duke on Nov. 2. The Hurricanes then travel to Georgia Tech on Nov. 9 before their second bye week of the season.

UM then closes the regular season with a home game against Wake Forest on Nov. 23 and a road game at Syracuse on Nov. 30.

Should Miami finish as one of the top two teams in the conference, the ACC Championship Game is Dec. 7 in Charlotte, North Carolina.