The first College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and despite a scare at Chapel Hill this past weekend, it’s the Miami Hurricanes taking the top spot at No. 1 overall.
It was widely expected that would be the case, though, as the official top 25 rankings for the playoffs were released on Tuesday night.
Of course, only 12 teams will be playing for the chance to win the national title when the rankings see its final call later this year.
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The Hurricanes remain undefeated thanks to quarterback Darian Mensah, wide receiver Malachi Toney and running back Mark Fletcher Jr. getting the job done against Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels on Saturday night. It was no easy feat, though, as UNC gave their best shot in a back-and-forth second half until Miami finished the job.
Behind Miami in the first rankings are No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Utah, No. 4 Indiana and No. 5 Alabama, as the committee felt confident with its top five.
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It was a true roller-coaster for the reigning national-champion Hoosiers and head coach Curt Cignetti, who saw some miracles take place to keep them from getting upset by Minnesota at home on Halloween.
The Golden Gopher’s Luke Drzewiecki shocked everyone in Bloomington when he drilled a 60-yard field goal to take a 16-13 lead with just 19 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. But Indiana had its own kicker, Paddy McAteer, match him with his own 60-yarder at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime, where the Hoosier escaped to move their record to 8-1.
It was an interesting choice to have the Hoosiers in the top five considering its loss to Ohio State earlier this season, and struggling to get back to dominant wins, though their record indicates just one loss.
Rounding out the top 12 teams are No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 UCLA, No. 9 BYU, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 11 Notre Dame, and Ohio State is the 12th. However, they would fall out of the CFP if the season ended today, considering No. 25 Boise State, a Group of 6 team, would replace them with five conference champions guaranteed in the 12-team bracket.
The Buckeyes especially were a team to watch how the committee viewed them. With backup quarterback Luke Fahey under center now as Julian Sayin is sidelined indefinitely with a serious throwing-arm injury, they fell to USC over the weekend, 30-18. USC came in at No. 20 in the initial rankings.
These rankings will be changing in coming weeks, and all eyes will be on the Hurricanes facing Notre Dame on Saturday to see if that has any impact. The Fighting Irish are on the cusp at the moment, but a massive win over Miami would change their season trajectory. However, Notre Dame doesn’t have a win against a currently-ranked team, and there are no ranked teams in their remaining games after Miami, making this matchup a pivotal moment for the program.
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“They are a very good football team,” CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek, who serves as athletic director for Arkansas, said during ESPN’s rankings show. “But when you look at Notre Dame’s schedule, and the wins that they have versus the teams that are ahead of them, they don’t have that signature win right now.”
Teams on the bubble who are looking to improve their stock moving forward are No. 13 Tennessee, No. 14 LSU, No. 15 Texas Tech and No. 16 Wake Forest. Houston, Missouri, Iowa and USC round out the top 20, respectively, followed by No. 21 South Carolina, No. 22 Arizona, No. 23 Oregon, No. 24 Florida and No. 25 Boise State.
