Miami gets historic No. 1 spot as Alabama nabs surprise top-five ranking in first CFP reveal
It’s been a confusing college football season so far.Nobody felt that more deeply than the College Football Playoff selection committee, which raised eyebrows aplenty in its first attempt of the season to make sense of it all.Undefeated Miami received top billing in the committee’s opening crack at the CFP rankings Tuesday for the first time, followed by Georgia (7-1) and undefeated Utah.From there, the 13 people in that room could have been picking from a hat.
Defending champion Indiana (8-1) was ranked fourth — eight spots ahead of Ohio State (6-2), which beat the Hoosiers 19-15 last month but has since lost quarterback Julian Sayin (to say nothing of another game).At No.5 was Alabama (6-2) — eight spots ahead of Tennessee (6-2), even though the Tide is only a few weeks removed from a 16-point loss to the Vols.
At No.6 was Kentucky (7-1), followed by Texas (6-2).UCLA, the nation’s only other undefeated team, was ranked eighth.Oh, and Notre Dame.
The Irish (7-1) were ranked 11th — seven spots lower than their spot in the AP Top 25 — and that ranking brought with it a simple message: As the last team that would make the bracket if the playoffs started today, they need to beat Miami on Saturday or risk slipping due to a schedule that clearly did not impress the committee.“A very, very good football team,” committee chair Hunter Yurachek said of Notre Dame.“But when you look at Notre Dame’s schedule and the wins they have versus the teams ahead of them, they don’t have that signature win right now.”In fact, Notre Dame’s biggest game so far resulted in its only loss — 28-24 at BYU on Oct.
17.Ohio State was ranked 12th, but would be on the outside looking in because Boise State, ranked 25th, would get the Group of Six automatic bid.It would have been easy — maybe too easy — to blame the Buckeyes tumble on the fact that their offense is now in the hands of a freshman quarterback, Luke Fahey.But Yurachek said the committee was more c...