CFP Committee Drops Notre Dame to No. 11 in Shocking First Rankings

The College Football Playoff selection committee released its first official rankings on Tuesday, placing undefeated Miami at No. 1 and dropping Notre Dame to No. 11. The Irish, who are currently 7-1, now sit seven spots lower than their position in the AP poll. Their rank as the final team in the field means they must beat Miami on Saturday to secure their spot, according to committee chair Hunter Yurachek.

The list features steep gaps between teams with similar records. Indiana, the defending champion, holds the No. 4 seed at 8-1. Ohio State sits at No. 12 despite being 6-2, placing them eight spots behind the Hoosiers. This ranking comes after Ohio State lost quarterback Julian Sayin and suffered a 30-18 defeat to 20th-ranked USC. Boise State, ranked No. 25, currently holds the Group of Six automatic bid, leaving the Buckeyes on the outside looking in if the brackets were set today.

Alabama is ranked No. 5 with a 6-2 record, ahead of Tennessee, which is also 6-2. The committee placed the Crimson Tide eight spots above the Volunteers even though Alabama lost to Tennessee by 16 points a few weeks ago. Yurachek explained that head-to-head results only matter if teams are in the same four-team pod, such as ranks 1-4 or 5-8. He noted that Tennessee lacks the same level of quality wins as Alabama, which received credit for a September victory over Mississippi State before the Bulldogs' quarterback was injured.

Kentucky is ranked No. 6 with a 7-1 record, followed by Texas at No. 7. UCLA, the only other undefeated team in the nation, is slotted at No. 8. Georgia, at 7-1, holds the No. 2 spot, while Utah is No. 3. The committee identified the SEC as the strongest conference, with 10 of its teams making the top 25. This dominance came at the expense of the ACC, where only Miami and 16th-ranked Wake Forest made the list.

Yurachek described the season as having unbelievable parity through the first eight weeks. He predicted a large amount of movement in the rankings after this weekend's games. Key matchups include Alabama visiting No. 14 LSU, a game that will likely give one team its third loss. Kentucky will host Tennessee, a contest that could result in either team's second loss. BYU also plays at Utah, a game that will impact the Big 12 race.

The committee will release a new ranking every Tuesday through December 6. The playoff semifinals are scheduled for December 18 and 19 on the campuses of seeds 5 through 8. The national championship game will be played in Las Vegas on January 25. If the current rankings held, the projected first-round matchups would include No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama and No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 6 Kentucky.