The first College Football Playoff rankings are almost here, and Miami looks positioned to grab the No. 1 spot when the committee releases its opening list. That first reveal always matters because it gives everyone a sense of the direction the next six weeks might take. And if there’s one thing the committee has taught us, it’s that the early order tends to hold for a while before everything suddenly gets rewritten.
Miami is the team to beat at the top, but Georgia is lurking as the biggest threat to jump the Hurricanes. As long as Miami keeps stacking wins, it should stay ahead of the Bulldogs.
The schedule will raise some questions, but a victory over Notre Dame would settle plenty of that noise. The Hurricanes have also handled business in a big way, with six wins by 13 points or more.
Indiana is tougher to pin down. The Hoosiers’ best win by ranking standards is probably Northwestern, and that’s part of what makes their placement tricky.
Five of their last six games have been decided by fewer than seven points, and two of those went to overtime. Winning still matters most, but the committee is likely to knock Indiana a bit because of the soft schedule and the eye test.
Ohio State presents another interesting case. The Buckeyes fit the committee’s recent standard that teams lose value without their starting quarterbacks, which helps explain where they’re projected to land.
They’re already a flawed team, and they look even more limited without Julian Sayin’s ability to get Jeremiah Smith the ball. The backup quarterback platoon can get better, but unless Ohio State wins out, that won’t change much.
Wake Forest is the kind of team that could make the committee uncomfortable. The Demon Deacons may be very good, and they keep proving it week after week. But they’re still Wake Forest, and that reputation is going to create hesitation when it comes to giving them the ranking they’ve earned.
Tennessee is the other team that feels like a moving target. The original projection had the Volunteers at 18th, but there’s a sense the committee, like the polls, will lean SEC until results force a correction.
That pushed Tennessee up to 15th, which feels like the right spot for a team that still needs more information. A win over Kentucky could send the Vols into the top 10.
A loss in Week 10, though, and they could be out of the rankings entirely.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Suddenly Hands Miami A Huge Opening In South Bend
Notre Dames injury report ahead of its meeting with Miami has turned a routine pregame update into a meaningful subplot, with several important names either questionable or already ruled out. The list is especially notable on defense, where star tackle Francis Brewu is dealing with a left knee injury and captain linebacker Drayk Bowen will not play because of a right ankle issue, while multiple other linemen are also unavailable.
For Miami, the timing matters. Any trip to South Bend brings its own pressure, but the Hurricanes now have a clearer path to attack a Notre Dame roster that is missing depth in the trenches and a key voice in the middle of the defense. Even before kickoff, the matchup has shifted a bit, and Miami will be watching closely to see whether the Irish can recover any of those pieces before game time. [Read more 🡒]
Elija Lofton Is Giving Miami A New Reason To Feel Dangerous
Elija Lofton has quietly become one of the more interesting pieces in Miamis offense over the last six games, and his expanded role is starting to show up in the kinds of moments that matter. The junior tight end was especially noticeable against UNC, when he caught three passes for 48 yards and helped keep a key scoring drive alive with a 12-yard grab that extended the lead.
For an offense looking for more reliable answers in the middle of the field, Loftons emergence gives Miami another layer to work with. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson singled out his play as pivotal in that crucial drive, and the Hurricanes now have a tight end who is not just filling snaps but helping tilt possessions their way. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A CFP Reality Check Before Miami
The first College Football Playoff rankings have already stirred up the kind of debate that tends to follow this committee all the way through November, and Miami has a front-row seat to it. The initial reveal looked very different from the AP Top 25, with some notable shakeups near the top and a field that included 10 SEC teams, while Indiana emerged as the highest-ranked Big Ten team despite some surprising factors.
For the Hurricanes, the bigger subplot is what this says about the road ahead and the kind of scrutiny their own rsum will face as the season unfolds. CFP committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said ranking teams in such a competitive year is no easy task, and the early board made clear that reputation, conference strength and small details can all matter just as much as what the pollsters have been saying each week. [Read more 🡒]