The first College Football Playoff rankings are about to give the sport another fresh debate, and the biggest question is whether the committee will stick with the AP poll’s new No. 1 or decide the top spot should go somewhere else.
Miami moved into first in the AP rankings after a chain reaction of losses shuffled the board - Ohio State fell to Texas, Texas then lost to Oklahoma, and Georgia later dropped a game to Auburn. That opened the door for the Hurricanes, who are unbeaten and sitting at the top of the conversation.
But the committee may not be ready to hand Miami the same crown.
The case against the Hurricanes starts with the schedule. Their résumé does not offer much in the way of elite tests, and their only win against a ranked opponent came against Wake Forest. On top of that, Miami has had to work far harder than expected in several games, going to double overtime to get past a struggling Florida State team and needing a late fourth-quarter push to slip by North Carolina.
There’s also the issue on defense. Miami’s offense has been able to overwhelm plenty of opponents, but the other side of the ball has not looked nearly as clean. A banged-up secondary and repeated breakdowns have let lesser teams hang around.
That’s where Georgia enters the picture. In a season where nearly everyone has taken a hit, the reigning SEC champion still looks like the most stable team in the field.
The Bulldogs do have a strange blemish of their own, though: a home loss to unranked Auburn. Even so, that came after what may have been the most impressive performance by any team this season, a road win over Alabama.
Georgia’s edge also comes when compared with Kentucky, which is tied with the Bulldogs for first in the SEC standings. Kentucky’s only loss is to that same Alabama team Georgia beat, but it was an ugly one.
Still, there is one team lurking that could force a real shake-up if the committee wants to get creative. Utah is 8-0 after a convincing win over Cincinnati, has climbed to No. 3 in the latest AP poll, and owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 14 games.
The Utes are also in first place in the Big 12, with a clear path to a conference title. That kind of profile could tempt the committee to make a bold move.
But the safer bet is that the selection committee lines up with the AP voters.
An undefeated record is likely to matter more than a better win paired with a loss, and that should give Miami the edge over Georgia for the top spot.
If that happens, Notre Dame may be the team that benefits most. The Irish host Miami this week, and a win there would give them a strong argument for owning the best victory in the country and keeping their playoff hopes alive.
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Notre Dame Just Reopened The Door To A Dream 5-Star Flip
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Henderson has been reconsidering his options as Texas A&M has stumbled and Notre Dame has kept building momentum on the field, which has reopened a door that once looked closed. No change has been made yet, and this one figures to stretch all the way to Signing Day in December, but the Irish have at least put themselves back in the conversation for a potential flip. [Read more 🡒]