If you're upset about Miami football checking in at No. 18 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, trust us when we say you're not alone. The Hurricanes getting crushed this bad by the committee is not what we were expecting tonight.
Miami absolutely crushed by CFP committee in first rankings
In the blink of an eye, Miami has gone from one of the top teams in the country, to a program on the outside looking in for the CFP. A major topic of conversation leading up to the rankings reveal was where Notre Dame would land.
Similar to the Canes, the Irish are 6-2 on the year, but Miami won the head-to-head battle in South Florida to start the season. If you ask Mack Rhoades, though, the reason Notre Dame is No. 10 and Miami is No. 18 is because these are two sides that are going in different directions.
CFP chair Mack Rhoades says No. 10 Notre Dame has gotten better since its loss to No. 18 Miami, which has helped the Irish be ranked eight spots higher than the Hurricanes.
— Drew Mentock (@AndrewMentock) November 5, 2025
"When you look at Week 1 to now, it's a team that has improved."
Miami football fans are disgusted that the Canes are No. 18 in the CFP rankings
On one side, yes, we understand that Notre Dame is riding high these days. The Fighting Irish also lost to Texas A&M, but they're now on a six-game winning streak. Marcus Freeman and his players knew they had to win out to sneak into the CFP, and so far things are going to plan there.
However, the contention that plenty of people in Miami have is that those wins have come against Purdue, Arkansas, Boise State, NC State, USC and Boston College. Outside of the win against the Trojans, things have been pretty easy for Freeman and Co.
As for Miami, the Canes have posted wins against Notre Dame, Bethune-Cookman, South Florida, Florida, Florida State and Stanford, while suffering deflating losses to Louisville and SMU. The loss last week to SMU was inexcusable and the committee punished Miami hard for that one.
Still, to have Notre Dame at No. 10 and Miami at No. 18 feels like a bit of a slap in the face to the ACC school. We thought that Miami would be in the No. 13-No. 15 range, but Rhoades and his colleagues had other ideas. There's obviously plenty of time for the rankings to change, but Cristobal can't be too pleased about things right now, especially after breaking the bank to bring in Carson Beck.