Miami absolutely crushed by CFP committee with first CFP rankings

The CFP selection committee put Miami at No. 18, matching the Hurricanes' post-SMU AP standing and leaving UM outside the 12-team CFP cutoff for now. The bracket currently runs through a top-12 that's heavy on SEC and Big Ten brands, with Memphis identified as the highest-ranked G5 (not in the Top 25) and thus the provisional playoff representative under the auto-bid rules.

It's a tough pill to swallow for Miami fans and the reality is that a Week 1 win got lost in all the other final results that followed. Miami defeated Notre Dame in the opening week of their season and the Fighting Irish landed No. 10 in the CFP rankings (same as they did in the recent AP Poll). There was some slight hope going into Tuesday night's rankings that the head-to-head victory would be honored, now it seems like the Hurricanes are truly fighting an uphill battle.

Conference representation

• SEC (9): Texas A&M (3), Alabama (4), Georgia (5), Ole Miss (6), Texas (11), Oklahoma (12), Vanderbilt (16), Missouri (22), Tennessee (25)
• Big Ten (7): Ohio State (1), Indiana (2), Oregon (9), USC (19), Iowa (20), Michigan (21), Washington (23)
• ACC (5): Virginia (14), Louisville (15), Georgia Tech (17), Miami (18), Pittsburgh (24)
• Big 12 (3): BYU (7), Texas Tech (8), Utah (13)
• Independent (1): Notre Dame (10)

Top-12 snapshot

SEC (5), Big Ten (4), Big 12 (2), Independent (1). No ACC team appears in the top 12 this week.

Miami's outlook

• Miami (CFP No. 18): Same slot as the AP after the SMU loss; outside the first-round field and likely tracking toward a Tier-1 bowl unless the Hurricanes win out and get lots of help in November.
• Miami's remaining schedule: Syracuse, NC State, at Virginia Tech, at Pitt.
• The ACC: The highest ranked ACC team was Virginia at No. 14. The committee clearly doesn't respect the conference as much this year as it does the other P4 conferences.

Notable committee signals from the first rankings of the 2025 season

• Head-to-head / unbeaten priority: Unbeatens at Ohio State (1), Indiana (2), Texas A&M (3), BYU (7) all sit high, and outside of Miami's win over Notre Dame, head-to-head wins were honored.
• SEC clustering at the top: Five SEC teams were inside the top 12.
• ACC squeeze: The ACC had five ranked teams but none in the top 12, which leaves the conference looking like a one-bid league. Virginia would be seeded No. 11 in the CFP bracket if the season ended today.