Miami is back in the top 10... per the AP Poll. The Hurricanes climbed two spots to No. 10, returning to the top 10 for the first time since mid-October. Miami sits just behind Notre Dame and ahead of Alabama, a tight cluster that could offer a preview for what CFP committee decides to do.
Miami ranked ahead of Alabama in AP Poll
The Hurricanes finished 10-2 and closed the regular season with four straight convincing wins, including blowouts of NC State, Syracuse, Stanford and Pittsburgh. Those games matter because three of those opponents also appear on Notre Dame's schedule, and Miami beat three of the four common opponents by wider margins than the Irish did, on top of its head to head win over Notre Dame in Week 1.
Despite Miami being ranked in the top 10, the ACC still does have a problem. Duke's 27-20 overtime win over Virginia in the ACC Championship Game likely cost the conference a locked-in No. 11 seed that would have gone to Virginia as a ranked champion. Instead, the ACC could be shut out of the automatic bids and left begging for at-large help (Miami) from the committee. So, if the committee doesn't put the Hurricanes in the playoff, the ACC will be on its couch watching the games like the rest of us.
NEW: College Football AP Poll👀https://t.co/WIgRuMvHuM pic.twitter.com/huBbvQRILS
— On3 (@On3sports) December 7, 2025
Week 16 AP Top 25
Indiana is the No. 1 team in the AP poll for the first time ever after a 13-0 season capped by a 13-10 win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis. That victory snapped the Buckeyes' 14-week run atop the rankings and made Indiana a unanimous choice for No. 1 heading into what should be the program's second straight appearance in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The full AP top 10 going into Selection Sunday: No. 1 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Texas Tech, No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 10 Miami. Alabama fell to No. 11 after its lopsided loss in the SEC Championship Game, and BYU checked in at No. 12.
American champion Tulane jumped four spots to No. 17, its highest ranking in two years, while Sun Belt champion James Madison held at No. 19. North Texas, which lost to Tulane in the league title game, stayed in the poll at No. 23, giving the American three ranked teams (Navy at No. 22 being the other).