Where the Miami Hurricanes landed in first College Football Playoff ranking of the season
The first College Football Playoff ranking of the 2024 season has been unveiled.
The Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday checked in at No. 4 in the first of five weekly rankings picked by the 13-person selection committee before the final rankings on Dec. 8 that will ultimately determine the 12-team playoff field that will compete for a national title.
The Hurricanes are a perfect 9-0 this season, including 5-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play entering their road game against Georgia Tech (5-4, 3-3 ACC) at noon Saturday. They are one of five Football Bowl Subdivision teams that are still undefeated, along with Oregon, BYU, Indiana and Army.
They have the inside track to make the ACC Championship Game should they win their final three regular-season games against Georgia Tech, Wake Forest on Nov. 23 and Syracuse on Nov. 30.
Warde Manuel, the chair of the selection committee, said the committee was impressed with the Hurricanes’ “offensive explosiveness.” Miami leads the nation in scoring (47.4 points per game) and total offense (556.9 yards per game) while also being tied with Ole Miss for first in yards per play (7.71).
But while the weekly CFP rankings will drum up interest nationally as the season plays out, how much stock are the Hurricanes putting into them right now?
“Absolutely zero,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. “Will it be out there? Will it be something that a lot of people pay attention to? Yes. Do you address it? We don’t ignore it because it’s reality and it’s part of the college football process. You don’t act a certain way to be fake about it, but you always circle back to finding a way to be 1-0 or it doesn’t matter what it is the next week.”
Added freshman tight end Elija Lofton: “It’s exciting but we’re not really worried about that. ... Worry about The U. Worry about us. Worry about our brothers. Attack every day, every practice, every time you step on the field.”
How the playoff field will be decided
This is the first season of the 12-team playoff after the field was only four teams for the first 10 years of the playoff format.
The top four seeds in the field will be given to the highest four ranked conference champions, regardless of their actual ranking. Those four teams will receive a first-round bye.
Based on how the rankings unfolded, that would have the Big Ten’s Oregon (No. 1 in the ranking), SEC’s Georgia (No. 3 in the ranking but No. 2 seed because two Big Ten teams are ahead of it in the ranking), ACC’s Miami (No. 4 ranking but seeded third with two Big Ten teams ahead of it in the ranking) and Big 12’s BYU (ranked No. 9 but the highest ranked team from the Big 12) as the four teams to receive byes should they win their conference championship.
The fifth-highest ranked conference champion will also receive an automatic bid into the playoff field. If that team is outside of the top 12 in the final poll, it will be given the No. 12 slot in the playoff bracket. This week, that’s Boise State of the Mountain West, which was ranked No. 12.
The final seven spots will go the next seven highest ranked teams not already in the field.
Teams seeded 5-8 will host first-round games at their home site on either Dec. 20 or 21. No. 5 hosts No. 12, No. 6 hosts No. 11, No. 7 hosts No. 10 and No. 8 hosts No. 9.
The first-round matchups based on Tuesday’s ranking:
Ohio State (No. 2 ranking, No. 5 seed) vs. Boise State (No. 12 ranking and No. 12 seed); Texas (No. 5 ranking, No. 6 seed) vs. Alabama (No. 11 ranking and No. 11 seed); Penn State (No. 6 ranking, No. 7 seed) vs. Notre Dame (No. 10 ranking and No. 10 seed); and Tennessee (No. 7 ranking, No. 8 seed) vs. Indiana (No. 8 ranking, No. 9 seed).
The four quarterfinals will be played at the Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. kickoff), Peach Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m.), Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, 5 p.m.) and Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m.).
The semifinals are at the Orange Bowl (Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m.) and Cotton Bowl (Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.). The national championship is Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
The full top 25
No. 1 Oregon Ducks
No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs
No. 4 Miami Hurricanes
No. 5 Texas Longhorns
No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers
No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers
No. 9 BYU Cougars
No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide
No. 12 Boise State Broncos
No. 13 SMU Mustangs
No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies
No. 15 LSU Tigers
No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels
No. 17 Iowa State Cyclones
No. 18 Pittsburgh Panthers
No. 19 Kansas State Wildcats
No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes
No. 21 Washington State Cougars
No. 22 Louisville Cardinals
No. 23. Clemson Tigers
No. 24 Missouri Tigers
No. 25 Army Black Knights
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 7:24 PM.
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