Yahoo Sports Where the Miami Hurricanes landed in third College Football Playoff ranking of the season
The Miami Hurricanes were idle last week, but they still had movement in the College Football Playoff ranking because of the performances of teams around them in the standings.
The Hurricanes on Tuesday checked in at No. 8 in the third 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. That’s up one spot from their No. 9 ranking in the second poll last week.
But because they are the highest ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team, they still slot in the No. 3 seed in the 12-team playoff and thus would have a first-round bye based on how this week’s rankings unfolded.
The Hurricanes are 9-1 this season, including 5-1 in ACC play. They still have the inside track to make it to the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 7 if they win their final two games of the season — noon Saturday at home against Wake Forest and 3:30 p.m. Nov. 30 on the road against Syracuse.
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 Texas (No. 3 in the ranking but No. 2 seed because two Big Ten teams are ahead of it in the ranking), the ACC’s Miami (No. 8 ranking but seeded third as the highest-ranked team in the ACC) and the Mountain West’s Boise State (No. 12 ranking, but the fourth-highest ranked projected conference champion), 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 BYU of the Big 12, which was ranked No. 14.
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. BYU (No. 14 ranking and No. 12 seed); Penn State (No. 4 ranking, No. 6 seed) vs. Georgia (No. 10 ranking, No. 11 seed); Indiana (No. 5 ranking, No. 7 seed) vs.. Ole Miss Rebels (No. 9 ranking, No. 10 seed); and Notre Dame (No. 6 ranking, No. 8 seed) vs. Alabama (No. 7 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 Texas Longhorns
No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers
No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide
No. 8 Miami Hurricanes
No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels
No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs
No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers
No. 12 Boise State Broncos
No. 13 SMU Mustangs
No. 14 BYU Cougars
No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies
No. 16 Colorado Buffaloes
No. 17 Clemson Tigers
No. 18 South Carolina Gamecocks
No. 19 Army Black Knights
No. 20 Tulane Green Wave
No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils
No. 22 Iowa State Cyclones
No. 23 Missouri Tigers
No. 24 UNLV Rebels
No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini
