Miami is ranked atop the season’s first set of College Football Rankings.

The undefeated Hurricanes are No. 1 in the AP Top 25 and were the unsurprising top team in Tuesday night’s inaugural rankings of 2026. But you didn’t have to go very far down the rankings to find some stark differences between the AP poll and the CFP selection committee’s rankings.

Notre Dame, which is at No. 4 in the AP poll, was ranked No. 11 on Tuesday night. The one-loss Irish missed out on the College Football Playoff a season ago after the committee moved them behind Miami in the final set of rankings even though neither team played on conference championship weekend.

Miami, of course, beat Notre Dame in Week 1. And the two teams play again on Saturday night in a game that somehow looks even more pivotal for the playoff than it did 24 hours ago.

If Notre Dame loses to Miami again, will it miss the College Football Playoff again?

The Irish have games against Boston College, SMU and Syracuse remaining. All of those teams are unranked. The Irish have a very clear path to 10-2 if they lose to the Hurricanes. And given the way the committee appears to be valuing strength of schedule, Notre Dame could find itself on the outside looking in for a second straight season.

The Irish are ranked behind three two-loss teams. Georgia, Utah and Indiana filled out the top four with two-loss Alabama a surprising No. 5. The Crimson Tide are eight spots ahead of Tennessee. The Volunteers have an identical 6-2 record and beat the Crimson Tide by 16 points.

Alabama is also ahead of Kentucky. The Tide handed the Wildcats their only loss of the season in Week 2. Texas is at No. 7 ahead of undefeated UCLA. BYU and Ole Miss are the last two teams in the top 10.

Nov. 3 College Football Playoff rankings

1. Miami Hurricanes (8-0)

2. Georgia Bulldogs (7-1)

3. Utah Utes (8-0)

4. Indiana Hoosiers (8-1)

5. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2)

6. Kentucky Wildcats (7-1)

7. Texas Longhorns (6-2)

8. UCLA Bruins (8-0)

9. BYU Cougars (7-1)

10. Ole Miss Rebels (6-2)

11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1)

12. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2)

13. Tennessee Volunteers (6-2)

14. LSU Tigers (6-2)

15. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1)

16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-1)

17. Houston Cougars (6-2)

18. Missouri Tigers (6-2)

19. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)

20. USC Trojans (7-2)

21. South Carolina Gamecocks (5-3)

22. Arizona Wildcats (6-2)

23. Oregon Ducks (5-3)

24. Florida Gators (5-3)

25. Boise State Broncos (7-1)

Source: Yahoo Sports