The first CFP rankings put Miami at No. 1 and leave 7-1 Notre Dame 11th

Miami is No. 1 in the College Football Playoff committee's first rankings of 2026, released Tuesday night, and Notre Dame is No. 11 at 7-1. The CFP's official account says it's the first time the Hurricanes have ever been ranked No. 1 by the committee.

Georgia, Utah, Indiana and Alabama round out the top five, per the CFP release and ESPN's rankings table. Kentucky, Texas, UCLA, BYU, Ole Miss, Notre Dame and Ohio State fill out the top 12.

The five rankings that will start arguments

1. Notre Dame at 11. The Irish are fourth in Sunday's AP poll. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek told ESPN the Irish are good on both sides of the ball but "they don't have that signature win right now." They get their shot Saturday when Miami visits South Bend.
2. Alabama at 5. The Tide are 6-2 and ninth in the AP poll after losing back-to-back games to Georgia and Tennessee in October. Yurachek pointed to wins over Kentucky and South Carolina and a 56-23 win at Mississippi State.
3. Tennessee at 13. The Vols beat Alabama 26-10 on Oct. 17 and still sit eight spots behind the Tide. Yurachek said Tennessee lacks the same level of quality wins.
4. Indiana at 4. The defending national champions lost 19-15 to Ohio State, won their last two in overtime and haven't beaten a team the committee ranked.
5. Ohio State at 12, and out of the field. Five conference champions get in, so No. 25 Boise State would take the 12th spot if the season ended today, per ESPN. The Buckeyes lost 30-18 at USC in their first game without injured quarterback Julian Sayin.

The bracket if it started today

ESPN's projection gives byes to Miami, Georgia, Utah and Indiana. The first-round games would be Boise State at Alabama, BYU at UCLA, Notre Dame at Kentucky and Ole Miss at Texas.

New Mexico, 22nd in the AP poll, is the only AP top-25 team missing from the committee's list. Oregon is 23rd in the CFP rankings without an AP ranking.

The take

The committee just told Notre Dame the season comes down to Saturday. Beat Miami, which has won the last two meetings, and the Irish have the win the chair says is missing. Lose, and the Irish are 7-2 with no ranked win and none of their last three opponents in the committee's top 25. Miami gets a tougher week out of this, too. Its defense is 122nd in FBS against the pass, and it needed double overtime against Florida State and a recovered onside kick at North Carolina to stay perfect.

Watch Miami at Notre Dame on Saturday, then the second rankings next Tuesday.