Miami Opens at No. 1 as Ohio State Lands on the Wrong Side of the Bubble

College football's first official pecking order is out, and it's already starting arguments. The selection committee released its opening College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, and undefeated Miami sits on top at 8–0.

Georgia (7–1) is No. 2, followed by unbeaten Utah (8–0) and Indiana (8–1). If the season ended today, those four would get the first-round byes in the 12-team bracket. The next group is a mix of usual suspects and surprises: Alabama at No. 5, Kentucky at No. 6, Texas at No. 7, unbeaten UCLA at No. 8, BYU at No. 9, and Ole Miss at No. 10.

For many fans, the headline is who's hanging by a thread. Notre Dame is No. 11 and would be the last team in. The committee clearly wasn't impressed that the Irish have no ranked wins, and their one loss came against BYU. Ohio State is No. 12, which sounds safe until you remember how the bracket works. The top-ranked Group of 6 champion gets a spot, and right now that's Boise State at No. 25. That bumps the Buckeyes out as the first team on the outside. Tennessee is second out.

Ohio State fans have an obvious sore spot. The Buckeyes beat Indiana earlier this season, but losing to Southern Cal last week dropped them well below the Hoosiers. Head-to-head results matter, but not as much as people sometimes think.

Remember, this is only the first of six rankings, and the final field gets picked on Sunday, December 6. A lot can change in a month of conference play.