The College Football Playoff selection committee unveiled its first Top 25 of the 2026 season on Tuesday night, and undefeated Miami (8-0) is No. 1 — the first time in program history the Hurricanes have topped the initial rankings, as NGSC Sports notes.

Georgia (7-1) is No. 2, Utah (8-0) No. 3, Indiana (8-1) No. 4 and two-loss Alabama (6-2) a surprising No. 5. Kentucky, Texas, UCLA, BYU and Ole Miss round out the top 10, giving the SEC five teams inside it.

Notre Dame, ranked No. 4 in the AP poll, debuted at No. 11 in the committee's rankings despite a 7-1 record.

Committee chair Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas' athletic director, cited the Irish's schedule on ESPN: 'When you look at Notre Dame's schedule and the wins they have versus the teams that are ahead of them, they don't have that signature win right now.'

Notre Dame lost its only top-25 matchup at BYU, and is ranked behind three two-loss teams. Ohio State, which handed Indiana its only loss, sits at No. 12 behind the Irish, reportedly a factor of QB Julian Sayin's season-ending injury per Yahoo Sports.

The strength-of-schedule emphasis the SEC pushed for during the spring and summer shows up clearly in the rankings. Alabama at No. 5 is eight spots ahead of Tennessee (No. 13) despite identical 6-2 records — and the Volunteers beat the Crimson Tide by 16 points.

Alabama is also ahead of Kentucky, the team that handed the Wildcats their only loss in Week 2. Yahoo Sports reports that all six two-loss teams inside the top 15 are from the SEC, and a three-loss SEC team making the playoff again looks plausible, as Alabama did a season ago.

Because the 12-team format guarantees automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, NGSC Sports projects No. 25 Boise State (7-1) would claim the 12th seed as the Group of Six representative — pushing No. 12 Ohio State (6-2) completely out of the field if the season ended today.

The slate offers immediate clarity on whether the committee got it right. No. 1 Miami visits No. 11 Notre Dame on Saturday night on NBC — a rematch of last season's Week 1 Miami win, after which the committee moved the Hurricanes past the Irish and cost Notre Dame a playoff spot.

The card also features No. 2 Georgia at No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 9 BYU at No. 3 Utah in the Holy War, No. 5 Alabama at No. 14 LSU, No. 6 Kentucky at No. 13 Tennessee and No. 7 Texas at No. 18 Missouri. FOX Sports reports six top-25 matchups total, all with playoff implications.

For Notre Dame, a loss to Miami could mean missing the playoff for a second straight season: the Irish's remaining games — Boston College, SMU and Syracuse, all unranked per Yahoo Sports — give no chance for a signature win, and FOX Sports notes a second loss would drop them out of the top 12 with no ranked opponents left to beat.

The quarterback matchup adds star power: Miami's Darian Mensah, now the Heisman front-runner per FOX Sports with 25 touchdowns against one interception, faces Notre Dame's CJ Carr. Miami would earn a fifth road win, its most since 2002, with a victory.