The initial College Football Playoff rankings were released and Notre Dame was ranked at No. 11. Notre Dame is the No. 4 team in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, so the College Football Playoff Committee that screwed Notre Dame a year ago has underrated the Irish again.

Notre Dame's only loss was a final play loss to No. 9 BYU on the road, but they do not have a ranked win. That would make sense to ding Notre Dame, but Indiana also has zero Top 25 wins and they are ranked No. 4. The Hoosiers have also needed overtime to beat unranked Michigan and Minnesota in its two most recent games.

Notre Dame will have its chance to build its resume this weekend when it takes on the Miami Hurricanes. Miami is currently 8-0 and is ranked No. 1 in the initial College Football Playoff Rankings. That means Notre Dame has a chance to get a big boost this weekend should they beat the Hurricanes. If Notre Dame runs the table they are a lock to make the College Football Playoff.

On the flip side, being ranked No. 11 means the Irish are likely going to miss the playoff for a second straight season should they lose another game. Even a win over Miami this weekend would make it difficult to make the playoff should the Irish lose against either Boston College, SMU or Syracuse .... all unranked teams.

For Notre Dame, it's all about handling business on the field over the final month of the season.

There are other aspects of the rankings that are bizarre, like 6-2 Alabama being eight spots ahead of 6-2 Tennessee, who beat Alabama 26-10 just two weeks ago. In fact, No. 5 Alabama has lost two of their last three games and didn't look impressive in beating Texas A&M last weekend. Texas Tech is ranked No. 15 despite having a pair of CFP victories. Alabama beat Kentucky earlier in the season and are one spot ahead of the Wildcats, despite Kentucky having a better record and having the same number CFP wins as Alabama.

PLAYOFF TOP 25

1. Miami Hurricanes - 8-0
2. Georgia Bulldogs - 8-1
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

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