Miami is right where it wants to be.

The unbeaten Hurricanes are No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season. The selection committee released them Tuesday night.

That is a big change from last season. Miami did not crack the committee's top 10 until the final rankings came out.

The top 12

Georgia, Utah, Indiana and Alabama round out the top five behind Miami.

Kentucky, Texas, UCLA, BYU, Ole Miss, Notre Dame and Ohio State fill out spots six through 12.

Five conference champions are guaranteed a place in the 12-team field. That means No. 25 Boise State would take Ohio State's spot as the 12th seed if the season ended today.

Miami, Georgia, Utah and Indiana would get first-round byes. The first-round games would be Boise State at Alabama, BYU at UCLA, Notre Dame at Kentucky and Ole Miss at Texas.

Lots of time left

Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said the board will look very different by the end. "This has been such a crazy football season filled with unbelievable parity through the first eight weeks," he said.

"We still believe, as a committee, there's going to be a significant amount of movement within the entire top-25 ranking," Yurachek added.

A few surprises

Defending national champion Indiana landing in the top four raised some eyebrows. The Hoosiers lost 19-15 to Ohio State on Oct. 17. Their past three wins all came by seven points or less, including overtime wins over Michigan and Minnesota.

Alabama also sits high after losing back-to-back games to Georgia and Tennessee in October. The Crimson Tide do own wins over ranked Kentucky and South Carolina.

Ohio State took a hit after a 30-18 loss at USC last week. It was the Buckeyes' first game without quarterback Julian Sayin, who is out indefinitely with an injury to his throwing arm.

Big game Saturday

Miami gets a huge test right away. The Hurricanes visit Notre Dame on Saturday.

Miami beat the Fighting Irish 27-24 in the 2025 opener. Last season the Hurricanes won three playoff games before losing to Indiana 27-21 in the national title game.

Yurachek said Notre Dame is still missing a signature win. "They are a very good football team," he said.

The final rankings come out Dec. 6. The national championship game is set for Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.