The Miami Hurricanes fell eight spots to No. 18 in Tuesday night’s release of the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings.
The large drop from 10 followed UM’s 62-26 loss to North Carolina on Saturday. The Tar Heels, previously No. 17, rose to 15 on Tuesday.
UNC leapfrogging Miami as the third-highest-ranked ACC team in the CFP rankings gives the Tar Heels the inside track to take the Orange Bowl’s ACC bid in the event that both Clemson (3) and Notre Dame (2) make the four-team playoff, which is possible if the Tigers top the Fighting Irish in this Saturday’s ACC Championship Game.
In such a case, the Hurricanes (8-2, 7-2) would likely end up in the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 29.
Alabama remains No. 1 with Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State — in that order —remaining as the other three teams currently in the playoff. Texas A&M is still fifth. Iowa State moved up to No. 6 as Florida fell just one spot to No. 7 after its loss to sub-.500 LSU over the weekend. Georgia at 8, Cincinnati at 9 and Oklahoma round out the top 10.
Bowl matchups that are yet to be determined will be announced on Sunday afternoon, following the release of the final CFP rankings.
In last Sunday’s release of the AP and Coaches polls, Miami came in at No. 19 in each.
