CFP rankings: Miami loses projected spot to Alabama, Ohio State falls

Miami is on the outside looking in after Alabama leapfrogged the Hurricanes on Tuesday in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings.

Oregon remained in the top spot, while Ohio State fell to sixth, bumping up Texas to No. 2, Penn State to No. 3, and Notre Dame to No. 4. Georgia sits at No. 5 after moving up two spots.

Miami fell to 12th and is projected to miss the playoff as all five conference champions get in. The Hurricanes dropped six places after losing 42-38 to Syracuse.

CFP chair Warde Manuel explained that Alabama is in over Miami due to victories against stronger opponents. He pointed out that the former is 3-1 against current top-25 teams, while the latter is 0-1.

"Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500, and Miami is 4-2" Manuel said, according to Mike Rodak of CBS Sports. "Both have had some losses that weren't what they wanted out of those games, but in the last three games, Miami has lost twice."

Miami's athletic director Dan Radakovich took issue with Manuel's reasoning.

Manuel also said that teams not playing this weekend will not see their positions change in the final rankings. Alabama and Miami don't have matchups this weekend, essentially eliminating the Hurricanes from the CFP. No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 14 South Carolina also won't be in action.

"Any team that is not playing right now, we don't have a data point to rearrange where we have those teams ranked, so that is set in terms of how we see them," Manuel stated, via The Herald-Times' Michael Niziolek.

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal argued that his squad did enough to make the 12-team playoff prior to the reveal, telling ESPN that "Miami winning 10 (games) is stronger than teams winning nine games."

Oregon, Texas, SMU, and Boise State are projected to receive first-round byes.

The ACC Championship Game between SMU and No. 17 Clemson could have implications for Alabama. Manuel said it's possible the 11-1 Mustangs drop behind Alabama if they lose their conference title game, according to John Talty of CBS Sports.

Other conference title games scheduled for Friday or Saturday include Tulane versus Army, Boise State versus UNLV, Arizona State versus Iowa State, Texas versus Georgia, and Oregon versus Penn State.

Here is the rest of the top 25: