Where Will Notre Dame and Miami be in Initial CFP Rankings?

The biggest week of the regular season is officially here for Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish get set to host Miami this Saturday.

It's the biggest home game for the Fighting Irish since at least 2005, and a win would be the biggest by the program at Notre Dame Stadium since perhaps 1993.

With Miami sitting at 8-0 and Notre Dame at 7-1, both are expected to be ranked very high in the initial College Football Playoff rankings that are set to be announced Tuesday night.

Where will Notre Dame and Miami both fall in those? And is there any chance it could end up being a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown?

Latest AP Poll Released

The AP Poll was updated and released on Sunday, with Miami keeping hold of the top spot after sneaking out of North Carolina with a win.

Georgia moved back up to No. 2 after dominating Florida, and after previous No. 2 Ohio State lost at USC.

Unbeated Utah then moved up to No. 3 after winning big at Cincinnati, and Notre Dame moved up to No. 4 after getting by Navy.

The entire top 25 is as follows:

1. Miami
2. Georgia
3. Utah
4. Notre Dame
5. UCLA
6. Indiana
7. BYU
8. Kentucky
9. Alabama
10. Texas
11. Ohio State
12. Ole Miss
13. Texas Tech
14. Wake Forest
15. LSU
16. Tennessee
17. Houston
18. USC
19. Missouri
20. Boise State
21. Iowa
22. New Mexico
23. South Carolina
24. Arizona
25. Florida

While the AP Poll and CFP rankings tend to look different, there is still usually a decent amount that looks the same.

Some are hoping that the CFP will make this showdown between Notre Dame and Miami a 1. vs. 2. game, but I can't logically see that happening.

Where Notre Dame and Miami Should Be in CFP Rankings

Notre Dame's metrics are outstanding and computer models love the Fighting Irish. Their real-life resume, though, leaves a bit to be desired.

To date, its best win came against Wisconsin, who fell out of the top 25 this week after getting blasted at Iowa, 30-0.

Also, are we certain Miami gets the No. 1 ranking? Yes, it is unbeaten and has two Heisman Trophy frontrunners on the offense, but who has it beat?

It's best win to date is at Wake Forest, who currently sits 7-1.

I think Miami gets the No. 1 spot because of the unbeaten record, but don't be surprised if it goes to Georgia, who has ranked wins over at Alabama and on a neutral field against Florida.

Nick Shepkowski's Playoff Rankings Projection

25. Northwestern
24. South Carolina
23. Boise State
22. Arizona
21. Florida
20. Missouri
19. Houston
18. USC
17. Iowa
16. Wake Forest
15. Texas Tech
14. LSU
13. Ole Miss
12. Ohio State
11. Tennessee
10. Alabama
9. Texas
8. Notre Dame
7. Kentucky
6. Indiana
5. BYU
4. UCLA
3. Utah
2. Georgia
1. Miami

If you look at Notre Dame at No. 8 and think - how? Here's what I see...

The CFP Committee sees Notre Dame as having just one loss, which is great, but look at the best win of each team in front of it.

Miami - Wake Forest
Georgia - Alabama
Utah - Cincinnati or Houston
UCLA - Wisconsin (also unbeaten)
BYU - Notre Dame
Indiana - Northwestern (at worst, as good as Wisconsin, at best, better than Wisconsin)
Kentucky - LSU

The bad news is that Notre Dame doesn't have any big wins and those are what tend to get rewarded. The good news is that a week from now, Notre Dame can have as good of win as anyone in the country if it takes care of Miami.

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