Where the Miami Hurricanes landed in second College Football Playoff ranking of the season

The Miami Hurricanes’ spot in the College Football Playoff ranking took a hit after their 28-23 upset loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Their spot in the playoff field, however, is not lost just yet.

The Hurricanes on Tuesday checked in at No. 9 in the second of five weekly rankings picked by the 13-person selection committee before the final rankings on Dec. 8 that will ultimately determine the 12-team playoff field that will compete for a national title. That’s down five spots from their No. 4 ranking in the initial poll.

But because they are the highest ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team, they still slot in the No. 4 seed in the 12-team playoff and thus would have a first-round bye based on how this week’s rankings unfolded.

The Hurricanes are 9-1 this season, including 5-1 in ACC play. They still have the inside track to make it to the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 7 if they win their final two games of the season — Nov. 23 at home against Wake Forest and Nov. 30 on the road against Syracuse.

How the playoff field will be decided

This is the first season of the 12-team playoff after the field was only four teams for the first 10 years of the playoff format.

The top four seeds in the field will be given to the highest four ranked conference champions, regardless of their actual ranking. Those four teams will receive a first-round bye.

Based on how the rankings unfolded, that would have the Big Ten’s Oregon (No. 1 in the ranking), SEC’s Texas (No. 3 in the ranking but No. 2 seed because two Big Ten teams are ahead of it in the ranking), the Big 12’s BYU (ranked No. 6 but seeded third as the highest ranked team from the Big 12), and ACC’s Miami (No. 9 ranking but seeded fourth as the highest-ranked team in the ACC) as the four teams to receive byes should they win their conference championship.

The fifth-highest ranked conference champion will also receive an automatic bid into the playoff field. If that team is outside of the top 12 in the final poll, it will be given the No. 12 slot in the playoff bracket. This week, that’s Boise State of the Mountain West, which was ranked No. 13.

The final seven spots will go the next seven highest ranked teams not already in the field.

Teams seeded 5-8 will host first-round games at their home site on either Dec. 20 or 21. No. 5 hosts No. 12, No. 6 hosts No. 11, No. 7 hosts No. 10 and No. 8 hosts No. 9.

The first-round matchups based on Tuesday’s ranking:

Ohio State (No. 2 ranking, No. 5 seed) vs. Boise State (No. 13 ranking and No. 12 seed); Penn State (No. 4 ranking, No. 6 seed) vs. Ole Miss (No. 11 ranking and seed); Indiana (No. 5 ranking, No. 7 seed) vs. Alabama (No. 10 ranking and seed); Tennessee (No. 8 ranking, No. 7 seed) vs. Notre Dame (No. 9 ranking, No. 8 seed);

The four quarterfinals will be played at the Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. kickoff), Peach Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m.), Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, 5 p.m.) and Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m.).

The semifinals are at the Orange Bowl (Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m.) and Cotton Bowl (Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.). The national championship is Jan. 20 in Atlanta.

The full top 25

No. 1 Oregon Ducks

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes

No. 3 Texas Longhorns

No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions

No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers

No. 6 BYU Cougars

No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers

No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

No. 9 Miami Hurricanes

No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide

No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels

No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs

No. 13 Boise State Broncos

No. 14 SMU Mustangs

No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies

No. 16 Kansas State Wildcats

No. 17 Colorado Buffaloes

No. 18 Washington State Cougars

No. 19 Louisville Cardinals

No. 20 Clemson Tigers

No. 21 South Carolina Gamecocks

No. 22 LSU Tigers

No. 23 Missouri Tigers

No. 24 Army Black Knights

No. 25 Tulane Green Wave