A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

While election officials were counting ballots this week, the college football playoff selection committee was tabulating as well - to come up with this season's first playoff rankings. Now, with five weeks left in the regular season, teams on the list are now scrambling to boost their standings and also secure a playoff spot. Joining us now to discuss what to look for in Week 10 is Shehan Jeyarajah. He's a college football writer for CBS Sports. Let's start with Miami Hurricanes, ranked No. 1 - 8-nil record. They faced Notre Dame on Saturday. What are you expecting from that big matchup?

SHEHAN JEYARAJAH: Well, it's a huge game, you know, No. 1 versus No. 11. And for Notre Dame, they started lower in the college football playoff rankings than I think anybody expected. So this becomes a major spot for them that they have to win. Last year, they were a two-loss team, and that left them as the first team out of the college football playoff. And for Miami, this is their first big test of the year, their first Top-11 opponent. And this is an opportunity for them to cement themselves as a potential No. 1 team in the country and also as one of four teams to receive a first-round bye in the college football playoff.

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And Miami's down their best player, right?

JEYARAJAH: Correct. Wide receiver Malachi Toney is apparently undergoing surgery this weekend. It's not expected to be something that'll keep him out the rest of the year, but it does mean that he will miss this game against Notre Dame.

MARTÍNEZ: So I was looking at the schedule. A lot of the top-ranked teams are on the road this weekend. Any underdogs playing this weekend that could work their way into a playoff spot?

JEYARAJAH: Yeah. It's interesting, right? I think that that 10-to-15 range is the most interesting spot on the board right now. Right now, the one that stands out to me is LSU at No. 14 is hosting No. 5, Alabama. Now, Alabama, I think, is regarded as one of the most over-ranked teams as a two-loss team in this initial ranking, and LSU is maybe one of the more under-ranked teams. So this is an opportunity where, if they win this game at home, where LSU is one of the best teams in the nation, they have a chance to potentially crash the party and maybe even break into the Top 6 or 7. So this is a big spot for first-year coach Lane Kiffin. He was heralded when he came to campus, coming from Ole Miss last season. And this is sort of the big prove-it spot where they can play their way in.

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And one of the reasons why you want to have one of those Top-4 rankings is that you get a playoff berth - I mean, a first-round bye in the first week. So any other teams looking to get those coveted spots?

JEYARAJAH: Yeah. The other big one this weekend, especially, is No. 2, Georgia. They, of course, have been a bye team each of the first two years of the 12-team college football playoff. And they now go and play against No. 10, Ole Miss, a team that is fighting for their playoff lives at this point, also with two losses. But Georgia has arguably been the most dominant team in the country outside of one weekend against Auburn. This is a big moment for them to cement their spot. And if they were to beat Ole Miss this weekend, they are very likely to get that first-round bye. And they are very likely to make the SEC championship game as well.

MARTÍNEZ: Why is UCLA undefeated but not ranked higher than, say, a team like Texas, who has two losses against two unranked teams?

JEYARAJAH: Yeah. It's an interesting question, right? There are only three unranked teams remaining in college football - No. 1, Miami; No. 3, Utah; and of course, No. 8, UCLA. And look. This is a team whose strength of schedule is not as high as many other teams on this list, but they've just continued to find a way to win. Their first-year coach, Bob Chesney, came from James Madison, where he led them to the playoff last year. And ironically, that's the same place where Indiana's Curt Cignetti came from as well.

MARTÍNEZ: Shehan Jeyarajah is a college football writer for CBS Sports. Thanks a lot.

JEYARAJAH: Thank you for having me.

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