IRVING, Nov. 4 -- they do not have a signature win. Their next chance to find one arrives Saturday against top-ranked Miami.

Miami opened at No. 1 in the first of the committee's six rankings, followed by Georgia, unbeaten Utah, Indiana and Alabama. Kentucky was sixth, Texas seventh, unbeaten UCLA eighth, BYU ninth and Ole Miss tenth. Ohio State, Tennessee and LSU followed at Nos. 12 through 14, with Boise State closing the list at No. 25.

The ranking is a snapshot, not a bracket. It tells teams where the committee places them after eight weeks, and the arguments it set off say more about how the committee works than the order itself. Yahoo Sports described a room that "could have been picking from a hat" once it moved beyond Miami, Geo...