Ohio State was off this past weekend, but the ever-changing landscape at the top of college football is apparent once again in the CBS Sports 130, our comprehensive ranking of every FBS team. The Buckeyes on Monday became the third team to hold the No. 1 spot in our rankings.
Alabama first replaced Clemson, our preseason No. 1, a few weeks before they did the same in the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll. Now the Tide, who did take care of business in a 47-28 win at Texas A&M, sit at No. 2, one spot ahead of SEC West rival LSU. Clemson and Oklahoma both saw slight bumps in the top 10 thanks to Georgia's loss to South Carolina, though the Bulldogs fell just five spots from No. 4 to No. 9. (Check out the most dramatic adjustments in the movers report below.)
With Alabama at No. 2, LSU at No. 3 and then the three-team run of Florida, Georgia and Auburn at Nos. 8-10, the SEC has half of the top 10 on lock. That's likely to change over the next month-plus thanks to LSU-Auburn, Florida-Georgia, Alabama-LSU, Auburn-Georgia, and oh yeah, the Iron Bowl.
If recent history is any indication, Ohio State moving to No. 1 in the CBS Sports 130 could be a predictor for what will happen in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll over the coming weeks. That OSU-Wisconsin game on Oct. 26 looms large as we begin the second half of the season.
College football experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports contribute ballots each week, which are averaged together for our rankings. You can see the top-25 below, and 26-130 on our rankings page.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 6-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Alabama | 6-0 | 1 |
| 3 | LSU | 6-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Clemson | 6-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 6-0 | 7 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 6-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Penn State | 6-0 | 9 |
| 8 | Florida | 6-1 | 8 |
| 9 | Georgia | 5-1 | 4 |
| 10 | Auburn | 5-1 | 12 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 5-1 | 10 |
| 12 | Oregon | 5-1 | 13 |
| 13 | Baylor | 6-0 | 14 |
| 14 | Utah | 5-1 | 16 |
| 15 | Michigan | 5-1 | 15 |
| 16 | Boise State | 6-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Texas | 4-2 | 11 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 6-0 | 27 |
| 19 | Missouri | 5-1 | 24 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 5-1 | 25 |
| 21 | SMU | 6-0 | 21 |
| 22 | Cincinnati | 5-1 | 23 |
| 23 | Iowa State | 4-2 | 28 |
| 24 | Washington | 5-2 | 31 |
| 25 | Iowa | 4-2 | 17 |
Biggest movers
- No. 31 Temple (+10): Suddenly the AAC race has become one of the most intriguing in college football with four teams in each division having a fair shot at making it to the conference title game. The Owls picked up a huge win against Memphis and now sit at 5-1 with a 2-0 mark in conference play; they could be cracking the top 30 soon if Anthony Russo & Co. continue their winning ways.
- No. 18 Minnesota (+9): I was among the many who have been holding off support for Minnesota during this undefeated start to the season, but a dominant win against Nebraska has quieted the critics. The Golden Gophers ground game is among the most relentless in the country, but now the tests get more difficult as they take aim at the Big Ten West.
- No. 24 Washington (+7): It's tough to figure this Washington team out. The Huskies are probably one of the best teams in the Pac-12, but the profile of performances isn't congruent with those expectations. A 51-27 win at Arizona appeared to have signs that issues from the low-scoring losses against Cal and Stanford have been corrected.
- No. 30 Wake Forest (-10): The ACC Network needs to replay Louisville's 62-59 win at Wake Forest any time it has a gap in its programming schedule. That game was just as bananas and #AfterDark as almost anything we'll see from the Pac-12 -- omitting the 2019 Pac-12 After Dark King, UCLA's 67-63 win against Washington State -- but the Deacs coming up on the losing end snaps their unbeaten start and resulted in a drop in our rankings.
- No. 32 Virginia (-10): Not a great day for ranked ACC teams. Virginia could not get anything going in scoring position against Miami and took its first conference loss of the season. The Wahoos, at 4-2 with a 2-1 record in ACC play, are very much in the mix for an ACC title game appearance but the distance between Clemson and the No. 2 team in the league is widening.
- No. 45 Michigan State (-13): A 38-0 result does not properly convey how thoroughly Wisconsin beat Michigan State on Saturday. This Spartans looks a little bit lost offensively, and there's only so much we can expect from them against top competition until they find ways to score consistently.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 130: Teams ranked 26-130