The Alabama Crimson Tide were off in Week 9, but a significant shake up at the top of the college football rankings has the College Football Playoff hopefuls at the top spot behind Georgia, checking in at No. 2 in the updated CBS Sports 130. Among teams in the top 20 of the our comprehensive ranking of every FBS team, only No. 1 Georgia still holds its current position from last week’s balloting.
Alabama overtook Cincinnati for No. 2, Ohio State dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 behind both Oklahoma and Michigan State, and losses by top-15 teams — Ole Miss, Iowa, Kentucky and Pittsburgh — provided plenty of room for upward movement within the top 30.
Baylor, Texas A&M, Auburn, UTSA and BYU all moved up at least five spots in this week’s balloting, but the most notable adjustment was Houston crashing into the top 20 after starting the week outside of the top 35. For more on the Cougars, who are now 7-1 after a huge conference win against SMU, check out the Mover’s Report below the top 25 table.
It was a soft landing for some of the teams who took losses in Week 9 with four of the five teams between No. 19 and No. 23 suffering either their second or third defeats of the season on Saturday. A combination of low loss count or quality wins from earlier in the season helped their cause, but the gap has narrowed with some of the two-loss and three-loss teams inside the top 40 that have been knocking on the door to crack the top 25. Fresno State’s jump from No. 32 to No. 25 after beating San Diego State is a great example of how quickly things can change in that section of the rankings, and there are teams like Wisconsin at No. 30 or Nevada at No. 32 that could quickly find themselves making similar moves in the weeks to come.
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.
1
Georgia
8-0
1
2
Alabama
7-1
3
3
Cincinnati
8-0
2
4
Oklahoma
9-0
5
5
Michigan State
8-0
7
6
Ohio State
7-1
4
7
Wake Forest
8-0
9
8
Oregon
7-1
10
9
Michigan
7-1
6
10
Notre Dame
7-1
11
11
Oklahoma State
7-1
14
12
Baylor
7-1
17
13
Texas A&M
6-2
18
14
Auburn
6-2
21
15
Ole Miss
6-2
8
16
UTSA
8-0
22
17
BYU
7-2
25
18
Houston
7-1
36
19
Iowa
6-2
12
20
SMU
7-1
16
21
Kentucky
6-2
13
22
Pittsburgh
6-2
15
23
Penn State
5-3
23
24
Coastal Carolina
7-1
24
25
Fresno State
7-2
32
Biggest movers
No. 18 Houston (+18): With seven wins in a row since dropping the season opener to Texas Tech, Houston is one of the hottest teams in the country. Now with a win against SMU, the Cougars have joined the thick of the AAC title race as a challenger for Cincinnati.
No. 33 Mississippi State (+15): The ranking profile is difficult to balance, but wins against Texas A&M, NC State and now Kentucky surely hold enough weight to limit the damage of close losses to Memphis and LSU earlier in the season.
No. 53 Syracuse (+11): After three straight losses by a combined nine points to start the conference schedule Syracuse has rolled off back-to-back wins against Virginia Tech and Boston College to move to 5-4 on the season. The closing stretch is tough, but a bowl game is now in the cards for Dino Babers.
No. 29 Wisconsin (+9): The total dominance of Iowa is going to lead to continued momentum for a Badgers team that is playing its best football of the season here in the most pivotal chapter of the Big Ten West race.
No. 47 UCLA (-10): On its face, back-to-back losses to Oregon and at Utah isn’t anything to be particularly alarmed about, but the quality of performance has been far from consistent through the year and what was thought to be the team’s best win (LSU) is carrying much less weight.
No. 42 Oregon State (-11): The Beavers are a frequent star of the Mover’s Report as our voters have ping-ponged them up and down through the second 30 spots of the CBS Sports 130. Wins against USC, Washington and Utah lead to big jumps, losses to Washington State and Cal lead to quick adjustments the other way. Jonathan Smith is trying to get the Beavers bowling for the first time since 2013, and Saturday’s defeat against the Bears was a missed opportunity for that coveted sixth win.
No. 34 Iowa State (-14): Our voters had just bought back in on the Cyclones after beating Oklahoma State moved Iowa State to 5-2 and right in the middle of the Big 12 title picture. Then comes a loss to West Virginia, and suddenly it’s right back to mid-30s banishment in the rankings.
No. 44 Arizona State (-17): As you can see, the Pac-12 is a frequent target for our voters making adjustments to their ballots with the Sun Devils adding to the theme of head-scratching results and inconsistent performances following a 13-point loss at home to Washington State.
