CBS Sports 138: Georgia returns to No. 1 after dominant win, Ohio State plummets in college football rankings

With Miami falling at Notre Dame on Saturday night, the door is open for a new team to take over the top spot in the college football rankings. But voters, including those at CBS Sports 138, found it easier to make the next decisions, as the previously No. 2-ranked team delivered a nearly flawless and undeniably impressive performance.

The Georgia Bulldogs were previously ranked No. 1 in CBS Sports 138 on Oct. 12, but immediately fell after a surprise loss to Auburn. Then, on Saturday night, the Bulldogs throttled Ole Miss 42-7 in Oxford, pulling off arguably one of the best wins we’ve seen all season. CBS Sports 138 voters, tasked with ranking all FBS teams, had several complicated ranking decisions after a busy Week 10 with the top teams facing off. But moving Georgia to No. 1? It was the easiest decision on the ballot, and it’s no surprise that the Dawgs are a unanimous choice for the top spot in our college football rankings.

Further down, things get a little more complex and complicated as our voters feel pretty good about the top five teams (Georgia, Utah, Notre Dame, UCLA and Miami), even if their order is not unanimous. What gets tricky is trying to sort out the next groups, as there is no agreement on the placement of Alabama or Texas, and Big 12 rivals BYU and Texas Tech are separated by a razor-thin margin in the top 12. These disagreements represented by our ballots offer a preview of the debates that will take place in the selection committee room this week, while fans await the next release of the College Football Playoff rankings.

Speaking of the CFP, playoff prospects are of particular interest to Oregon and Ohio State after the Ducks put up 41 on the scoreboard in Columbus this weekend. Dan Lanning’s team is one of our biggest movers this week, edging out Ole Miss, Ohio State and LSU to land in the top 20 at 17th. The Buckeyes’ ranking at No. 19 in CBS Sports 138 is a few spots higher than where they landed in the AP Top 25 poll, but still definitely behind several other three-loss teams in the rankings.

To learn more about the biggest and most notable adjustments to CBS Sports 138, check out the Mover’s Report below the Top 25 table.

College football experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports contribute weekly ballots, which are averaged for our rankings. You can see the top 25 below and 26-138 on our rankings page.

The biggest movers

• No. 69 FAU (+18): Thursday night’s action at the American saw the Owls completely beat a UTSA team that our voters previously held in high regard. And while FAU has yet to catch the RoadRunners in CBS Sports 138, that gap has narrowed as our voters react to the 60-29 victory. From a resume standpoint, the Owls didn’t have much to split heading into the win, as you’d have to choose between Navy, FIU, and Rice when trying to identify the team’s best win. Now this could be a team on the move if Zach Kittley’s group can finish the year strong.
• No. 61 Texas State (+17): The Bobcats are 5-4 overall, but just beat Oregon State on the road a week after pushing Boise State to the brink of an upset on the Smurf Turf. Texas State’s road warrior mentality paid off with a boost from our voters, who might also note a quality win over North Texas in non-conference play as putting GJ Kinne’s group in the top 70 of the 138-team FBS rankings.
• No. 33 Illinois (+14): It feels like Illinois has played about three seasons in one so far, but the Fighting Illini have emerged with a 6-3 record and now some quality conference wins over Oregon and Nebraska. Illinois endured a midseason defensive coordinator change and quarterback injuries, but enters Week 11 on a four-game winning streak with plenty of confidence as it looks to challenge UCLA on Friday night.
• No. 17 Oregon (+12): Speaking of quarterback injuries, Oregon looked much further than Ohio State in terms of determining the QB spot following a season-altering injury. The win gives the Ducks a pretty nice profile (wins over Ohio State, USC and Boise State) as well as a viable (if unlikely) path to the Big Ten title game.
• No. 52 Michigan (-10): The Wolverines made headlines Sunday with the firing of offensive coordinator Jason Beck, a public act that confirms what anyone with eyes can recognize: Michigan’s offense is among the most disappointing units in the country. Beck’s excellence at Utah and Bryce Underwood’s talent have set the bar high, but the Wolverines are 2-4 in the Big Ten and 126th nationally in scoring offense (19.6 points per game) as we reach the home stretch of the season.
• No. 51 UTSA (-17): A disappointing performance against FAU on Thursday night might have even more regret than the 17-point drop in our rankings. Because while losing 60-29 was certainly embarrassing, it also could have cost the RoadRunners an outside opportunity to disrupt the College Football Playoff. UTSA was previously 7-1 overall, with the only loss coming to Texas by a score of 30-6, and while the path to the title game is still on, it might be difficult to catch the attention of the selection committee with such a crooked score against a conference opponent on the resume.
• No. 65 Oregon State (-27): It’s been a rough few weeks on the field for Oregon State’s offense, which ranked among the nation’s best and yet hasn’t scored more than 22 points in the last two games, both losses to conference opponents. Saturday’s 42-21 home loss to Texas State added to last week’s 39-22 loss to Fresno State to cause a significant readjustment in this team’s standing relative to other teams in the middle of the standings. Oregon State previously had just two losses on the season, both to Big 12 title contenders and to a high-powered offense. Now the Beavers are 5-4 and struggling to find that midseason stride in scoring touchdowns, making them a less attractive team to crack the top 60.

Check out the rest of CBS Sports 138: Teams Ranked 26-138