The results across college football this weekend were bound to spark changes in the minds of voters when it comes to the latest sets of college football rankings, and after one of the best Saturday’s we’ve had in years, there’s a new top dog — literally — in the CBS Sports 130.
Georgia takes over at No. 1 after handling business on the road at Auburn in one of two incredible games that made up the SEC on CBS doubleheader. The Bulldogs are able to move into that top spot thanks the primetime headliner from Saturday night as Texas A&M upset Alabama as a nearly three-touchdown underdog in College Station, Texas. But those two SEC showdowns were far from the only highlights in Week 6 with Oklahoma roaring back from an early deficit to beat Texas and Iowa outlasting Penn State to remain undefeated.
Alabama didn’t fall far following its first regular season defeat since 2019, landing at No. 4 behind Iowa and Cincinnati and just ahead of Oklahoma and Ohio State. In fact, the entire to 10 of the CBS Sports 130 remained as the top 10 only with some adjustments following the losses by the Crimson Tide and Nittany Lions, the latter of which dropped three spots to No. 8.
The biggest changes in our rankings after Week 6 are mostly between No. 30 and No. 60 after several top teams were either off or maintained their position with a win. You can check out some of the most notable adjustments in the Mover’s Report below the top 25 table.
The big storyline from the top 30 is a heavy SEC presence at nearly every cut line. The league has two of the top four with Georgia and Alabama, four of the top 13 when you add in Kentucky and Ole Miss, seven of the top 21 and a total of eight teams in the top 30 with Auburn the lowest ranked of the group at No. 29. Upcoming conference games like Kentucky and Georgia’s SEC East battle in Athens next week — the SEC on CBS Game of the Week — are sure to disrupt this dominance a little bit, but it’s clear our voters believe strongly in more than half of the conference when compared to the rest of the country.
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 | Georgia | 6-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Iowa | 6-0 | 4 |
| 3 | Cincinnati | 5-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Alabama | 5-1 | 1 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 6-0 | 6 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 5-1 | 8 |
| 7 | Michigan | 6-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Penn State | 5-1 | 5 |
| 9 | Michigan State | 6-0 | 9 |
| 10 | Kentucky | 6-0 | 10 |
| 11 | Oklahoma State | 5-0 | 15 |
| 12 | Oregon | 4-1 | 13 |
| 13 | Ole Miss | 4-1 | 14 |
| 14 | Coastal Carolina | 6-0 | 17 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 5-1 | 16 |
| 16 | Wake Forest | 6-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Florida | 4-2 | 21 |
| 18 | SMU | 6-0 | 22 |
| 19 | Arkansas | 4-2 | 12 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 5-1 | 23 |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 4-2 | 33 |
| 22 | BYU | 5-1 | 11 |
| 23 | NC State | 4-1 | 24 |
| 24 | Texas | 4-2 | 19 |
| 25 | Baylor | 5-1 | 25 |
Biggest movers
- No. 54 Air Force (+15): If not for multiple blown leads against Utah State, this Falcons team would be 6-0 and much higher in our rankings. But as it stands, voters quickly dismissed Air Force from the top half of the rankings following that loss and now have returned after an impressive conference win against Wyoming. One of the biggest games of the year in the Mountain West Mountain Division is this weekend when Air Force faces Boise State, so it’s likely that the Falcons will continue to soar up our rankings if they can get a win.
- No. 26 San Diego State (+13): More love for the Mountain West from our voters this week as the undefeated Aztecs crash the top 30 and start building their argument as the best team in the conference and one of the best Group of Five squads in the country. Two Pac-12 wins (including one against Utah) help that argument, but the real key is continue the team’s winning ways over the next month to set up a huge showdown with Nevada in November that could decide the MW West.
- No. 21 Texas A&M (+12): It was almost impossible for Texas A&M not to make a big move after Saturday night’s epic win, but considering the emotions of the moment and recency bias, I think this is an appropriate adjustment. That profile still has two losses that, while against SEC opponents, did not inspire a ton of confidence in where the Aggies stand against their peers. Of course, they follow those defeats up by beating a program we consider peerless, so only time will tell which performance is more representative of the team in 2021.
- No. 38 Tennessee (+11): There is a fun factor for Tennessee football that is going to help it move up quickly in the eyes of our voters, and it’s helping with the confidence around the program as well. Explosive offensive football was at such a premium over the last couple of years in Knoxville, so scoring all these touchdowns is going a long way to boost Josh Heupel’s approval rating in the minds of Tennessee fans.
- No. 39 Utah (+11): After two early losses to BYU and San Diego State, Utah’s ranking took a hard hit that’s going to be tough to overcome in one week alone. However, one of the few opportunities on the schedule to make a big jump is coming up this weekend with Arizona State in a game between the only two teams in the Pac-12 South without a conference loss.
- No. 59 LSU (-13): It’s not just the 3-3 record that stands out with LSU, it’s looking at the quality of performance and recognizing what’s ahead on the schedule. Given the way the Tigers played at Kentucky, it’s hard to imagine a switch can be flipped with five games against ranked SEC opponents left between now and the end of the season. If the only win left on the schedule is ULM, that’s a problem.
- No. 52 Maryland (-15): Two weeks ago, we had Maryland undefeated and highly ranked ahead of a Friday night home game against Iowa, which some claimed was one of the biggest games in recent program history. The Terrapins then gave up a 50 burger to Iowa and followed it with a 60 spot against Ohio State, picking up key losses due to injury along the way.
- No. 53 North Carolina (-15): For the second time this season, North Carolina lost to a conference opponent as a double-digit favorite, and it’s now 3-3 and appropriately ranked as an average team. High-scoring wins against Virginia and Duke suggested a form that was somewhat closer to preseason expectations, but Saturday’s loss to Florida State deserves an aggressive response in the rankings.
- No. 44 Oregon State (-18): I can believe how quickly our voters are bailing on the Beavers. Losing to Washington State is and should be counted as a bad loss, but Oregon State still sits in first place in the Pac-12 North with a head-to-head win over Washington to its credit! The Beavers are off this week, so any possible snap back must wait until after playing Utah at home on Oct. 23.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 130: Teams ranked 26-130
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