The debate for the No. 1 team in the country rages on, and after watching LSU step onto the game's biggest stage in years and take down Alabama, the CBS Sports 130 has yet again shuffled its order at the top, moving the Tigers ahead of Ohio State for the top spot.
LSU becomes the fourth team to occupy the No. 1 spot in the CBS Sports 130 rankings, our comprehensive 130-team ranking of every team in FBS, following preseason pick Clemson, Alabama and most recently Ohio State. The Buckeyes held the No. 1 spot for nearly a month, but even a wildly impressive 70-burger against Maryland in Week 11 wasn't enough to sway our voters from rewarding LSU for one of the most impressive wins of the College Football Playoff era.
Alabama didn't fall far after the loss, dropping from No. 3 to No. 4 with Clemson moving up to the third spot, while the biggest adjustment in the top five was actually the arrival of Minnesota. The Gophers were one of the biggest movers in the rankings this week -- more in the Mover's Report below -- after beating Penn State, and while the Nittany Lions fell following the loss, they remain in the top 10 at No. 9.
Further down the rankings, the Group of Five retained its strong showing in the top 25, placing six teams in a row between Notre Dame at No. 16 and Texas at No. 23. The four AAC teams -- Memphis, Cincinnati, SMU and Navy -- have a fascinating couple of weeks ahead to settle the conference title race while Boise State (No. 20) and Appalachian State (No. 23) look to close out their championship march with a thin margin for error.
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 | LSU | 9-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 9-0 | 1 |
| 3 | Clemson | 10-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Alabama | 8-1 | 3 |
| 5 | Minnesota | 9-0 | 13 |
| 6 | Georgia | 8-1 | 6 |
| 7 | Oregon | 8-1 | 7 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 8-1 | 8 |
| 9 | Penn State | 8-1 | 5 |
| 10 | Baylor | 9-0 | 11 |
| 11 | Utah | 8-1 | 9 |
| 12 | Florida | 8-2 | 10 |
| 13 | Auburn | 7-2 | 12 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 7-2 | 14 |
| 15 | Michigan | 7-2 | 15 |
| 16 | Notre Dame | 7-2 | 17 |
| 17 | Memphis | 8-1 | 16 |
| 18 | Cincinnati | 8-1 | 18 |
| 19 | SMU | 9-1 | 20 |
| 20 | Boise State | 8-1 | 23 |
| 21 | Navy | 7-1 | 24 |
| 22 | Appalachian State | 8-1 | 29 |
| 23 | Texas | 6-3 | 28 |
| 24 | Iowa | 6-3 | 19 |
| 25 | Kansas State | 6-3 | 21 |
Biggest movers
- No. 38 Miami (+9): The Hurricanes are on the outside of the ACC Coastal race for now, but it wouldn't be a surprise if we look up at the end of the year and this is the second-best team in the conference behind Clemson. The offense has overcome a quarterback shuffle and early struggles to balance out a defense that has been strong for most of the season. Miami has the head-to-head tiebreaker against Virginia and Pitt, but a loss to Virginia Tech means they need the Hokies to lose one of their next two games but also beat UVA in the regular season finale to make the conference title game.
- No. 5 Minnesota (+8): The CBS Sports voters have finally come around on Minnesota after the Gophers brought the fight to Penn State on Saturday afternoon. That kind of program-defining win is going to have long-lasting effects, but the immediate result is a rocket ship up the rankings. Here we've put the Gophers right in the middle of the playoff contenders, slotted one spot behind Alabama and ahead of the likes of Georgia, Oregon and Oklahoma.
- No. 22 Appalachian State (+7): One week after the Mountaineers were one of the biggest movers down in the CBS Sports 130, App. State is snapping right back into place following an impressive road win against South Carolina. Eli Drinkwitz's team has two Power Five road wins on its profile and now that Georgia Southern loss is going to have extra sting if it keeps ASU from competing for the Sun Belt title.
- No. 24 Iowa (-5): We think Iowa is a pretty good team, but its place among the best teams in the country seems to be anchored by its close losses to higher-ranked teams. The good news for Hawkeye fans looking for a little more respect from the voters is there will be an opportunity to prove it next week with Minnesota coming to town.
- No. 30 UCF (-5): Chances to capture yet another AAC championship seem to be gone after the Knights fell to Tulsa on Friday night in one of the more unexpected results of Week 11. UCF is one Cincinnati win from being officially eliminated from AAC East title contention, and while this 7-3 team is still considered among the top 40 in the country, its loss results in a fall from the top 25 of our rankings.
- No. 31 Wake Forest (-9): Lots of disappointment after a lopsided loss to Virginia Tech that bounced the Demon Deacons from the rankings just one week ahead of their much-anticipated meeting with Clemson.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 130: Teams ranked 26-130