The Wolverines are in position for a College Football Playoff berth after their big win over Ohio State
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While Georgia has remained the No. 1 team for most of the season, few spots in the CBS Sports 130 — our comprehensive ranking of every FBS team in college football — have brought as much intrigue as No. 2.
Since Alabama lost to Texas A&M in early October and the Bulldogs moved into the No. 1 spot, the CBS Sports 130 has seen the stocks of the other College Football Playoff and national championship contenders rise and fall from No. 2. Some teams dropped from the spot after a loss, like Ohio State did this week after its loss at Michigan, while others were “jumped” by another contender following an impressive win. Since Georgia took over No. 1, we’ve seen Iowa, Cincinnati, Alabama and Ohio State all occupy the seat behind the Bulldogs, and now a new member of the No. 2 club has emerged with Michigan.
Michigan’s jump from No. 5 to No. 2 provides examples of both the drop for the Buckeyes (down five spots to No. 7) after the loss and a Wolverines team making a deserved leap ahead of other contenders following the win. When Cincinnati and Alabama were bumped from No. 2 earlier this year, neither was a case of losing. Those same two teams remain at the top of the rankings rounding out the top four with the Bearcats at No. 3 and the Crimson Tide at No. 4.
Oklahoma State solidified its case as one of the top teams in the country with its win against Oklahoma and moved up two spots to No. 5. The Cowboys skipped over a Notre Dame team that remained at No. 6 after rounding out its season with a win at Stanford to finish 11-1.
Clinching the ACC Atlantic Division in emphatic fashion proved to be worth a bump for Wake Forest as the Demon Deacons moved up six spots to No. 15, and San Diego State made a move up (from No. 24 to No. 20) as well following its division title-winning victory against Boise State on Friday. For more on the most notable and dramatic adjustments in this week’s CBS Sports 130, check out the Mover’s Report below the top 25 table.
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 | 12-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Michigan | 11-1 | 5 |
| 3 | Cincinnati | 12-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Alabama | 11-1 | 3 |
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 11-1 | 7 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 11-1 | 6 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 10-2 | 2 |
| 8 | Baylor | 10-2 | 8 |
| 9 | Ole Miss | 10-2 | 10 |
| 10 | Michigan State | 10-2 | 11 |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 10-2 | 9 |
| 12 | Oregon |
10-2 | 13 |
| 13 | BYU | 10-2 | 14 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh | 10-2 | 17 |
| 15 | Wake Forest | 10-2 | 21 |
| 16 | Utah | 9-3 | 16 |
| 17 | Iowa | 10-2 | 20 |
| 18 | Houston | 11-1 | 19 |
| 19 | NC State | 9-3 | 23 |
| 20 | San Diego State |
11-1 | 24 |
| 21 | Louisiana | 11-1 | 22 |
| 22 | UTSA | 11-1 | 12 |
| 23 | Clemson | 9-3 | 26 |
| 24 | Arkansas | 8-4 | 25 |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 8-4 | 15 |
Biggest movers
- No. 58 Texas (+20): Texas is back (inside the top 60)! The Longhorns aren’t going to be bowling and have an absolutely crucial offseason ahead to correct the issues that led to the late-season collapse in Year 1 with Steve Sarkisian, but beating Kansas State to close out the year does require an adjustment in our FBS-wide rankings.
- No. 59 Virginia Tech (+15): Reaching bowl eligibility with a rivalry win under an interim coach shows some strong level of buy-in from a Hokies roster that might have otherwise packed it in following the dismissal of Justin Fuente. Beating a solid Virginia team bumps the Hokies up to 6-6 for the season and one spot ahead of the Wahoos in the CBS Sports 130.
- No. 33 Minnesota (+10): The Golden Gophers claimed Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the second time under P.J. Fleck, taking down Wisconsin to finish in a tie for second place in the Big Ten West with a 6-3 conference record and 8-4 overall record. After plenty of disappointing setbacks in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Gophers have regained the traction built up by the breakthrough 11-win season in 2019.
- No. 22 UTSA (-10): The bid for a 12-0 regular season came crashing down just short of the finish line as the Roadrunners lost 45-23 at North Texas over the weekend. The loss did not impact UTSA’s shot at a Conference USA title, which it will play for this weekend against Western Kentucky, but it did cost them in the rankings.
- No. 25 Wisconsin (-10): For much of the last month, the Badgers have been one of those teams that carried more losses than the quality of performance suggested, but adding to that loss total is going to result in a reversal from their surge in the rankings. Wisconsin very well may be one of the best 8-4 teams in the country, but 8-4 is not going to quality for top-15 consideration.
- No. 28 Texas A&M (-10): The Aggies have a better win than Wisconsin with its Alabama victory, but unlike the Badgers, this wasn’t a team charging up the rankings at the end of the season. Texas A&M lost its final two SEC games (at Ole Miss, at LSU) to finish 4-4 in conference play and 8-4 overall.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 130: Teams ranked 26-130
