CBS Sports 138: Miami tops Ohio State, BYU for No. 1 spot in college football rankings
The Hurricanes surged to the top spot in our rankings after a chaotic Week 7
• 4 min read
After a week of historic shakeups at the top of the college football rankings, it was the Miami Hurricanes who emerged atop the pile and now enter the second half of the season as the No. 1 team in the country, according to the CBS Sports 138.
The Hurricanes needed two overtimes to put away rival Florida State. In doing so, they guaranteed their spot at the table as one of the few unbeaten teams left in the sport. Our experts are not unanimous with Miami's ascension to No. 1, as evidenced by the team's average ballot ranking of 1.4. But with no one else carrying a ballot ranking better than 2.5, it's clear that Mario Cristobal's team is on a tier by itself in the rankings this week in the eyes of our experts.
Ohio State narrowly beat out BYU for the No. 2 spot, and then there is another drop-off to the next tier of contenders, with Georgia, Notre Dame and Indiana all holding down the No. 4 through No. 6 spots with some clear separation ahead of the rest of the top 10. So while all three of those teams did lose in Week 7, there is still a very high floor for how far they were going to fall given the quality each team has shown so far this season.
Further down in the rankings, we see some of the biggest surprises of the season continuing to rise, like UCLA up to No. 7 or Wake Forest to No. 15, but also some "last chance" spots for teams like Texas, Missouri and Mississippi State. Our experts are not ready to send these squads all the way outside the top 30 after taking a second loss, but it's clear that confidence is waning compared to where all three were standing earlier in the year.
Texas' struggles in a home loss to Florida made them one of the most notable week-to-week adjustments in the CBS Sports 138, which ranks every FBS team with the help of ballots from CBS Sports and 247Sports experts. For more of those changes to note, 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 26-138 on our rankings page.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 6-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 6-1 | 4 |
| 3 | BYU | 6-0 | 7 |
| 4 | Georgia | 6-1 | 1 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 3 |
| 6 | Indiana | 6-1 | 5 |
| 7 | UCLA | 6-0 | 9 |
| 8 | Ole Miss | 5-1 | 11 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 6-0 | 12 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 6-1 | 17 |
| 11 | Utah | 6-0 | 10 |
| 12 | Alabama | 5-2 | 6 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 6-1 | 15 |
| 14 | Iowa | 5-1 | 16 |
| 15 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 19 |
| 16 | Houston | 6-1 | 20 |
| 17 | USC | 6-1 | 21 |
| 18 | LSU | 5-2 | 24 |
| 19 | Northwestern | 5-1 | 22 |
| 20 | Texas | 4-2 | 8 |
| 21 | SMU | 5-1 | 27 |
| 22 | Arizona | 5-1 | 26 |
| 23 | Missouri | 5-2 | 13 |
| 24 | Florida | 5-2 | 34 |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 4-2 | 14 |
Biggest movers
- No. 24 Florida (+10): We have some real rankings whiplash for the Gators as Jon Sumrall's team fell 20 spots last week after losing at home to South Carolina, but now Florida is one of the biggest risers after stunning Texas in Austin. It's a complicated rankings profile with wins against Ole Miss and Texas but also losses to Missouri and South Carolina, which guarantees a high floor but also prevents moving up too high after the big win.
- No. 60 Washington (+10): You have to scroll pretty far down in the rankings to find Washington, but we noticed this double-digit move up after beating Purdue on the road on Friday night. The Huskies aren't threatening any of the top teams mentioned above, but getting the 12-point win on the road with a new starting quarterback (Elijah Brown in for Demond Williams) got our voters' attention.
- No. 23 Missouri (-10): The Tigers' prolific run game got stuck in the mud at Ole Miss, notching a season-low 39 yards at just 1.5 yards per attempt. Austin Simmons was able to push the ball down the field with some success, never punching it into the end zone, and the 31-3 loss to the Rebels resets Missouri's stock among the two-loss teams.
- No. 25 Mississippi State (-11): It's tough to know how much of this is tied to the absence of Kamario Taylor and how much was also a reaction to the score itself after Mississippi State's 31-0 loss at LSU. Taylor did not play because of injury; it was unquestionably a major change in offensive production, prompting some concerns for what could come ahead against a brutal stretch of this SEC schedule.
- No. 20 Texas (-12): The Longhorns have the rare combination of great wins and stunning losses, boasting victories against the likes of Ohio State and Tennessee (on the road) while also riding a two-game skid following losses to Oklahoma and Florida teams that were not ranked at the time of the game. The rankings disparity on Texas is pretty wide, but the consensus has them landing ahead of the Florida team it just lost to on Saturday.
- No. 46 Baylor (-16): A 55-19 win at Arizona State two weeks ago really corralled some positivity behind Baylor in the eyes of our experts, leading to a couple of notable moves up as the Bears entered Week 7 with a 4-1 record. But after laying a total egg offensively against TCU in a 17-6 loss, there's a fire sale on Baylor stock. It was a rivalry game at home and Baylor turned in season lows for total offense (310 yards), rushing offense (54 yards) and sacks allowed (4).
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 138: Teams ranked 26-138
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