Some of the biggest changes in the college football rankings happen in these early weeks as our preseason expectations are challenged and proven wrong. Our experts here at CBS Sports and 247Sports are in the same boat, reanalyzing the stock of every FBS team for the CBS Sports 130.
LSU is certainly one of the headlines coming out of Week 2 following its 45-38 win against Texas, and our new set of rankings have the Tigers moving up to No. 3, trailing only Clemson and Alabama in the CBS Sports 130.
Wisconsin was one of the bigger movers within the top 30 spots of the rankings and has been across the last two weeks, now breaking into the top 10 this week with a profile that includes outscoring opponents 110-0 during its 2-0 start. The Badgers moved up five spots to No. 8, and that top-10 status will only spark the excitement when they take the field again in two weeks against Michigan. The Wolverines, it should be noted, fell four spots to No. 14 after surviving Army in double overtime.
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 | Clemson | 2-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Alabama | 2-0 | 2 |
| 3 | LSU | 2-0 | 5 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 2-0 | 6 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 2-0 | 4 |
| 6 | Georgia | 2-0 | 3 |
| 7 | Notre Dame | 1-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 2-0 | 14 |
| 9 | Florida | 2-0 | 9 |
| 10 | Texas | 1-1 | 8 |
| 11 | Utah | 2-0 | 11 |
| 12 | Auburn | 2-0 | 13 |
| 13 | Penn State | 2-0 | 18 |
| 14 | Michigan | 2-0 | 10 |
| 15 | Oregon | 1-1 | 17 |
| 16 | UCF | 2-0 | 16 |
| 17 | Texas A&M | 1-1 | 12 |
| 18 | Washington State | 2-0 | 22 |
| 19 | Michigan State | 2-0 | 23 |
| 20 | Boise State | 2-0 | 21 |
| 21 | Iowa | 2-0 | 27 |
| 22 | Oklahoma State | 2-0 | 20 |
| 23 | Virginia | 2-0 | 24 |
| 24 | USC | 2-0 | 38 |
| 25 | Maryland | 2-0 | 49 |
Biggest movers
- No. 25 Maryland (+24): Blow Howard out of the water? Not going to do much for our experts. But totally dominating Syracuse, a team that many had penciled in as one of the top challengers to Clemson in the ACC? That's going to lead to a big adjustment. The Terps are going to be no easy win in the Big Ten this year and could even be a threat to those conference title hopefuls on their schedule.
- No. 24 USC (+14): There is belief in Clay Helton and the Trojans following an impressive comeback victory against Stanford. Every game carries the utmost importance for USC here in the first half of the season so this position may be tenuous, but trends are moving up.
- No. 21 Iowa (+6): After shutting out Rutgers, the Hawkeyes started to move up in our rankings ahead of its rivalry game against Iowa State.
- No. 8 Wisconsin (+6): The Badgers have been moving up each of the last two weeks, but I bet they're going to have trouble continuing that momentum now that they've hit the brick wall of contenders here in the top five.
- No. 13 Penn State (+5): The CBS Sports experts are continuing to build our confidence in James Franklin's group, but that surging momentum is going to be challenged here with their first game against a Power Five opponent.
- No. 17 Texas A&M (-5): I don't think there were expectations for an upset in Death Valley, but Kellen Mond's struggles against Clemson contributed to more of a drop than what Texas saw after its loss to LSU.
- No. 45 Syracuse (-26): No team has seen a greater change from their preseason expectations in the first two weeks than Syracuse, which got blown away by Maryland. That Week 3 home opener against No. 1 Clemson carries much less excitement than it did a few weeks ago as our experts consider the Orange less of a top-20 team and more of a top-50 team.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 130: Teams ranked 26-130
