CBS Sports 138: Georgia returns to No. 1 after dominant win, Ohio State plummets in college football rankings

With Miami falling at Notre Dame on Saturday night, the door is open for a new team to take over at the No. 1 spot in the college football rankings. But voters, including those in the CBS Sports 138, found it easier to make the following decisions because the team previously at No. 2 delivered a nearly flawless, undeniably impressive performance. 

The Georgia Bulldogs were previously ranked No. 1 in the CBS Sports 138 on Oct. 12, but immediately took a tumble after an upset loss to Auburn. Then, on Saturday night, the Bulldogs throttled Ole Miss 42-7 in Oxford, putting together arguably one of the best wins that we've seen all season. Voters in the CBS Sports 138, tasked with ranking all FBS teams, had several complicated ranking decisions after a Week 10 loaded with top teams playing against each other. But moving Georgia to No. 1? That was the easiest decision on the ballot, and it's no surprise the Dawgs are a unanimous pick for the top spot in our college football rankings. 

Further down, things get a little more complex and complicated as our voters feel pretty good about the top five teams (Georgia, Utah, Notre Dame, UCLA and Miami), even if their order is not unanimous. What gets tricky is trying to sort out the next groups, as there is no agreement on the placement of Alabama or Texas, and Big 12 rivals BYU and Texas Tech are separated by a razor-thin margin inside the top 12. Those disagreements represented by our ballots offer a preview to the debates that are going to occur in the selection committee room this week, while fans await the next release of the College Football Playoff Rankings. 

Speaking of the CFP, the postseason outlook is of particular interest to Oregon and Ohio State after the Ducks hung 41 on the scoreboard in Columbus over the weekend. Dan Lanning's squad is one of our biggest risers this week, soaring up ahead of Ole Miss, Ohio State and LSU to land inside the top 20 at No. 17. The Buckeyes' ranking of No. 19 in the CBS Sports 138 is a few spots higher than where they landed in the AP Top 25 poll, but still definitively behind multiple other three-loss teams in the rankings. 

For more on the bigger and most notable adjustments in the CBS Sports 138, 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.

Biggest movers 

• No. 69 FAU (+18): Thursday night action in the American featured the Owls absolutely pounding a UTSA team that our voters previously held in high regard. And while FAU has not yet caught the RoadRunners in the CBS Sports 138, that gap has shrunk as our voters react to the 60-29 victory. From a resume perspective, the Owls didn't have a ton to separate themselves before the win, as you'd be choosing between Navy, FIU and Rice when trying to identify the team's best win. Now, this could be a team on the move if Zach Kittley's group can finish the year strong. 
• No. 61 Texas State (+17): The Bobcats are 5-4 overall but just knocked off Oregon State on the road one week after pushing Boise State to the brink of an upset on the Smurf Turf. Texas State's road warrior mentality has paid off with a boost from our voters, who might also note a quality win against North Texas in non-conference play when moving G.J. Kinne's group into the top 70 of the 138-team FBS rankings. 
• No. 33 Illinois (+14): It feels like Illinois has played about three seasons in one so far, but the Fighting Illini have emerged with a 6-3 record and now a couple of quality conference wins against Oregon and Nebraska. Illinois has endured a midseason defensive coordinator change and quarterback injuries, yet enters Week 11 on a four-game winning streak with plenty of confidence as they look to challenge UCLA on Friday night.  
• No. 17 Oregon (+12): Speaking of quarterback injuries, Oregon looked much further along than Ohio State in terms of figuring out the QB room in the wake of a season-altering injury. The win gives the Ducks a pretty nice profile (wins against Ohio State, USC and Boise State) as well as a viable (if unlikely) path to the Big Ten title game. 
• No. 52 Michigan (-10): The Wolverines made headlines on Sunday with the firing of offensive coordinator Jason Beck, a public action that confirms what anyone with eyes can acknowledge: Michigan's offense is among the most disappointing units in the country. Beck's excellence at Utah and the talent of Bryce Underwood set the bar high, but the Wolverines are 2-4 in Big Ten play and 126th nationally in scoring offense (19.6 points per game) as we hit the season's final stretch. 
• No. 51 UTSA (-17): A disappointing showing against FAU on Thursday night might have even more regret than the 17-point drop in our rankings. Because while losing 60-29 was certainly embarrassing, it also might have cost the RoadRunners an outside opportunity to crash the College Football Playoff. UTSA was previously 7-1 overall with the only loss coming at Texas by a 30-6 score, and though the path to making the title game is still alive, it could be difficult to get the selection committee's attention with such a crooked score against a conference opponent on the resume. 
• No. 65 Oregon State (-27): It's been a tough couple of weeks on the field for the Oregon State offense, which was ranking among the best in the country and yet has not scored more than 22 points in either of last two games, both losses to conference foes. Saturday's 42-21 home loss to Texas State piled on top of last week's 39-22 loss at Fresno State to cause a big readjustment in where this team stacks up against other squads in the middle of the rankings. Oregon State previously had just two losses on the season, both to Big 12 title contenders, and a high-powered offense. Now the Beavers are 5-4 and struggling to find that midseason stride scoring touchdowns, which makes them a less enticing team to rank inside the top 60. 

Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 138: Teams ranked 26-138