A dominant showing in nonconference play has set the SEC up for a strong season. With three weeks of regular-season results in the books, the conference is also holding down several spots at the top of the college football rankings. Ole Miss' emotional win against Lane Kiffin and LSU on Saturday has the Rebels soaring up within the top 10 of the CBS Sports 138, landing at No. 3 behind Texas at No. 1 and Georgia at No. 2.
That trio of SEC and national title contenders gives the conference all of the top three, half of the top 10 and 10 of the top 23 spots in our comprehensive ranking of every FBS team. Week 3 was not all glowing headlines for the league, however, as our voters did have to wrestle with a disappointing loss for Texas A&M and some lack of upward momentum for schools like Auburn and South Carolina. But the other sides of those results provided rankings boosts for Kentucky, Florida and Mississippi State, respectively.
In terms of the shake-ups within the top of the rankings, the top seven teams have established a bit of a tier separation from the rest of the top 15. Each of the top seven teams (Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, Miami, Notre Dame, Indiana and Ohio State) has an average ballot ranking of 6.0 or better, meaning our voters have a consensus view that these are the top teams but share very little in common with the exact order. By the time you get down to LSU, which dropped to No. 10 after the loss to Ole Miss, the average ballot ranking drops to 12.1, which indicates a lower level of confidence for that group of teams just outside the top seven.
As usual, we have identified some of the notable week-to-week adjustments in the CBS Sports 138 in our Mover's Report, which can be found below the top 25 table. This week's report highlights some two-way movement after the Duke's Mayo Classic in Charlotte and some continued momentum behind Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State after a second straight road win.
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 | Texas | 3-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Georgia | 3-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 3-0 | 9 |
| 4 | Miami | 3-0 | 3 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 3-0 | 4 |
| 6 | Indiana | 3-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 2-1 | 5 |
| 8 | Alabama | 3-0 | 8 |
| 9 | BYU | 3-0 | 12 |
| 10 | LSU | 2-1 | 7 |
| 11 | USC | 4-0 | 11 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 3-0 | 13 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 3-0 | 14 |
| 14 | Penn State | 3-0 | 15 |
| 15 | Utah | 3-0 | 19 |
| 16 | Florida | 3-0 | 22 |
| 17 | Louisville | 2-1 | 23 |
| 18 | Iowa | 3-0 | 21 |
| 19 | Missouri | 3-0 | 18 |
| 20 | Oregon | 2-1 | 16 |
| 21 | Mississippi State | 3-0 | 32 |
| 22 | Michigan | 3-0 | 20 |
| 23 | Texas A&M | 2-1 | 10 |
| 24 | Houston | 2-1 | 24 |
| 25 | SMU | 2-1 | 17 |
Biggest movers
- No. 28 West Virginia (+38): The full realization of Michael Hawkins Jr. in Rich Rodriguez's offense was on full display as West Virginia took down Virginia in Charlotte on Saturday night. Hawkins' mobility and escapability contributed to 313 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a 38-27 win against the Wahoos. Now at 3-0 heading into the start of Big 12 play, West Virginia has an opportunity to stack some wins early before the toughest stretch of the schedule in October and November.
- No. 48 Northwestern (+12): An odd Week 2 off week for Northwestern meant that the Wildcats had not even played an FBS opponent before Saturday night's meeting with Colorado. As such, our voters were hesitant to make any major moves in the rankings from the preseason, but a 41-7 walloping of the Buffs has us reconsidering the top 50 to make sure there's room for David Braun's group.
- No. 21 Mississippi State (+11): Kamario Taylor continued to dazzle, and now Mississippi State has, arguably, one of the top 10 resumes in college football so far with impressive offensive performances in wins at Minnesota and South Carolina in back-to-back weeks. Home dates against Missouri and Alabama in the coming weeks will challenge the Bulldogs' new top-30 status, but those teams also have to deal with one of the most electric quarterbacks in the country.
- No. 27 Kentucky (+10): Will Stein's group offered a strong resistance early against Alabama to get our voters' attention, then at Texas A&M on Saturday the Wildcats left no doubt in a statement win for their new head coach. Kentucky has a ceiling to how it could rise in the rankings still with a 2-1 record, but both the result and the quality of the performance have the Wildcats moving up into territory they have not seen in the CBS Sports 138 in recent years.
- No. 36 Virginia (-11): After seeming to be a team that's right in the thick of the ACC title race again, Virginia saw its stock price dip a little bit after getting lapped by West Virginia in Charlotte. Beau Pribula was not as dominant as he was in the season opener, and while Virginia was competitive throughout the loss does require a move up for WVU and a counter adjustment for where the Wahoos stack up against the best teams in the country.
- No. 23 Texas A&M (-13): There was a very clear need to move the Aggies down, and right now the drop may be cushioned by a lack of obvious options for these spots in the 20s on a voter's ballot. Michigan, which is one spot ahead at No. 22, has an average ballot ranking of 20.9 while Texas A&M has an average ballot ranking of 24.0. So while the Aggies only dropped 13 spots this week, our voters see them as a team that's closer to No. 24 Houston and No. 25 SMU than No. 21 Mississippi State or No. 22 Michigan.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 138: Teams ranked 26-138
