A strong start to the 2024 college football season was taken to the next level during a Week 5 slate highlighted by an instant classic and controversial finishes that led to plenty of shakeup in the rankings. And while there are sizable changes throughout the CBS Sports 134, our comprehensive ranking of every FBS team, the latest update is most notable for yet another change at No. 1.
At the start of the year, it was Georgia battling with Ohio State before the Bulldogs nearly took sole control of the top spot after a statement win against Clemson. Then Texas rolled into the Big House and stunned Michigan in Week 3 to make its move to the top of our rankings, which are compiled by ballots from experts across CBS Sports and 247Sports. Now, after beating Georgia in a battle of the sport’s titans on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, it’s Alabama that makes a jump from No. 5 all the way to No. 1 in the rankings.
The Bulldogs dropped down to the Crimson Tide’s previous spot of No. 5 after the defeat, six spots ahead of any other one-loss team. A similar drop came for Ole Miss after the Rebels fell to Kentucky at home, down six spots to No. 13 but still among the top one-loss teams in the rankings. That led to some resorting within the top 10, but those changes are far from the biggest ones in a week that saw voters reacting swiftly to the changing landscape.
These conference battles have given voters real data points that help in splitting ties between teams with similar records. Here, we saw 12 teams from the top 30 of last week’s rankings move at least five spots up or down following the Week 5 results. There are penalties for teams like Ole Miss and Louisville suffering the first loss of the season but also increased belief in BYU (up five spots to No. 14), a bounce back for Kansas State (up nine spots to No. 21) and more necessary shuffling after the weekend.
Many of those changes can be spotted in the top 25, but for some of the biggest and most notable week-to-week adjustments in the CBS Sports 134, 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 26-134 on our rankings page.
| 1 | Alabama | 4-0 | 5 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 4-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 5-0 | 1 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 4-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Georgia | 3-1 | 3 |
| 6 | Penn State | 4-0 | 8 |
| 7 | Miami | 5-0 | 6 |
| 8 | Oregon | 4-0 | 9 |
| 9 | Missouri | 4-0 | 11 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 4-0 | 13 |
| 11 | Clemson | 3-1 | 16 |
| 12 | USC | 3-1 | 14 |
| 13 | Ole Miss | 4-1 | 7 |
| 14 | BYU | 5-0 | 19 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 4-1 | 18 |
| 16 | Michigan | 4-1 | 12 |
| 17 | LSU | 4-1 | 20 |
| 18 | Utah | 4-1 | 10 |
| 19 | Indiana | 5-0 | 22 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 4-1 | 21 |
| 21 | Kansas State | 4-1 | 30 |
| 22 | Louisville | 3-1 | 15 |
| 23 | Boise State | 3-1 | 28 |
| 24 | UNLV | 4-0 | 29 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 4-0 | 25 |
Biggest movers
- No. 34 Duke (+22): The Blue Devils are now 5-0 for the first time since 1994, and while the AP Top 25 poll did not hand out any votes as a top-25 team, our voters have certainly taken attention with a move up inside the top 35.
- No. 41 Colorado (+18): Now 2-0 in conference play with wins against Baylor and UCF, Colorado has placed itself firmly in the Big 12 title race. The Buffs are finding different ways to win, too, which is a mark of a team that’s built to contend throughout the ups and downs of a league schedule.
- No. 44 Kentucky (+11): The Wildcats have arguably the toughest rankings profile to negotiate in the country. More data will make the task easier, but as it stands, this is a group that is both being boosted by beating Ole Miss on the road and penalized by getting whomped by South Carolina at home. No. 44 feels a little low given the quality Mark Stoops’ team has shown in recent weeks, but they’re also fairly sorted as the top two-loss team in the country.
- No. 38 Navy (+11): There is no fluke to the early season success of Navy, which backed up its upset win against Memphis with yet another impressive conference victory, this time beating UAB 41-18 in Birmingham. Now 3-0 in AAC play, the Midshipmen and rival Army are on a collision course to contend for a conference championship.
- No. 30 Illinois (-13): It seems many voters chose to use the head-to-head win against Nebraska as a proper landing spot for Illinois, which just took its first loss of the season on the road at Penn State. The Fighting Illini have arguably the “better loss” among other one-loss teams ranked ahead of them but still remain in striking distance of the top spots in the country on the edge of the top 30.
- No. 37 Washington State (-13): It’s hard to know how much to penalize Washington State for being unable to contain the best running back in the country. But after taking that first loss, there was bound to be a tumble for the Cougars, who now ride the strength of their rivalry win at Washington when it comes to the rankings profile.
- No. 43 Oklahoma State (-17): A competitive start to Saturday’s loss at Kansas State inspired some hope that maybe the Pokes would find a form close to their preseason projections. But after the double-digit defeat, our voters are selling Oklahoma State stock fast.
- No. 45 UCF (-22): The Knights have been climbing up in the rankings with an undefeated start but have quickly been knocked back to something close to their starting position after a blowout home loss to Colorado.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 134: Teams ranked 26-134
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