What was advertised as an off-weekend for marquee college football games ended up as one of the most impactful weeks of the season in terms of the rankings and College Football Playoff picture.
Clemson, Washington and Washington State all lost for the first time this season and now face a climb back into the playoff picture with no margin for error along the way. San Diego State and Navy each lost for the first time as well, bringing the list of undefeated teams to eight: Alabama, Penn State, Georgia, Wisconsin, TCU, Miami, South Florida and UCF. Then there's Auburn, which had previously suffered a loss but also fell out of the top 10.
That shake ups in the rankings extended to the CBS Sports 130. Though Clemson fell from No. 2 in other polls after its loss to Syracuse, its defeat meant a changing of the guard at our top spot. After being tied with the Tigers for No. 1 and even sitting at No. 2 for a week, Alabama has reclaimed its near-unanimous status as the best team in college football.
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.
CBS Sports 130, Week 8
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PREVIOUS |
| 1 | Alabama | 7-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Georgia | 7-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Penn State | 6-0 | 4 |
| 4 | TCU | 6-0 | 6 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 6-1 | 8 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 6-0 | 7 |
| 7 | Clemson | 6-1 | 1 |
| 8 | Oklahoma State | 5-1 | 12 |
| 9 | Miami | 5-0 | 11 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 5-1 | 13 |
| 11 | USC | 6-1 | 14 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 5-1 | 15 |
| 13 | Washington | 6-1 | 5 |
| 14 | UCF | 5-0 | 17 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | 5-1 | 16 |
| 16 | NC State | 6-1 | 19 |
| 17 | Washington State | 6-1 | 9 |
| 18 | Auburn | 5-2 | 10 |
| 19 | Stanford | 5-2 | 23 |
| 20 | Michigan State | 5-1 | 22 |
| 21 | Michigan | 5-1 | 20 |
| 22 | South Florida | 6-0 | 21 |
| 23 | West Virginia | 4-2 | 28 |
| 24 | Utah | 4-2 | 24 |
| 25 | San Diego State | 6-1 | 18 |
Biggest movers
- Syracuse (+23): Dino Babers' vision is coming to fruition in the Carrier Dome. The fastest show on turf took down Clemson in one of the most memorable home wins in program history, and the Orange jumped up from No. 72 to No. 49 in the CBS Sports 130 as a result.
- Virginia (+20): After beating North Carolina on the road to improve to 5-1, Virginia soared up from No. 47 to No. 27 in the rankings. The Wahoos have gotten our voters' attention ever since blowing out Boise State earlier this year, but now they're on the verge of breaking into the top 25.
- San Diego State (-7): A really disappointing loss to Boise State has not shaken the voters' confidence in the Aztecs. San Diego State should be able to run the table from here and could get a shot at revenge in the Mountain West title game later this year.
- Auburn (-8): The inability to hold on to the lead in Baton Rouge could end up being a turning point for Auburn's SEC title hopes. There's plenty of time left to battle back for this talented group (our voters only dropped the Tigers to No. 18), but it'll take much better play to beat the likes of Georgia and Alabama in November.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 130: Teams ranked 26-130
