What happened in this Sports story?

Ole Miss surged to No. 3 in the CBS Sports 138 after an emotional win over Lane Kiffin's LSU, giving the SEC the top three spots and reinforcing the conference's grip on the college football rankings after three weeks of play.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Ole Miss** rose to No. 3 in the CBS Sports 138 after an emotional Saturday win against Lane Kiffin and LSU, slotting in behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

The **SEC** now occupies the entire top three, half of the top 10, and 10 of the top 23 spots after three weeks of nonconference play.

📎 SkimNews has covered SEC 49+ times · see the file →

CBS Sports 138: Ole Miss rises as SEC holds top three spots in college football rankings — SkimNews

By CBS Sports · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-21

Get the Sports newsletter

Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.

Ole Miss rose to No. 3 in the CBS Sports 138 after an emotional Saturday win against Lane Kiffin and LSU, slotting in behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia.
The SEC now occupies the entire top three, half of the top 10, and 10 of the top 23 spots after three weeks of nonconference play.
A distinct top-seven tier has emerged — Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, Miami, Notre Dame, Indiana and Ohio State — with each team holding an average ballot ranking of 6.0 or better, though voters disagree on exact order.
LSU fell to No. 10 after the loss, with the average ballot ranking dropping to 12.1 — well below the consensus confidence level enjoyed by the top seven.
Texas A&M dropped 13 spots to No. 23 following a disappointing result, with voters placing the Aggies closer to No. 24 Houston than to No. 21 Mississippi State.
Mississippi State climbed 11 spots to No. 21 behind quarterback Kamario Taylor, who powered back-to-back road wins at Minnesota and South Carolina.
West Virginia made the week's biggest leap, soaring 38 spots to No. 28 after Michael Hawkins Jr. produced 313 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a 38-27 Duke's Mayo Classic win over Virginia.

Why it matters: With the SEC holding the top three, half the top 10 and 10 of the top 23 spots, the conference has built an early College Football Playoff positioning advantage — but the sharp confidence drop between the top-seven tier and No. 10 LSU (average ballot ranking falling from 6.0-or-better to 12.1) shows voters are far more settled on the elite than on the challengers behind them.