CBS Sports 138: Alabama joins Texas, Georgia in top four as SEC teams headline college football rankings — SkimNews
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- Alabama moved into the top four of the CBS Sports 138 and is now part of the No. 1 discussion heading into a weekend showdown with Georgia
- SEC programs occupy three of the top four, five of the top 10, and nine of the top 20 teams in the updated rankings
- Florida dropped outside the top 10 after what the CBS Sports panel called a 'shockingly uncompetitive performance' at Missouri
- Michigan fell 17 spots to No. 48, with the source noting the Wolverines have scored 20 or more points just once in five games — a Week 3 win over UTEP — under coach Kyle Whittingham
- Penn State dropped 12 spots to No. 44 after getting 'manhandled' by Northwestern in the opening of the new Ryan Field, with a White Out against USC looming in Week 6
- Arizona (+11 to No. 35), Minnesota (+10 to No. 34), and NC State (+10 to No. 64) led the upward movers after key wins, with NC State notching its fourth straight 30-point game after upsetting Louisville
- The rankings expose a logjam between No. 20 and No. 40 where the source estimates roughly 30 teams qualify as 'top 25 quality,' with 15 teams competing for 12 spots between No. 23 and No. 34
Why it matters: With the SEC holding three of the top four spots ahead of Alabama-Georgia, the playoff race is effectively a conference-internal argument before October. The collapse of legacy powers — Michigan 17 spots down to No. 48 and Penn State out of the top 50 — gives voters a real signal that the postseason hierarchy is being rewritten in real time.
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