CBS Sports 138: Ohio State edges out Texas for No. 1 in post-spring college football rankings

Beyond the seven-team top tier are a collection of familiar faces, starting with teams that made the CFP last year, such as Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Alabama and Ole Miss. Three of those five return their quarterback after making the College Football Playoff in 2025, though each has enough questions that they never really threatened for any of the spots at the top of the rankings. If our voting behavior is any indication, this group has "returning customer" status at the cafe when it comes to playoff contention and gets included just ahead of teams with more to prove.

There's a new head coach bump powering big moves from LSU, Florida and Penn State when it comes to changes since last year's final ranking. The Tigers and Nittany Lions both landed inside the top 20 of our rankings, along with a new-look Michigan now led by Kyle Whittingham. Coaches leaving led to some colossal drops in our rankings as well, as a couple Group of Six squads have seen their expectations adjusted following double-digit win seasons in 2025 and a subsequent coaching change.

We have broken down some of the big and notable adjustments in the Mover's Report, which you can find 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 26-136 on our rankings page.

Biggest movers

• No. 32 South Carolina (+45): Our voters did not respond kindly to what was an underachieving 2025 season for the Gamecocks. After starting the year with one of the most talented quarterbacks in the SEC, the team sputtered in close games against the best teams in the conference. A seven-point home loss to Alabama and a blown lead in a 31-30 defeat at Texas A&M showed South Carolina could hang with playoff teams, but with just three wins against FBS opponents on the season, our voters had the Gamecocks outside the top 70 to finish the year. An adjustment back up inside the top 40 suggests a projection that a few of those close games flip the other way, and Shane Beamer is bowling again in 2026.
• No. 13 LSU (+40): Hiring Lane Kiffin to return LSU to title contention comes with the expectation that every one of his teams, even Year 1, will have the necessary talent to compete in a 12-team playoff era. Our experts are mostly in line with that here, starting LSU just outside the top 12 and well ahead of where the team finished at the end of a season that went sideways following Brian Kelly's firing in late October. LSU went out and picked up some of the biggest transfer portal wins of the offseason, resulting in a massive class of new faces ushering in the new era in Baton Rouge.
• No. 25 Florida (+36): Another new coach bump, this time for a Florida team that has gotten the most out of its early months with Jon Sumrall. The Gators were able to retain key pieces from Billy Napier's 2025 squad while also adding some transfer portal talent to fill the gaps for a roster that stands, talent-wise, toe-to-toe with most SEC teams. Last season's four-win campaign fell way short of that team's ceiling, while this No. 25 starting point might be a little bit low for what Sumrall and the new regime can accomplish in Year 1.
• No. 18 Penn State (+28): From a rankings perspective, Penn State had too many losses and too many bad losses to finish the 2025 season with a strong position. The defeats against Northwestern and UCLA that led to James Franklin's firing weighed down the Nittany Lions' ranking profile all year, even as the quality of play improved down the stretch with a near-upset of Indiana and four straight wins to close the season. Still, an adjustment has to be made for a massive turnover of talent as Matt Campbell brings in a new portal class of contributors and some of last year's stars move on to the NFL. No one is ready to sell Penn State stock, but this is as low as the Nittany Lions have been in our rankings in a few years.
• No. 26 Clemson (+28): The Tigers might not be dealing with a coaching change, but there seems to be an assumption that Dabo Swinney's crew will have some addition by subtraction after losing Garrett Riley as offensive coordinator and Cade Klubnik as the team's starting quarterback. The NFL Draft talent exodus was notable, but after our voters were harsh to a team that fell way short of preseason expectations, this top-30 ranking points to a return to form for a group that will be comparatively lacking in proven experience.
• No. 31 Vanderbilt (-16): The loss of Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia and several other key players from last year's 10-win team will spark a slight adjustment when turning the page to 2026, but a top-30 slotting might be an appropriate starting point for the Commodores. Five-star freshman Jared Curtis could face a learning curve in the SEC, but if he's an instant impact star, Vanderbilt could be right back to contending with the best teams in the league. That's not a guarantee for a true freshman, so I get the hesitation, but the Commodores are deserving of top-25 consideration at this point in the Clark Lea tenure.
• No. 38 Virginia (-21): Tony Elliott just guided Virginia to one of its best-ever seasons and still can't get the benefit of the doubt from our voters. Now it's true that Chandler Morris' absence has created some question marks heading into 2026, but a pointed investment in football has produced an appearance in the ACC Championship Game, and there is really no turning back now in Charlottesville. The Wahoos have done a good job in the transfer portal the last two cycles and are looking to remain among the top tier in the ACC, even after losing Morris and several starters from last year's team.
• No. 67 Tulane (-49): Our voters are not expecting Will Hall to keep Tulane right at the top of college football after Jon Sumrall's exit, even though the program has 43 wins over the last four seasons across two different coaches. Instead, this ranking points to the Green Wave as more of a top-half team in the American Athletic Conference, trailing the likes of Navy, UTSA and Memphis in their own conference.
• No. 71 James Madison (-52): Similar to the Tulane situation, we need to re-frame JMU's adjustment from last season's CFP appearance to Year 1 with Billy Napier at the helm. The Dukes are indeed starting the year dozens of spots down in the rankings, but in their own neighborhood, this is still the standard in the Sun Belt. JMU may be down outside the top 70, but it's the highest-ranked team in the conference and 10 spots ahead of the next-ranked team in Old Dominion.
• No. 79 North Texas (-55): North Texas fell short of the College Football Playoff last season, then lost coach, quarterback and many more to Oklahoma State after Eric Morris was hired away. The Mean Green will look to continue the momentum with former Troy and West Virginia coach Neal Brown leading the way, but the personnel overhaul is so dramatic that it's difficult to pinpoint exactly where this group will stack up against the best teams in the Group of Six.

Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 138: Teams ranked 26-138

Who's No. 1? CBS Sports experts weigh in ...

Ohio State

Could I go into detail about Ohio State's roster talent and the well-oiled recruiting machine they've had in Columbus that makes me confident that, despite all the losses, Ohio State will once again be the best team in the country? Sure. I could also just point at Jeremiah Smith and mumble "real good," and that might justify it.

However, while all of that plays a role in putting the Buckeyes No. 1, my simple explanation is this ...

There are a lot of good teams in college football, and it's harder than ever to differentiate the top programs as they've all bunched up a bit, so I'm just going with the best track records. It's why I have Ohio State at No. 1 and Georgia No. 2. Will they play for a national title? Maybe! But even if they don't, I'm fairly confident both will be in the running come Jan. 1, 2027! -- Tom Fornelli (also John Talty, Chip Patterson, David Cobb, Cody Nagel)

Texas

This time last year, you could look at Texas' roster and question a reworked offensive line, an unproven wide receiver room and how Arch Manning would fare as a first-year starter. Despite all that, the Longhorns ranked No. 1 in the preseason.

But I can confidently say the 2026 version of Texas is better. There are no obvious holes on the roster for Texas in an all-in year for the program. The offensive line and wide receiver rooms made huge strides in the portal. Manning should be much better in Year 2. And on defense, Texas returns arguably the sport's top defender (Colin Simmons) to go along with the addition of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. This is the best roster the Longhorns have fielded in the Steve Sarkisian era. -- Chris Hummer (also Brandon Marcello, Shehan Jeyarajah)

Oregon

A veteran -- yet somewhat unproven -- offensive line does give me pause, but the skill position groups and fearsome defensive front are enough for me to be extremely high on Oregon coming out of spring practice. We never got to see what this offense can be at full strength, and the complexion will be different under new coordinator Drew Mehringer as will the defense under new coordinator Chris Hampton. But I'm confident in Oregon's current status as the team to beat in college football. -- Richard Johnson

Miami

The assumption from those outside of Coral Gables is that Miami's roster has weakened since last season's national championship game appearance. But in actuality, the Hurricanes enhanced their starting lineup at quarterback, wideout and in the secondary. Personnel departures to the NFL Draft at the line of scrimmage were addressed in the transfer portal, along with the addition of five-star freshman offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, the top-rated player at his position this cycle. -- Brad Crawford