At least Georgia’s 27-13 win against Tennessee has removed any doubt over which team deserves to be No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-131.
If only the rest of the rankings would be that simple. While the Bulldogs are the unquestioned No. 1, there’s little certainty and a lot of guesswork after a weekend that features losses by three of the top College Football Playoff contenders.
No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 TCU and No. 5 Tennessee round out the top five. The Volunteers remain ahead of No. 6 Oregon by virtue of a stronger overall record and a closer and relatively more competitive result against Georgia.
Another two Pac-12 teams follow Oregon in No. 7 UCLA and No. 8 Southern California. Overall, the conference is tied with the SEC with five teams inside the top 20: Oregon, UCLA, USC, No. 12 Utah and No. 17 Washington.
Next is No. 9 LSU, which jumped four spots after beating Alabama in overtime. The Crimson Tide drop to No. 13 after being eliminated from playoff contention.
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Another surprising loser, Clemson, drops to No. 11 after getting run over by Notre Dame. The impressive win brings the Irish back up to No. 25 after falling way out of the mix following losses to Marshall and Stanford.
Teams from the Group of Five are also rising in the polls. There are nine teams from these leagues inside the top 40, starting with No. 16 Liberty, which moved to 8-1 with a win against Arkansas.
Joining the Flames are No. 19 Tulane, No. 21 Central Florida, No. 22 Coastal Carolina, No. 26 Texas-San Antonio, No. 28 Troy, No. 31 Cincinnati, No. 36 East Carolina and No. 40 South Alabama.