The CBS Sports 134 is set as the sport prepares for the College Football Playoff and bowl season
• 4 min read
We have now moved into the postseason schedule for the 2024 college football season where the rest of the calendar year and first month of 2025 will be filled with bowl games and the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. Conference championship weekend marks the true conclusion to the season that was, as most of the 134 FBS teams have played their final game with the same combination of players and coaches that they carried for much of the fall.
That’s not to say that we here at CBS Sports are done ranking teams. No, we will circle back after the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 20 for one final edition of the CBS Sports 134, our comprehensive ranking of every FBS team. But this is the penultimate update — a snapshot of how our voters view the entire college football landscape as we transition into the season of the coaching carousel, transfer portal and bowl games.
With only 18 teams in action over conference championship weekend, you won’t find many huge swings in the rankings, but there is some notable shuffling in response to those nine results. Georgia took over Texas’ spot at No. 2 after downing the Longhorns in an overtime thriller in the SEC Championship Game, while teams like Penn State (down two spots to No. 5) and SMU (down four spots to No. 10) also dropped following conference title game losses.
There is still no change at the top thanks to Oregon proving itself against the Big Ten’s best yet again and finishing the season with a 13-0 record as the only undefeated team at the FBS level. With Saturday night’s win, the conference’s newest power became the first team in Big Ten history to defeat Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State in the same season.
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 26-134 on our rankings page.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | 13-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Georgia | 11-2 | 5 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 11-1 | 4 |
| 4 | Texas | 11-2 | 2 |
| 5 | Penn State | 11-2 | 3 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 10-2 | 7 |
| 7 | Indiana | 11-1 | 8 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 10-2 | 9 |
| 9 | Boise State | 12-1 | 10 |
| 10 | SMU | 11-2 | 6 |
| 11 | Arizona State | 11-2 | 11 |
| 12 | Alabama | 9-3 | 12 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 9-3 | 14 |
| 14 | Ole Miss | 9-3 | 15 |
| 15 | Miami | 10-2 | 13 |
| 16 | Clemson | 10-3 | 17 |
| 17 | BYU | 10-2 | 18 |
| 18 | Iowa State | 10-3 | 16 |
| 19 | Army | 11-1 | 23 |
| 20 | Colorado | 9-3 | 20 |
| 21 | Illinois | 9-3 | 21 |
| 22 | UNLV | 10-3 | 19 |
| 23 | Syracuse | 9-3 | 22 |
| 24 | Memphis | 10-2 | 26 |
| 25 | Missouri | 9-3 | 24 |
Biggest movers
- No. 41 Marshall (+8): The Thundering Herd were underdogs heading down to Lafayette but played like favorites in an impressive 31-3 win against Louisiana. Marshall finished the year at 10-3, and though they are going through a coaching transition with Charles Huff off to Southern Miss and Tony Gibson taking over, the program seems to be in a good spot heading into 2025.
- No. 50 Jacksonville State (+7): An eight-game winning streak was snapped in the final week of the regular season with a 19-17 loss to WKU, but our voters were quick to jump back on board after seeing the Gamecocks thrash the Hilltoppers in the rematch. After being WKU 52-12 in the Conference USA title game, JSU is off to the Cure Bowl to face MAC champion Ohio.
- No. 42 Ohio (+5): Speaking of the Bobcats, Ohio also was a team that took a seemingly tight matchup and blew it open over conference championship weekend. Miami (OH) won the regular season meeting 30-20, but the Bobcats raced out to an early lead and never looked back in the conference title rematch, claiming the program’s first MAC title since 1968.
- No. 19 Army (+4): The Black Knights have carried an impressive win count all season but lacked for the high-end wins and finally got their best win of the season in the AAC title game by beating Tulane, a team our voters have inside the top 30.
- No. 22 UNLV (-3): This is just a small step back for UNLV after losing to top-10 Boise State. The Rebels finish the regular season with a 10-3 record and back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Mountain West, but they now move forward without Barry Odom, who accepted the head-coaching position at Purdue.
- No. 34 Louisiana (-3): Injuries at the quarterback position derailed what appeared to be a conference championship path for Louisiana, but the season has still be considered a success. The Ragin’ Cajuns went 10-3 with the only regular season conference defeat coming by two points to South Alabama, but a 31-3 final score in the Sun Belt title game is worth a slight adjustment in the rankings.
- No. 10 SMU (-4): Like the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, our voters were hesitant to install too much rankings punishment for the heartbreaking defeat in the ACC title game to Clemson. The Mustangs enter the CFP with an 11-2 record and a combined margin of defeat of just six points while also carrying the nation’s 11th best scoring margin, beating opponents by an average of 17.7 points per game.
- No. 78 Western Kentucky (-7): Last week’s rankings movement featured WKU moving up 18 spots after beating Jacksonville State in the final game of the regular season, so this adjustment from the voters taking some of that support back in the wake of a 40-point loss to that very same team in the Conference USA title game.
Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 134: Teams ranked 26-134
