College Football Computer Rankings - Michigan's Grip On Top Spot Is Slipping

September 10, 2023 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

Michigan began the season with a 6.65 power point advantage over the No.2 team which was Georgia at that time. Now, after two weeks of somewhat lackluster performances against outmanned opponents, the Wolverines' lead is down to 1,37 points, the Bulldogs have slipped to 5th, and Florida State has moved into 2nd.

USC and Washington, two of the four schools in their final year in the PAC-12 and bound for the B1G in 2024, hold down the 3rd and 4th-place spots in this week's Congrove Computer Rankings. The weekly update of the CCR Top 133 was released on CollegeFootballPoll.com shortly after the completion of the Albany-Hawaii game.

Those are the same teams that comprised last week's top four, and the only difference this week saw USC and Washington trade places.

There were some bigger adjustments after that as Tennessee descended from 5th to 8th after a 30-13 win as a 51.95-point computer favorite over FCS member Austin Peay.

Penn State jumped from 9th to 6th - not because they played a better team, but because they handled FCS Delaware by more than projected with a 63-7 win.

Mississippi's move from 10th to 7th was aided by a 37-20 win on the road against a Tulane team that was ranked No. 25 going into that game.

Ohio State fell from 7th to 9th after a 35-7 win over FCS member Youngstown State as a 41.83-point computer favorite.

Texas moved from 13th to 10th for one very obvious reason, a 34-24 win at Alabama. That result forced the Tide downward 11 spots from 8th to 19th.

Tulane was joined by Texas A&M in exiting the top 25 after the 4.07-point favored Aggies went to Miami and lost 48-33. The 'Canes moved up from 34th to 27th.

Clemson re-entered the poll at No. 25 and Iowa moved in at No. 24.

SEE: Complete Top 133.

No schools outside the Power 5 Conferences or elite independents (Notre Dame) are represented in the Top 25.  Tulane comes closest to ringing that bell at No. 37. 

The PAC-12 and SEC lead all conferences with six schools each in the Top 25, followed by 5 from the B1G. 

Top 25 Breakdown By Conference

PAC-12
No. 3. USC
No. 4 Washington
No. 11 Oregon
No. 12 Utah
No. 16 Oregon State
No. 20 UCLA

SEC
No. 5 Georgia
No. 7 Ole Miss
No. 8 Tennessee
No. 19 Alabama
No. 21 LSU
No. 23 Kentucky

B1G
1. Michigan
6. Penn State
9. Ohio State
22. Minnesota
24. Iowa

ACC
2. Florida State
15. North Carolina
18. Duke
25. Clemson

BIG 12
10. Texas
14. Kansas State
17. UCF

INDEPENDENT
No. 13 Notre Dame