College football rankings: Washington up to No. 3, Ohio State falls from top five in CBS Sports 133

College football rankings: Washington up to No. 3, Ohio State falls from top five in CBS Sports 133

The regular season is in the books, and while there are crucial games remaining in the College Football Playoff race, most of the work has been done when it comes to ranking all 133 FBS programs for the 2023 season.

With a full data set of 12 games, the experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports who vote in the CBS Sports 133 have mostly settled on their order by the time we get into Week 13. Unexpected upsets and important results that can decide some tiebreakers up and down a ballot always occur in the final week of the regular season, but when chalk holds, so too will a majority of spots in the rankings.

So it comes as no surprise that the top 14 teams from last week’s CBS Sports 133 are still in the top 14, with just two notable adjustments.

Ohio State dropped from No. 3 to No. 7 after a 30-24 loss at Michigan, which held its spot at No. 2 behind Georgia at No. 1 after the win. The Buckeyes landed one spot ahead of Alabama, which is notable for playoff debates, but are the third one-loss team in the rankings behind Oregon and Texas.

Washington moved up for the second week in a row thanks to the opening, taking over the No. 3 spot after bumping Florida State from No. 4 one week ago. The Seminoles, which survived a hard-fought win at Florida in its first game without Jordan Travis at starting quarterback this season, are also up one spot in a return to No. 4.

Louisville’s fall from No. 9 to No. 14 after losing at home to Kentucky had a similar impact on the rankings; the teams that were No. 10 to No. 14 in last week’s rankings all moved up one spot without a change in the order. That shake-up means, among other things, a return to to the top 10 for Oklahoma, which finished the year on a three-game winning streak after taking a tumble in the rankings in early November following back-to-back losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State.

The biggest week-to-week change for teams that were ranked in the top 30 last week was a seven-spot drop for Kansas State after losing a snow-covered shootout at home to Iowa State. For more on the Wildcats and other notable ranking adjustments following Week 13 action, check out the Mover’s Report 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 26-133 on our rankings page.

Biggest movers 

• No. 62 San Jose State (+17): The Spartans did everything they could to work their way back into the Mountain West title picture, winning six straight games to close the season after a 1-5 start. Unfortunately, the three-way tie for first place in the Mountain West standings resulted in a computer rating selecting Boise State and UNLV for the conference title game. Our voters still took note and made a major adjustment for SJSU in the CBS Sports 133. 
• No. 60 Cal (+10): Taking down UCLA to reach bowl eligibility was a big moment for Justin Wilcox as the Golden Bears close out their Pac-12 era with a win against an in-state rival. Things looked a little bleak after a four-game losing streak earlier this month, but Cal finishes the year with three straight wins to make the postseason. 
• No. 38 Kentucky (+7): What an emotional weekend for Kentucky football. The Wildcats had been tumbling in our rankings for weeks as a challenging back-half schedule resulted in a run of five losses in six consecutive games. Then the high of beating Louisville is met with the confusion of whether Mark Stoops was leaving for Texas A&M, only to be left with the announcement he’s sticking in Lexington. In total, this is a seven-win profile with a huge quality win but not enough wins over bowl teams to warrant top-35 consideration. 
• No. 36 Iowa State (+6): Freshman running back Abu Sama III rolled up 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns while Iowa State scored all six of its touchdowns from at least 33 yards out in a thrilling 42-35 win at Kansas State. Iowa State finishes the year with wins against Kansas State and Oklahoma State on its resume, but also five losses and a defeat to Ohio. 
• No. 40 Miami (+6): While the Hurricanes are not making a major move up in the wake of a high-profile win, the manner in which Miami took care of business in a 45-20 crushing of Boston College showed our voters there was still some pop in a team that had lost three straight. 
• No. 59 Boise State (+6): The Broncos played an incredibly difficult schedule in 2023, and the early season losses took their toll both on the team and their rankings position. But four wins in the final five games of the year have Boise State in the Mountain West title game under the leadership of interim coach Spencer Danielson, who has been at the helm since the program fired Andy Avalos. 
• No. 27 Kansas State (-7): There have been plenty of white-knuckle moments during a 2023 campaign filled with close results for Kansas State, but Saturday’s home loss to Iowa State was another that did not go the Wildcats way. The result of the loss is falling to 8-4 rather than 9-3, which sparked Kansas State bring bumped out of the top 25. 
• No. 47 Air Force (-7): The Falcons started the year 8-0 and peaked in the CBS Sports 133 at No. 16 back on Oct. 30. Unfortunately, it’s been mostly downhill in the rankings since then as Air Force closed the season with four straight losses.
• No. 42 UCLA (-9): It’s debatable whether whatever goodwill was earned from beating USC is still around after the Bruins were woeful offensively in a 33-7 home loss to Cal. The Bruins finished the season losing three of its final four games, and only logged one win against a team that was ranked at the time of the game (vs. Washington State on Oct. 7). 
• No. 54 Fresno State (-11): Sitting at 8-1 in early November, our voters were high on Fresno State’s standing among not only its Mountain West foes but other top Group of Five contenders. Unfortunately, three straight losses has the Bulldogs slipping far from that status by the end of the regular season. 

Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 133: Teams ranked 26-133