One week of college football has already wrecked the preseason script for 2026.
Oregon was supposed to be an experienced national championship contender. LSU was expected to need time to find its footing under Lane Kiffin amidst the chaos. Michigan was set for a big improvement with Kyle Whittingham arriving. Then actual games happened, and CBS Sports’ voters have responded with dramatic changes in the CBS Sports 138, the site’s comprehensive ranking of every FBS team.
The biggest news: LSU has soared into the top 10 after a dominant win, while Michigan has tumbled out of the top 30 entirely. CBS released its updated rankings after Week 1, and the shifts reflect how quickly expectations can collapse when the ball is actually snapped. The preseason rankings, released Aug. 12, were built on a summer of research, media days and fall camp observations. Now they are largely obsolete.
LSU jumps into the top tier
LSU rose from No. 10 to No. 6 in the new CBS Sports 138, carrying an average ballot rating of 5.2. The Tigers now sit closer to Notre Dame at No. 5 than they do to Indiana at No. 7. The jump came after a 51-10 blowout of Clemson in Baton Rouge, a result that has clearly reshaped how voters see both programs.
The move also expands the defined top tier of teams. What was a top seven is now a top eight, with LSU joining the group that voters have in various orders at the top of the rankings. Oregon, meanwhile, fell from No. 2 to No. 8, dropping to the bottom of that same tier.
CBS Sports experts and 247Sports contributors submit ballots each week, and the results are averaged together for the CBS Sports 138. The top 25 is published in full, with teams ranked 26 through 138 available on the rankings page.
Michigan’s fall from grace
Michigan dropped 22 spots to No. 37 after a 13-12 win against Western Michigan. The Wolverines won the game, but the performance was enough to convince voters they are not the contender many expected them to be this season.
There was drama around the finish, including controversy over an extra second on the clock and a mulligan Hail Mary attempt. But the CBS voters were more concerned with what they saw across four quarters. “There’s no way to carry the same rating or ranking for Michigan from Week 1 to Week 2 after watching that offensive performance from the Wolverines against Western Michigan,” the report said.
Michigan is still considered a good team, but the evidence from one game did not show a great one. Those good-but-not-great teams usually land between No. 30 and No. 50 until they prove otherwise. The Wolverines get a chance to do that in Week 2, with Oklahoma coming to the Big House.
Clemson’s steep slide
Clemson fell even further than Michigan, dropping 24 spots to No. 51 after the loss to LSU. The 51-10 defeat was a complete blowout, and voters responded with a two-way approach: LSU moved up toward the top five, while Clemson’s crew spiked down.
This is the fourth straight year CBS Sports voters have moved Clemson down after a Week 1 loss. The repeated disappointment may have led to a more aggressive move this time around. The question the voters are asking is whether LSU is that much better than expected or Clemson is that much worse.
Memphis leads the biggest movers
The largest jump in the entire rankings belongs to Memphis, which rose 26 spots from No. 72 to No. 46. The Tigers started the year in the middle of the pack after Ryan Silverfield’s departure, with voters taking a wait-and-see approach to new coach Charles Huff.
Huff’s work at Marshall and Southern Miss earned him respect, and Memphis was considered a top-75 team and a contender in its conference. But there was hesitation about how the group would stack up against the entire national landscape. After a strong 2-0 start, the doubt has eroded.
Memphis is now the highest-ranked team from the American and the second-highest ranked team among all of the Group of Six, trailing only Boise State. The swift rise shows how quickly a good start can change perceptions.
Virginia and Boise State on the rise
Virginia moved up 12 spots to No. 25 after a total dismantling of NC State in Week 0. Tony Elliott had a breakthrough 2025 season with double-digit wins and a runner-up finish in the ACC. The influx of transfer portal talent all hit, and the Wahoos saw validation for their decision to invest in football at a new level.
Voters were not ready to assume the success was repeatable, though. The offense has turned over at quarterback and skill positions, but the standard has not. With Beau Pribula leading a new-look offense, Virginia is in the thick of the ACC title race again.
Boise State also moved up 12 spots to No. 31, and this one is unusual: the Broncos lost. They fell 34-27 at Oregon on Saturday, but the performance exceeded expectations. CBS Sports voters strive to balance respect for results with rewarding quality, and Boise State’s showing backed up the idea that Spencer Danielson’s squad will contend for the Group of Six spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Broncos are also making a move to a new league, joining the Pac-12, and the strong performance against a top-tier opponent suggests they will be a factor.
Virginia Tech gets a bump
Virginia Tech rose 11 spots to No. 28, a move the CBS report chalks up to sticker shock or maybe a James Franklin effect. The Hokies’ season opener got extra attention because of their high-profile head coaching hire, and the crowd was raucous.
Virginia Tech beat VMI 73-3 in front of fans celebrating not just the game but the revitalization of a proud program hoping to return to the top of the ACC. Tougher games are coming, and they will test whether the Hokies deserve their top-30 ranking. For now, voters are monitoring the situation in Blacksburg.
The biggest movers in the CBS Sports 138
The Week 1 rankings produced several notable shifts beyond the headline moves. Here is the full list of the biggest movers from the CBS Sports 138:
- Memphis: +26, to No. 46
- Virginia: +12, to No. 25
- Boise State: +12, to No. 31
- Virginia Tech: +11, to No. 28
- Michigan: -22, to No. 37
- Clemson: -24, to No. 51
The rankings will shift again next week. Oklahoma visiting Michigan gives the Wolverines a chance to prove they belong higher. Clemson has a chance to recover. And the teams that jumped this week will need to keep winning to hold their positions.
One week of football is a small sample, but the CBS Sports 138 treats every game as information. The preseason rankings were built on research and reporting. The Week 1 rankings are built on results.
That is how a 26-spot jump for Memphis happens. That is how a 24-spot fall for Clemson happens. And that is how Michigan goes from preseason contender to No. 37 in a single Saturday.
The 2026 season has already delivered its first round of surprises. There will be more.
Source: cbssports.com
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