CBS Sports 128 college football rankings: Auburn, Florida surge into the top 10 – CBS sports.com (blog)

As
Alabama Crimson Tide
returns from its off week, the discussion in the SEC turns to the biggest tests remaining for the undefeated Tide.
LSU Tigers
(No. 14 in the new CBS Sports 128 Rankings) steps in the ring next, hosting Alabama for what should be an epic edition of their rivalry on Saturday night in Death Valley, the conclusion of our CBS tripleheader that starts with Notre Dame-Navy and includes Florida-Arkansas.

If LSU falls, there’s an
Auburn Tigers
team coming to town for the Iron Bowl that seems to be peaking at the right time. Gus Malzahn’s Tigers made a four-spot jump in the rankings to No. 9 after beating Ole Miss on Saturday night. Then it’s the SEC Championship Game, which right now looks like it will feature the
Florida Gators
, again, coming from the SEC East. After totally shutting down
Georgia Bulldogs
, Florida made one of the biggest jumps in the rankings, up eight spots to No. 10.

But Alabama isn’t the only power conference favorite starting to see its final challengers rise in the rankings.
Wisconsin Badgers
is back in the top 10 after a crucial Big Ten West win against
Nebraska Cornhuskers
and
Ohio State Buckeyes
is holding strong at No. 6 after a challenging win against
Northwestern Wildcats
.
Clemson Tigers
has control of the ACC Atlantic after beating
Florida State Seminoles
, but both
Virginia Tech Hokies
and
North Carolina Tar Heels
are playing well and ranked at No. 20 and 21 in this week’s rankings.

College football experts from CBS Sports — and for the first time this year, partner 247Sports — contribute ballots each week, which are averaged together for our rankings. You can see the top-25 below, and 26-128 on our rankings page.

Tennessee Volunteers
dropped out of the top 25, landing behind
Houston Cougars
but ahead of
Stanford Cardinal
at No. 30. Just outside the top 30, there’s an interesting trio of teams to watch moving forward in
Troy Trojans
(33),
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
(34) and
Minnesota Golden Gophers
(35). All three teams have six wins and sit in the top half of their conference standings. Bold prediction: at least one of those three teams will be in the top 25 by the end of November.

Biggest movers

• Florida (+8): The Gators made the biggest jump of any team near the top of the rankings after shutting down Georgia again in Jacksonville. Florida is now firmly in control of the SEC East thanks to the win and Tennessee’s loss.
• Southern California (+6): We told you about the rejuvenated Trojans lurking on the outside of the top 25 last week and now they’re back after a late-night win against Cal on Thursday. As Utah and Colorado battle for the Pac-12 South, USC could end up a dark horse if it continues to string together wins.
• Penn State (+5): No letdown here.
  Saquon Barkley
  put on a show in Penn State’s follow-up to the Ohio State upset, earning CBS Sports Player of the Week honors and pushing the Nittany Lions up five spots in the rankings.
• West Virginia (-7): West Virginia and Baylor were paired together as undefeated teams last week (No. 8 and No. 10) and land together in the same order after comparable slides in the CBS 128 with the Mountaineers at No. 15 and the Bears at No. 16.
• Boise State (-13): The Broncos tumbled, but hung inside the top 25, after suffering their first loss of the season to
  Wyoming Cowboys
  . Boise State now has to turn its attention to fighting off
  San Diego State Aztecs
  in the Mountain West while hoping Western Michigan falls in order to get back in the mix for the New Year’s Six.

Check out the rest of the CBS Sports 128: Teams ranked 26-128