CARConference-Adjusted
Rankings

2026 college football rankings
Every FBS team. One transparent ranking.

A ranking of all 138 FBS programs: 80% CAR results, opponent records and performance, plus 20% previous-week CBS Sports 138. Conference strength is earned in FBS interconference games.

2026 Week 9 EditionTenth results-based rankingUpdated November 1, 2026

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Week 9 matrix

2026 FBS rankings

138teams ranked

Week 9 complete: The approved model is unchanged: 80% CAR with current opponent FBS records and 20% previous-week CBS Sports 138. All 56 Week 9 games are final. This edition uses CAR results through October 31 and the October 26 CBS release, frozen before the first Week 9 game. Movement is compared with the published Week 8 edition. Historical frozen pregame values and earlier releases remain unchanged.

Rank all teams by CAR measure →

Why each team is ranked here

Twelve CAR measures explain the ranking beyond wins and losses.

Choose a team

CAR Game Value

LoadingOpponent, location, margin, and expectation value

Expectation Delta

LoadingActual margin minus expected margin

Schedule Strength Played

LoadingDifficulty of completed FBS games

Schedule Strength Remaining

LoadingDifficulty of games still to be played

Best Win / Worst Result

LoadingMost valuable win, or costliest result without a win

Opponent-Adjusted Offense

LoadingScoring compared with opponents' usual defense

Opponent-Adjusted Defense

LoadingPoints prevented versus opponents' usual offense

Road and Neutral Strength

LoadingAverage value in games away from home

Consistency Index

LoadingStability from one adjusted result to the next

Conference Contribution

LoadingEffect on the team's conference score

Quality Record

LoadingRecord by frozen opponent tier

CAR Trajectory

LoadingUnavailable across the Week 7 method change

Played metrics use completed FBS games. Remaining schedule uses the existing preseason opponent scale for all future regular-season games; FCS opponents count as zero. CAR Trajectory is unavailable when its comparison window crosses the Week 7 method change. Early measures appear only when enough games exist. Select a team here or click its name in the rankings.

Rank	Team	Conference	Record	Previous	CAR points	Confidence
1	UCLA	Big Ten	8–0	1	82.068	Early
2	Miami	ACC	8–0	2	80.622	Early
3	Kentucky	SEC	7–1	3	78.306	Early
4	LSU	SEC	6–2	4	78.071	Early
5	Utah	Big 12	8–0	7	77.384	Early
6	Indiana	Big Ten	8–1	6	76.502	Early
7	Georgia	SEC	7–1	8	76.283	Early
8	Wake Forest	ACC	7–1	9	74.838	Early
9	Ole Miss	SEC	6–2	11	74.809	Early
10	Texas	SEC	6–2	16	74.796	Early
11	Boise State	Pac-12	7–1	13	73.467	Early
12	Alabama	SEC	6–2	10	73.352	Early
13	Ohio State	Big Ten	6–2	5	72.817	Early
14	BYU	Big 12	7–1	14	72.374	Early
15	Notre Dame	FBS Independents	7–1	19	71.620	Early
16	Houston	Big 12	6–2	15	70.586	Early
17	Missouri	SEC	6–2	23	69.436	Early
18	Tennessee	SEC	6–2	20	68.796	Early
19	Texas Tech	Big 12	7–1	25	68.746	Early
20	Arizona	Big 12	6–2	17	68.575	Early
21	Northwestern	Big Ten	6–2	12	68.487	Early
22	South Carolina	SEC	5–3	33	68.482	Early
23	Wisconsin	Big Ten	5–3	18	67.842	Early
24	Iowa	Big Ten	6–2	35	67.251	Early
25	USC	Big Ten	7–2	30	66.987	Early
26	UTSA	American Athletic	7–1	26	65.907	Early
27	Oklahoma State	Big 12	5–3	21	65.033	Early
28	Virginia Tech	ACC	6–2	34	64.846	Early
29	Louisville	ACC	5–3	37	64.297	Early
30	New Mexico	Mountain West	7–1	39	64.075	Early
31	Duke	ACC	6–2	42	63.931	Early
32	Oklahoma	SEC	4–4	22	63.739	Early
33	Florida	SEC	5–3	27	63.301	Early
34	Oregon	Big Ten	5–3	43	63.003	Early
35	Auburn	SEC	4–4	24	62.505	Early
36	Minnesota	Big Ten	5–3	40	62.241	Early
37	Cincinnati	Big 12	5–3	44	61.198	Early
38	Liberty	Conference USA	7–1	46	60.808	Early
39	Nebraska	Big Ten	5–3	29	60.502	Early
40	Mississippi State	SEC	4–4	28	60.410	Early
41	North Carolina	ACC	4–4	38	60.402	Early
42	SMU	ACC	6–2	31	60.328	Early
43	Michigan	Big Ten	5–3	45	59.504	Early
44	Washington	Big Ten	5–3	55	59.227	Early
45	Memphis	American Athletic	7–2	57	59.101	Early
46	James Madison	Sun Belt	7–2	32	58.732	Early
47	Oregon State	Pac-12	5–3	36	58.669	Early
48	West Virginia	Big 12	5–3	47	58.407	Early
49	Pittsburgh	ACC	6–3	48	58.334	Early
50	Baylor	Big 12	5–3	62	57.884	Early
51	North Dakota State	Mountain West	7–2	50	57.611	Early
52	Illinois	Big Ten	5–3	53	57.519	Early
53	Clemson	ACC	5–3	51	57.388	Early
54	North Texas	American Athletic	6–2	58	57.246	Early
55	UCF	Big 12	4–4	41	57.129	Early
56	Iowa State	Big 12	4–4	52	57.064	Early
57	Fresno State	Pac-12	5–3	74	56.000	Early
58	Louisiana Tech	Sun Belt	6–2	54	55.352	Early
59	Air Force	Mountain West	6–2	59	54.329	Early
60	TCU	Big 12	4–4	68	53.959	Early
61	South Florida	American Athletic	6–2	73	53.577	Early
62	Jacksonville State	Conference USA	6–2	70	53.381	Early
63	Texas A&M	SEC	4–4	56	53.162	Early
64	Penn State	Big Ten	4–4	77	53.121	Early
65	Arizona State	Big 12	4–4	65	53.097	Early
66	Boston College	ACC	4–4	60	52.925	Early
67	Army	American Athletic	5–3	49	52.852	Early
68	UNLV	Mountain West	5–3	69	52.658	Early
69	Toledo	Mid-American	6–2	67	52.581	Early
70	Ohio	Mid-American	6–2	75	52.052	Early
71	Texas State	Pac-12	4–4	66	51.758	Early
72	Arkansas	SEC	3–5	64	51.215	Early
73	Syracuse	ACC	4–4	87	50.930	Early
74	NC State	ACC	4–4	81	50.195	Early
75	Purdue	Big Ten	3–5	61	50.122	Early
76	Wyoming	Mountain West	5–3	83	49.494	Early
77	Western Michigan	Mid-American	6–3	82	49.021	Early
78	Kansas State	Big 12	4–4	63	48.852	Early
79	Kansas	Big 12	3–5	72	48.721	Early
80	Stanford	ACC	4–5	79	48.640	Early
81	Florida State	ACC	3–5	71	48.175	Early
82	Virginia	ACC	4–5	78	47.633	Early
83	Florida Atlantic	American Athletic	5–3	76	47.255	Early
84	Georgia Southern	Sun Belt	4–4	99	45.974	Early
85	Buffalo	Mid-American	5–3	88	45.551	Early
86	Louisiana	Sun Belt	5–3	84	45.222	Early
87	Colorado	Big 12	3–5	98	45.185	Early
88	Miami (OH)	Mid-American	5–3	86	44.908	Early
89	App State	Sun Belt	5–3	80	44.856	Early
90	Marshall	Sun Belt	5–3	96	44.390	Early
91	Tulane	American Athletic	4–4	93	44.098	Early
92	Michigan State	Big Ten	2–6	92	43.907	Early
93	UConn	FBS Independents	4–4	94	43.587	Early
94	Arkansas State	Sun Belt	4–4	97	43.343	Early
95	Vanderbilt	SEC	3–5	95	43.159	Early
96	UAB	American Athletic	4–4	85	43.119	Early
97	South Alabama	Sun Belt	4–4	91	42.000	Early
98	California	ACC	3–6	90	41.581	Early
99	San Diego State	Pac-12	4–5	100	41.378	Early
100	East Carolina	American Athletic	4–4	106	40.780	Early
101	Nevada	Mountain West	3–5	102	39.313	Early
102	Utah State	Pac-12	3–5	111	38.848	Early
103	Delaware	Conference USA	4–4	115	38.718	Early
104	Georgia State	Sun Belt	4–4	89	38.380	Early
105	Georgia Tech	ACC	2–6	101	38.307	Early
106	San José State	Mountain West	4–5	108	37.322	Early
107	Tulsa	American Athletic	4–4	109	37.069	Early
108	Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt	3–5	120	36.781	Early
109	Troy	Sun Belt	4–4	122	36.779	Early
110	Maryland	Big Ten	2–6	105	36.649	Early
111	Florida International	Conference USA	3–5	107	36.589	Early
112	Rutgers	Big Ten	2–6	110	35.193	Early
113	Colorado State	Pac-12	3–5	103	34.883	Early
114	Eastern Michigan	Mid-American	4–5	112	34.823	Early
115	Middle Tennessee	Conference USA	4–4	104	34.515	Early
116	Ball State	Mid-American	3–5	118	33.246	Early
117	Navy	American Athletic	2–6	114	33.140	Early
118	New Mexico State	Conference USA	3–5	113	32.869	Early
119	Massachusetts	Mid-American	4–4	116	32.648	Early
120	Central Michigan	Mid-American	3–5	119	32.500	Early
121	Southern Miss	Sun Belt	3–5	127	31.655	Early
122	Western Kentucky	Conference USA	3–5	117	29.619	Early
123	Missouri State	Conference USA	3–5	131	28.886	Early
124	Kennesaw State	Conference USA	2–6	134	28.596	Early
125	Temple	American Athletic	2–6	123	27.603	Early
126	Hawai'i	Mountain West	2–6	130	27.115	Early
127	Old Dominion	Sun Belt	2–7	124	27.023	Early
128	Bowling Green	Mid-American	2–7	128	26.959	Early
129	Rice	American Athletic	1–7	129	26.658	Early
130	Charlotte	American Athletic	1–7	126	26.590	Early
131	Washington State	Pac-12	1–8	125	26.290	Early
132	Kent State	Mid-American	3–6	121	25.752	Early
133	Sacramento State	Mid-American	2–7	136	23.175	Early
134	UTEP	Mountain West	1–7	135	21.846	Early
135	UL Monroe	Sun Belt	1–7	132	21.634	Early
136	Sam Houston	Conference USA	1–7	133	20.721	Early
137	Akron	Mid-American	1–7	137	17.845	Early
138	Northern Illinois	Mountain West	0–8	138	17.001	Early

Download Week 9 rankings (CSV)Original methodology (historical PDF)

Conference-first matrix

Week 9 conference standings

Download conference standings (CSV)

Conference scores use FBS interconference results with opponent and location adjustments and a neutral anchor. Intraconference games can change team résumés but do not directly earn conference-contribution points. The CBS blend applies to team rankings, not to this conference table.

Rank	Conference	Nonconference	Games	CAR conference score	Confidence
1	SEC	28–2	30	74.803	Early
2	Big Ten	31–11	42	63.193	Early
3	Big 12	24–8	32	62.635	Early
4	ACC	18–12	30	58.675	Early
5	FBS Independents	10–5	15	55.799	Early
6	Pac-12	9–16	25	48.251	Early
7	American Athletic	16–24	40	42.437	Early
8	Mountain West	11–17	28	40.692	Early
9	Sun Belt	14–26	40	37.021	Early
10	Conference USA	6–24	30	33.430	Early
11	Mid-American	7–29	36	30.664	Early

Weekly recap · Games of October 27–31

UCLA stays No. 1; Utah joins the Top 5

UCLA remains No. 1 at 8–0 after beating Nevada 27–0. Miami, Kentucky, LSU and Utah round out the Top 5. Utah rises two places to No. 5 after a 49–25 road win at Cincinnati. Ohio State falls eight to No. 13 after losing 30–18 at USC. South Carolina, Iowa and USC enter the Top 25. Boise State is the highest-ranked non-Power-Four team at No. 11 after a 46–45 win over Texas State.

Open complete printable weekly recap (PDF)

+17

Fresno State to No. 57

Previously No. 74. Record: 5–3. Compared with the published Week 8 edition.

+15

Georgia Southern to No. 84

Previously No. 99. Record: 4–4. Compared with the published Week 8 edition.

+14

Syracuse to No. 73

Previously No. 87. Record: 4–4. Compared with the published Week 8 edition.

-18

Army to No. 67

Previously No. 49. Record: 5–3. Compared with the published Week 8 edition.

-15

Kansas State to No. 78

Previously No. 63. Record: 4–4. Compared with the published Week 8 edition.

-15

Georgia State to No. 104

Previously No. 89. Record: 4–4. Compared with the published Week 8 edition.

Conference update: The SEC remains No. 1 at 74.803 with a 28–2 FBS interconference record. Conference order is unchanged. The Big Ten rises from 62.882 to 63.193; Mountain West from 39.599 to 40.692. Independents fall from 56.438 to 55.799; the American from 42.741 to 42.437. Intraconference games do not directly add conference-strength points.

South Carolina (No. 22), Iowa (No. 24) and USC (No. 25) enter the Top 25. Oklahoma State (No. 27), Oklahoma (No. 32) and Auburn (No. 35) leave it. The PDF contains all 138 rankings, all 56 Week 9 finals, conference standings and methodology notes.

The formula is unchanged, but scores can move on a bye as opponents’ current records, the field-wide résumé scale and the frozen previous-week CBS release update. Rank is relative: a team can rise even when its own score falls. These rankings are not calibrated game-win forecasts. Remaining Schedule Strength is unavailable for Pac-12 teams while November 28 flex opponents are unassigned; this does not affect the overall rankings.

Effective Week 7

How the 80/20 CAR ranking works

Who you play and how you perform against them remain the foundation. A previous-week, full-field human ranking now supplies 20% of the final score.

28%

Matrix résumé

Cumulative game values reflect frozen opponent strength, pregame expectations, venue and capped margin. The cumulative résumé is min-max scaled across the current field of 138 teams, using the scaling method adopted in Week 6.

24%

Outcome-surprise performance

Measures results against frozen pregame win expectations, with margin capped at 28 points. This is not a calibrated win-probability forecast.

10%

Own record

FBS wins divided by FBS games plus FCS losses. FCS wins add no credit.

10%

Opponent record

Current pooled FBS win percentage of opponents played, excluding their games against this team. The contribution is reduced when the team has an FCS loss.

Conference strength

Opponent- and location-adjusted FBS interconference results. Intraconference games do not directly earn league-contribution points.

20%

Previous-week CBS

A full-field human component from CBS Sports 138, frozen before this edition’s games and converted linearly to a 0–100 scale.

FCS rule

FBS wins over FCS opponents earn no positive résumé, record or conference credit. FBS losses to FCS opponents receive the existing substantial deduction.

Ranking and explanatory measures

All twelve CAR measures remain available subject to their evidence requirements. Quality Record is a separate frozen-opponent diagnostic, not the new dynamic opponent-record input. CAR Trajectory remains unavailable when its comparison window crosses the Week 7 method change.

Transparent human input

This edition uses CBS Sports 138 published October 26, reflecting results through October 24. AP, ESPN rankings, CFP rankings and betting odds remain external benchmarks, not inputs. ESPN supplies game results.

Current implementation, effective Week 7: Final = 0.80 × dynamic CAR + 0.20 × CBS conversion. Dynamic CAR = 35% résumé + 30% outcome-surprise performance + 25% record quality + 10% conference strength. Record quality = 100 × (0.5 × FBS wins + 0.5 × FBS games × opponent FBS win percentage) / (FBS games + FCS losses). FCS wins add no credit and are excluded from this denominator. FCS losses receive zero record credit, remain in the denominator, and retain the existing substantial résumé/performance deduction. The effective final weights are 28% résumé, 24% performance, 10% own record, 10% opponent record, 8% conference and 20% CBS. CBS conversion = 100 × (138 − CBS rank) / 137. That linear conversion is CAR’s modeling assumption, not CBS rating points or a calibrated strength estimate. Résumé uses the min-max scaling method adopted in Week 6, recomputed across all 138 cumulative raw game values each edition. The performance component remains outcome surprise plus margin capped at 28, not play-level efficiency or a validated win forecast. Lower pregame expectations can produce more surprise credit for the same result. Head-to-head results do not impose a mandatory ordering. Field extremes and changing opponent records can move scores on a bye. Original preseason points remain the exact-score tie-break. Historical games are not replayed. Week 9 games use published Week 8 frozen pregame inputs; published Week 9 becomes the normal input for subsequent games. Opponent record is pooled FBS wins divided by FBS games across the FBS opponents already played, using their current completed results and excluding every game against the evaluated team. Each opponent appearance counts once. It updates weekly, rather than being frozen at the date the opponent was played. The original methodology PDF remains historical reference; this section and the current recap describe the active method.

Direct preseason transition: Preseason 100%; after Week 0 80%; Week 1 65%; Week 2 50%; Week 3 35%; Week 4 20%; Week 5 10%; Week 6 onward 0%. Starting Week 7, final points combine 80% current CAR with 20% previous-week CBS. Frozen historical game expectations and prior releases are not rewritten.

What comes next

Next ranking: after the full Week 10 slate

Published Week 9 values become the normal frozen game inputs for subsequent games. Opponents’ FBS records update weekly. The next human input will be the verified, dated full-field CBS release available before that edition’s first game. Earlier releases stay archived as issued.

View all teams

About the rankings

CAR college football ranking questions

What are the CAR rankings?

CAR is an independent ranking of every FBS football team. It combines 80% CAR results, performance and opponent records with 20% previous-week CBS Sports 138. Conference strength comes from FBS interconference results.

How often are the rankings updated?

During the season, a new edition is planned each week after the completed games are processed. The page keeps the prior rank so readers can see movement over time.

Does CAR include human rankings?

Yes. From Week 7, previous-week CBS Sports 138 ranks supply 20% of the final score. The other 80% is CAR with dynamic opponent records. AP, ESPN rankings, CFP rankings and betting odds are not inputs.

Why rank all 138 FBS teams?

Ranking the full division gives every opponent a matrix value. That lets a win over a strong team count more than a win over a weak team and helps quantify schedule quality consistently.