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thatoneguyD13 Ballot for 2025 Week 4

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 14, 2025, 10:35 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Early season rankings are based largely on expected results versus other ranked teams, and as the season goes leans more heavily on actual resume. By the end of the season, rankings are based entirely on resume. I lean heavily into head to head results and results against common opponents. I also sort teams into 6 tiers based on championship/playoff likelihood. Tier 1: Championship Frontrunners, near lock to make playoffs Tier 2: Championship Contenders with excellent chance of making playoffs Tier 3: Decent possibility to make playoffs, unlikely to compete for championship Tier 4: Outside playoff shot Tier 5: Unlikely to make playoffs but not quite eliminated Tier 6: No shot at playoffs

Rank Team Reason
1 Ohio State Buckeyes Tier 1. A few issues, but the defense looks great and the passing game is explosive.
2 Miami Hurricanes Tier 1. Hard to find a team with two wins as good as Miami's over ND and USF. They're my #2 for now.
3 Oregon Ducks Tier 1.
4 Penn State Nittany Lions Tier 2.
5 Georgia Bulldogs Tier 2. Defense had some struggles, but a win is a win, especially a road win over a ranked team.
6 LSU Tigers Tier 3. Their two signature wins so far are both against teams that are a bit disappointing. I've got them here for now but I'm not confident.
7 Florida State Seminoles Tier 3.
8 Texas Longhorns Tier 3. Arch is not looking great, but I still think this team is very talented.
9 Oklahoma Sooners Tier 3.
10 Texas A&M Aggies Tier 3. Crazy game against ND. Have to consider them a playoff level team right now.
11 Illinois Fighting Illini Tier 4.
12 Alabama Crimson Tide Tier 4. Road win against a P4 team is always good.
13 Utah Utes Tier 4. Slow start, but Wyoming ain't bad.
14 Michigan Wolverines Tier 4.
15 Ole Miss Rebels Tier 4.
16 Tennessee Volunteers Tier 4. Lost but moved up a spot due to how close that was, and all the losses around them.
17 Indiana Hoosiers Tier 4. Difficulty with Old Dominion doesn't look quite as bad after they killed VT today.
18 Vanderbilt Commodores Tier 4. VT isn't good, and I'm not sure how good South Carolina is, but golly I think Vandy might be pretty darn good.
19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Tier 4. A few decent wins so far, and a schedule that sets up really nicely for them going forward. It's not impossible they're 11-0 when they host UGA.
20 Iowa State Cyclones Tier 4. Closer than expected @Ark State, but they're 4-0 and have beaten two P4 teams to be there.
21 Texas Tech Red Raiders Tier 4.
22 Auburn Tigers Tier 4.
23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Tier 4. Gonna get flak for this, but two losses to top ten teams by a combined four points means I still think they're a ranked team. Let's see how they do going forward.
24 Missouri Tigers Tier 4.
25 Mississippi State Bulldogs Tier 4.

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