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thatoneguyD13 Ballot for 2025 Week 6

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 28, 2025, 9:40 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. Offense needs some work, but the defense is elite and the pieces are there.
2 Oregon Ducks Tier 1. Offense had some struggles against Penn State's defense, but they came away with the win in whiteout conditions.
3 Miami Hurricanes Tier 2.
4 Oklahoma Sooners Tier 3.
5 Texas Longhorns Tier 3.
6 Texas A&M Aggies Tier 3. Close call, but Auburn is a good team.
7 Ole Miss Rebels Tier 3. Making a strong case as the best team in the SEC. Georgia in three weeks is their next big test.
8 Penn State Nittany Lions Tier 3. The valley isn't so happy right now, but a double overtime loss to the #2 team is not a disqualifying game. I was actually mildly impressed with how they played, especially in the fourth quarter.
9 Florida State Seminoles Tier 3. Tough road loss, but the Bama win is keeping them highly ranked.
10 Alabama Crimson Tide Tier 3. Alabama's death has been greatly exaggerated.
11 Georgia Bulldogs Tier 3.
12 Indiana Hoosiers Tier 3. Big of a letdown game after blowing out Illinois last week, but they handled it.
13 Tennessee Volunteers Tier 3. Tough road win against a team I still have ranked.
14 LSU Tigers Tier 4. Wins over Clemson and Florida don't look as impressive as they once did, although they hung around @Ole Miss all game.
15 Michigan Wolverines Tier 4.
16 Vanderbilt Commodores Tier 4.
17 Texas Tech Red Raiders Tier 4.
18 Iowa State Cyclones Tier 4. Their first real dominant win of the season. And the Iowa win looks better every week.
19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Tier 4. Barely escaped. But 5-0 is 5-0.
20 Virginia Cavaliers Tier 4. The hardest team to rank this week. With a head to head win over Florida State, I was tempted to move them up, but the loss to NC State is rough, especially with their loss to VT. Let's see how they handle the rest of their schedule, which is full of winnable games.
21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Tier 4. Getting better every week.
22 Missouri Tigers Tier 4.
23 Illinois Fighting Illini Tier 4. Solid bounceback win against USC.
24 Mississippi State Bulldogs Tier 4. Not going to hold an OT loss to a top 15 team against them too much, especially as their Arizona State win keeps looking better.
25 Memphis Tigers Tier 4. Bit of a logjam here at 25, but Memphis keeps winning.

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