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noah_divine Ballot for 2025 Week 9

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 19, 2025, 9:39 p.m.

Overall Rationale: First time ever making a proper Top 25, so I don't have a fully defined methodology. That being said, I tend to value wins and losses + the eye test over stats and margin of victory. Winning games matters. Losing games matters. Strength of schedule is somewhat important but being undefeated is important no matter what.

Rank Team Reason
1 Ohio State Buckeyes It's somewhat known by Buckeye fans that Ohio State is sandbagging to keep their players healthy for November and the postseason. They still look like the best team in the nation, but I really hope they do have that next gear in them down the stretch.
2 Indiana Hoosiers Curt Cignetti has done an incredible job with Indiana. Indiana? #2 in the nation? In this economy?
3 Texas A&M Aggies I think there's a pretty strong drop off from Indiana to the next team in college football. A&M is here because they're undefeated, but I don't see that being the case for much longer.
4 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama looks pretty good, but they have a BAD loss on their resume in Florida State. It'll be interesting to see if they can run the table in the regular season, because this could be a scary team come January.
5 Oregon Ducks Controversial take: I think you still have to value Oregon's win over Penn State. I'm of the opinion that Oregon broke them - If Penn State had won that game, I think they would have been undefeated and James Franklin would still be the head coach.
6 Georgia Bulldogs I don't know how to gauge this Georgia team. I think they're pretty good? We'll see what they do down the road.
7 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Undefeated with some solid wins on their resume. COFH is going to be so much fun this season.
8 BYU Cougars Also undefeated with a big win in the Holy War. With the chaos above them, welcome to the Top 10 BYU!
9 Vanderbilt Commodores TOP TEN VANDY IS REAL. At least in my heart. I think they can really compete with the best of the SEC this season.
10 Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss drops a little further this week because of... that performance against Wazzu two weeks ago. They had Georgia this week, but that fourth quarter collapse was brutal, and I hope it's not an indication of things to come.
11 Miami Hurricanes You will fall very far in the rankings if you throw 4 interceptions and lose to an unranked team (even though I have Louisville ranked this week).
12 Texas Tech Red Raiders We can reassess this ranking when Behren Morton is healthy. Hammond ain't it for this year.
13 Oklahoma Sooners Somewhat of a bounce-back performance against South Carolina, but that Texas loss is a dark stain on their resume - a Texas team that I do not have ranked because they suck.
14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish I totally forgot to include them in my ballot when I first submitted - very embarrassing. Anyways, that USC win is doing a LOT of heavy-lifting for a 2-loss team.
15 USF Bulls They have dismantled almost every opponent they've played except Miami. Best team in the Group of Five by far.
16 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee would be higher if they hadn't given up a 14-point swing at the end of the first half to Alabama. Please don't fall off.
17 Navy Midshipmen Undefeated. Don't care who you have played, that's still impressive. Also, Blake Horvath is that dude.
18 Virginia Cavaliers Pretty good wins on their resume, including against Louisville. We'll see what they do from here.
19 Louisville Cardinals Congratulations Cards! You beat a Top 3 team on the road and you only have 1 loss to a fellow Top 25 team! Welcome!
20 Cincinnati Bearcats I was so sure Satterfield was getting canned at some point this year before the season started. I don't think that's going to happen now.
21 Missouri Tigers It was a fun story, but man Beau Pribula is rapidly declining, and they will not survive much longer unless he figures it out.
22 LSU Tigers Man, what happened here...
23 Arizona State Sun Devils I'm not sure if Arizona State is good or not. Some good wins but some bad losses. I think they belong here but I have no idea.
24 Illinois Fighting Illini I still think Illinois is Top 25. Yes, they got slaughtered by Indiana, but they didn't look too bad against Ohio State, and they have an impressive win over USC.
25 USC Trojans Despite the loss, I think USC has earned the right to stay ranked. This is a solid team that has some solid wins on their resume and has passed the eye test in most of their games.

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