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LightningDusty Ballot for 2025 Week 10

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 26, 2025, 1:13 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Casual Fan Takes and Resumé

Rank Team Reason
1 Indiana Hoosiers = Took a surprisingly hot UCLA to the woodworks and made them disappear. I want Indiana to win the national championship so badly. Either them or Vanderbilt!
2 Ohio State Buckeyes = Can't wait for the B1G title game where they'll face off with the Hoosiers.
3 Texas A&M Aggies = Easily the class of the SEC right now. There's practically no way 8&4 manifests this year. You're free, Aggie fans! You're free!
4 Alabama Crimson Tide = I made a comment that 2025 Alabama was apparently 2024 Alabama all over again in the game thread when they were down 22-15 in the 4th quarter. They proved me wrong and stole the game away from South Carolina, once again standing up strong to adversity. I don't know if they're capable of winning it all thanks to some alarming flaws, but it certainly looks like they won't give up in their attempt to capture the title.
5 Georgia Bulldogs = Soon...
6 BYU Cougars = Picked up another decent win against Iowa State. The big one comes in two weeks.
7 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets = Haynes King is dynamite. He's not even the only former Texas A&M QB to ball out today! Everything connected to TAMU seems to be doing so well this season. It's kind of creepy...
8 Ole Miss Rebels = With that win over Oklahoma, Ole Miss SHOULD cruise to 11-1 with a guaranteed playoff spot. They honestly might be better off missing the SEC Championship.
9 Vanderbilt Commodores = Firmly solidified into the top tier of the SEC with a gutsy victory over a good Missouri team. Another squad that would honestly likely benefit from missing the SEC Championship, though their path to 11-1 is more difficult than Ole Miss'.
10 Miami Hurricanes = Struggled versus Stanford for a half before pulling away in the second. Didn't really learn anything new about them. The path to 11-1 is relatively easy save for possible road tests at SMU and Pittsburgh. I'd love for them to lose to Virginia Tech the most.
11 Oregon Ducks = How do you look that anemic against WISCONSIN??? I'll categorize it as an off day for the offense and leave it at that. Watch yourself, please.
12 Texas Tech Red Raiders = Red Raiders had functioning firearms while the Cowboys only had blanks loaded. Actually, that's far too kind to Oklahoma State. The Pokes aren't even armed with Nerf guns. They're THAT atrocious.
13 Virginia Cavaliers ↑2 This team is UGLY and yet they somehow keep winning! That win over Louisville is going to come up VERY clutch come ACC Championship time. You could probably sack one loss and still be in okay shape. That'd also make the conference title a must, though.
14 Louisville Cardinals ↑2 I have UVA ranked above them because of head to head victory, but I think Louisville is easily the most dangerous threat left to Miami in the ACC outside of Georgia Tech. They could certainly beat them again in a rematch.
15 Cincinnati Bearcats ↑2 Cincinnati is going to creep up into the top ten without anyone hardly noticing if they keep this up. Does anyone talk about them? I feel like all of the Big 12 attention is on BYU and Texas Tech. I don't have much to say myself, but respect to the Bearcats for having a damn fine football team.
16 Houston Cougars ↑NR They FINALLY snatched a solid win and therefore have earned a spot here with only one loss. Connor Weigman balled out and they could stir up some serious chaos in the Big 12 and CFB as a whole by going 11-1.
17 Memphis Tigers ↑NR Your new G6 frontrunners, ladies and gentlemen! I thought USF was going to make a clean run at it, but Memphis had other plans. The Bulls can get back into the mix since they control their own destiny, but the seeding for the G6 representative probably won't be kind since they're all racking up losses. Granted, I doubt it'd be fair anyway because of how CFB works, but I digress. I suppose a 12-0 Navy with a win over Notre Dame could get a high seeding... Wouldn't bet on it.
18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish ↑1 Remains your clear cut best two loss team in the nation. Navy and Pitt may be able to boost your resumé a bit more while the Miami and Texas A&M blemishes continue to look as pretty as losses possibly could.
19 Missouri Tigers ↓5 Missouri is very similar to Notre Dame, but they don't have a quality win like the Fighting Irish do with USC. Playing great teams close does deserve credit, though. They have the chance to make the statements of all statements by defeating the current SEC top dogs in two weeks. Win that game or miss the playoff. It's as straightforward as that.
20 Utah Utes = Utah may not have the most dazzling resumé, but every win of theirs has been an absolute thrashing. That counts for something, and it's not like the losses are embarrassing. The 24 point loss to Texas Tech looks rough on paper, but they were firmly in that game until the 4th quarter when everything fell apart. The Big 12 is so damn entertaining with all of these solid teams that are neck and neck with each other.
21 Tennessee Volunteers ↑1 I think you beat Oklahoma next week at home. That creates quite the scenario for the last two weeks at the Swamp and then the finale with Vanderbilt. This team doesn't have title potential because of their porous and puny defense, but a CFP berth is still there for the taking.
22 Navy Midshipmen ↑2 Let's be real here; you're NOT remaining undefeated. North Texas, Notre Dame, South Florida, and Memphis are all good teams. There's no shame in dropping one or even two of those games. Unless you pull some magic, I'm chalking the ND matchup down as a loss. That means you need to go 3-1 versus your fellow AAC brethren. Solidifies a spot in the American Championship and a potential shot at the playoff.
23 Tulane Green Wave ↑2 Tulane has done so well in one possession games this year that they might be my personal pick for AAC champion and G6 contender. They've been to the conference title game three years in a row, and I'm gonna say they make it four. May high tide be with us all.
24 James Madison Dukes ↑NR The royal purple dark horse for the G6 playoff spot. It feels like everyone has already penciled in that slot to the American Conference, but James Madison could snatch it with some mayhem. Their loss to Louisville is very much respectable, and they could gain some ground by putting up enough style points in the coming weeks.
25 Iowa Hawkeyes ↑NR The middle of the B1G Ten is such a mess, but I picked Iowa to constitute that odd group of teams here in my poll. They've played Indiana the best of any team this season, and it's not like a close loss to Iowa State is resumé crushing. I smell a possible upset coming in Iowa City on November 8th... Oregon has shown some vulnerabilities, and the Hawkeyes won't lie down lightly. I also dropped Texas out of my poll because their performance against bottom tier SEC teams has been pitiful and humiliating. Needing OT to beat Kentucky and Mississippi State along with that loss to Florida? Gross. Anyway, time for the "receiving votes" part of my ballot! There's lots 2 loss P4 teams here, so buckle up. RECEIVING VOTES IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER: Michigan, USC, Nebraska, Washington, Oklahoma, Texas, North Texas, South Florida

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