Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Nov. 2, 2025, 9:44 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 results. 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 who are highly likely to make the playoffs, Tier 2: Playoff Teams who could conceivably win the championship but are behind Tier 1, Tier 3: Playoff Possibilities who are unlikely to compete for a championship, Tier 4: Teams with an outside shot at making the playoffs, Tier 5: Teams that are highly unlikely to make the playoffs, Tier 6: Teams that are eliminated from playoff contention. Tiers 5 and 6 don't enter into the top 25 until very late in the year.
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
Tier 1. |
| 2 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
Tier 1. |
| 3 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
Tier 1. |
| 4 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
Tier 1. I'm still not 100% sure about this. |
| 5 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
Tier 2. |
| 6 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
Tier 2. |
| 7 |
Oregon Ducks
|
Tier 2. |
| 8 |
BYU Cougars
|
Tier 3. They're winning, but I'm still hesitant to move them up. Game against Tech will sort that out. Utah win looks quite impressive in hindsight. |
| 9 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
Tier 3. |
| 10 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
Tier 3. Very uncomfortable having them this high up, as they've barely escaped a lot of mediocre teams. But the win over Louisville keeps them above a list of teams and 8-1 is solid. If they win out they're in the playoffs. |
| 11 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
Tier 3. I like Louisville's body of work better than Virginia, but losing the head to head keeps them one spot behind. |
| 12 |
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
|
Tier 3. Tech has a similar problem to Virginia. |
| 13 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
Tier 3. I wanted to move them down more but the head to head win over ND and the win over Florida (who beat Texas) keeps them above. |
| 14 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
Tier 3. |
| 15 |
Texas Longhorns
|
Tier 3. Florida loss doesn't look great, but only losing by 1 TD to the #1 team, and beating my #14 and #20 is actually a pretty solid resume. This may very well end up a playoff team. A&M looms though. |
| 16 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
Tier 3. Oklahoma's played a monster schedule and has some good wins and quality losses. If they somehow can beat Alabama, Missouri, and LSU they're in, IMO. |
| 17 |
Utah Utes
|
Tier 4. I have gone back and forth on this team a lot this year. But they've only lost to two top 10 teams, and their wins have all been blowouts, some of them against quality teams. |
| 18 |
USC Trojans
|
Tier 4. Probably should have had them higher before, with their head to head win over Michigan. |
| 19 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
Tier 4. Trains are scary man. |
| 20 |
Vanderbilt Commodores
|
Tier 4. |
| 21 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
Tier 4. |
| 22 |
Missouri Tigers
|
Tier 4. |
| 23 |
Washington Huskies
|
Tier 4. |
| 24 |
Memphis Tigers
|
Tier 4. The American roulette wheel spins again and this week Memphis is the highest ranked one. |
| 25 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
Tier 4. Pitt has a very tough final stretch, but if they somehow managed to win all three they would absolutely be a playoff team. I just don't think that's likely. |
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 2 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 3 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.01 |
| 6 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.02 |
| 7 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.00 |
| 8 |
BYU Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
|
0.00 |
| 13 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.51 |
| 14 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.00 |
| 15 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
0.00 |
| 17 |
Utah Utes
|
0.00 |
| 18 |
USC Trojans
|
0.00 |
| 19 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
0.00 |
| 20 |
Vanderbilt Commodores
|
-0.22 |
| 21 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
1.27 |
| 22 |
Missouri Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 23 |
Washington Huskies
|
0.00 |
| 24 |
Memphis Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 25 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
0.00 |