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LightningDusty Ballot for 2025 Week 12

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 10, 2025, 5:30 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Casual Fan Takes and Resumé

Rank Team Reason
1 Indiana Hoosiers = The top three are all practically even in my eyes. I pretty much consider them 1A, 1B, and 1C. Also... WHAT A CATCH!!!
2 Ohio State Buckeyes =
3 Texas A&M Aggies =
4 Alabama Crimson Tide ↑1
5 Georgia Bulldogs ↑1
6 Ole Miss Rebels ↑1
7 Texas Tech Red Raiders ↑1 The clear best team in the Big 12 right now. They're probably the only squad from the Big 12 and ACC that's good enough to be a genuine national title contender.
8 Oregon Ducks ↑1 Finally got a gritty quality win over a good Iowa team.
9 BYU Cougars ↓5 I gave them respect by moving them up into the top five last week. That ended up backfiring. I still believe BYU is a really good team, but Texas Tech outplayed them in every aspect of the game.
10 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ↑2 The ACC's only remaining one loss team. They could also end up being the league's only hope at making the playoff. Seriously, if JMU and/or North Texas finish 12-1 and the ACC champion has three losses... That'd be utterly hilarious.
11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish ↑2
12 Utah Utes ↑2
13 Texas Longhorns ↑4 That Florida loss is so fucking atrocious, yet they're still this high because college football is a total mess this year.
14 Oklahoma Sooners ↑4
15 Vanderbilt Commodores ↑4
16 USC Trojans ↑6
17 Michigan Wolverines ↑6
18 Louisville Cardinals ↓7 Same as Virginia, though I'm more disappointed with you because you looked more sturdy and consistent most of the time. That JMU win could unironically be the only thing keeping you alive in the playoff hunt should you somehow luck into the ACC Championship and win it.
19 Miami Hurricanes ↑NR I thought about their OVERALL resumé and came to the conclusion that leaving them unranked was unfair. The USF and Notre Dame wins still look great, and competitive losses to SMU and Louisville truthfully aren't that bad.
20 Virginia Cavaliers ↓10 It was bound to happen eventually. Virginia has been playing with fire all season long. The ACC is by far the worst P4 conference, and they're honestly not that much better than the American. What a disastrous league. I don't have them above Louisville despite the head to head win because their resumé is objectively weaker than theirs and Miami's.
21 North Texas Mean Green ↓5 As the American cannibalizes itself, the better teams lose some of their shine. I definitely overrated North Texas and Memphis last week. This slide down the polls isn't because UNT did anything wrong. Not like they could on a BYE, anyway. It's some simple tuning. I do view them as the current G6 frontrunner, though.
22 James Madison Dukes ↑3 More ACC and American cannibalism could swing the door wide open for a 12-1 James Madison to sneak into the playoff. Please let it happen. It's easily the most fun scenario.
23 Cincinnati Bearcats ↑NR If they take care of business over the next three weeks, including defeating BYU, they'll secure a Big 12 Championship bid. It's a long shot, but they're still alive in the playoff race.
24 Iowa Hawkeyes ↓3 Gave Oregon an extremely resilient fight. They have two of the most respectable losses in the country. I'm pretty sure they're eliminated from playoff contention, but finishing 9-3 gives them a sliver of a chance with some chaos.
25 Tennessee Volunteers ↑NR Pretty much the same deal as Iowa. None of their losses are bad, and beating Vanderbilt could provide a much needed quality win. RECEIVING VOTES (Fringe Top 25): Missouri, Pittsburgh, Houston, South Florida.

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