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Neither_Call2913 Ballot for 2025 Week 12

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 10, 2025, 6:03 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Combination of opinion, analysis of quality of wins/losses, and (limited) analysis of talent.

Rank Team Reason
1 Texas A&M Aggies Objectively very very comparable to the other 2 undefeated teams. However in this case, I am placing Texas A&M above OSU and Indiana because I am a current student at Texas A&M University.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes Very very comparable to the Indiana, but I believe that the Buckeyes are a more cohesive, 4-quarter team than the Hoosiers are. Particularly after how difficult the Hoosiers found it to win versus Penn State.
3 Indiana Hoosiers Their undefeated record is the bigger of just two things keeping them this high up. Their Oregon win (at Oregon, no less) is the other one.
4 Alabama Crimson Tide I think it's mostly uncontroversial to call Alabama the best 1-loss team in CFB. Their win over Georgia pretty well solidifies that. Week-one fluke games are practically tradition at the FBS level, and I believe the Florida State game should not count too harshly against their record.
5 Georgia Bulldogs With a very small margin of loss to Alabama and a solid margin of victory over Ole Miss, the Bulldogs secured their spot in the top 5. Their overtime win over Tennessee in game 3 didn't instill confidence, but they've recovered well and have proven that they're better than that game suggested.
6 Ole Miss Rebels Their loss to Georgia puts them out of the top 5, but it wasn't a crazy shutout. They only barely scraped by Washington State, but their sound defeat of Oklahoma keeps them up here with the other 1 loss teams.
7 Texas Tech Red Raiders Similar to Alabama's game against FSU, Texas Tech's slim loss to the Sun Devils (in Tempe, to be clear) shouldn't count too harshly against them. They've soundly defeated literally every other opponent they've played, including previously-undefeated BYU by 3 scores in week 11.
8 Oregon Ducks Oregon started out shaky, taking Penn State to overtime before losing (at home!) to Indiana by 10. Their only other opponent of much relevance was Iowa in Week 11, who they barely beat. While this doesn't sound particularly impressive, they are still 1-loss, at that loss is to the still-undefeated Indiana Hoosiers, so you can't give them too much flak for that.
9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish As with others on this list, Notre Dame had a close loss to someone who is not looking very good right now, in this case Miami. However, in this case, it was Week 1, AT Miami, and only by 3. You really can't blame Notre Dame too much for that one. Their loss by just 1 point to Texas A&M is looking less and less embarrassing as the weeks go on, despite that game being in South Bend, and they haven't lost a game since. In fact, they are the only team in FBS to hold the Arkansas Razorbacks to less than 24 points; not even A&M (or Ole Miss) was able to do that.
10 Texas Longhorns As an Aggie I find it hard to rank the Longhorns in the Top 10, but I do feel they deserve it. Their week-one loss to Ohio State in Columbus by just one score is nothing to give them flak for, and they've since soundly defeated Oklahoma (in the Red River Shootout) and Vanderbilt. However, they aren't ranked higher than this because of their 8 point loss to Florida as well as their Overtime scrape-by wins on the road at Kentucky and Mississippi State.
11 Oklahoma Sooners The Sooners started strong with a win over Michigan, but their sound loss to Texas, as well as their loss at home in Norman to Ole Miss, make it hard to justify a top 10 ranking. It doesn't help that they barely beat Tennessee in week 10.
12 BYU Cougars Undefeated prior to Week 11, the Cougars are still a very strong team. Their loss comes on the road to the Texas Tech Raiders, who are looking very strong, and they defeated Utah in their week 8 in-state rivalry game.
13 Utah Utes While Utah's only relevant win is at home versus Cincinnati, their only losses are to Texas Tech and BYU, both of whom are looking quite strong. Their loss to BYU in the week 8 rivalry game was by just 3 points.
14 Vanderbilt Commodores Vanderbilt's only losses come to SEC powerhouse Alabama (in Tuscaloosa) and a finally-strong-looking Texas (in Austin). The Texas game, which they only lost by 3 points after mounting a gargantuan comeback in the second half, is a strong argument for keeping them in the top 15.
15 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Georgia Tech's only loss comes week 10 to NC State. While this was perhaps an embarrassing team to lose an undefeated season to, they've been looking very strong all season, and if not for their season's-end rivalry game versus the Georgia Bulldogs on the 28th of November, they'd still be very much in the one-loss season conversation.
16 USC Trojans With a loss to Illinois in week 5 and Notre Dame in week 8, USC is firmly out of the top 15. However, their more than two score win over Michigan in week 7 keeps them up in the mid-teens.
17 Michigan Wolverines Michigan's loss by more than 2 scores to USC puts a firm ceiling on how high they can reasonably be ranked, especially with an early loss to Oklahoma. However, they've looked solid against all of their other opponents, so they stay up here near USC for now.
18 Iowa Hawkeyes Their loss to Iowa State is not terrible considering the circumstances: the game was at Iowa State, their in-state rival, and it was by just 3 points. Their small margins of loss to both Oregon and Indiana are also good signs of their team's quality: they've lost their three games by a combined just 10 points, two games of which were to top-10 teams. However, their 1-point margin of victory over Penn State holds them back from greatness.
19 Virginia Cavaliers After an embarrassing loss to Wake Forest (at home, no less!), the now 2-loss Cavaliers have fallen significantly. Having also lost to NC State in week 2, both of Virginia's losses are to teams currently without a greater than .500 conference record, and that's in the ACC.
20 Louisville Cardinals Arguably worse than Virginia's loss to Wake Forest, Louisville's loss in overtime to California (also at home!) has them falling significantly as well. With their other loss being to Virginia, they're solidly placed right behind the Cavaliers in the top 20.
21 Miami Hurricanes Miami's recent loss in Dallas to the SMU Mustangs could not have shown the nation any better that Miami has been highly overrated. While they're still a good football team, they're not the Disney Princess they were once made out to be. Their 3-point win at home over Notre Dame in week one can be solidly considered a fluke game now, and their at home LOSS to Louisville leaves them squarely outside the top 20.
22 Cincinnati Bearcats Cincinnati's week one loss to Nebraska (at home!) is certainly not encouraging, but it was by just 3 points, and they've since been on a rampage. While their loss to Utah in week 10 was certainly a let down for the Bearcats, they still earned themselves a winning record and a midseason rank in the AP Poll, both of which are firsts since they joined the Big 12.
23 Missouri Tigers Mizzou's 3 point loss at home to Alabama is nothing to scoff at, and neither is their one-score loss in Nashville to Vanderbilt or their week 11 loss at home to Texas A&M. However, 3 losses is still 3 losses, and they have no wins versus currently ranked opponents, leaving them nearly out of the poll altogether.
24 North Texas Mean Green The Mean Green has pulled out an incredible season so far, with just one loss to currently-ranked South Florida. They soundly defeated Army by a touchdown in overtime (at West Point!) and Navy by 2 scores at home.
25 James Madison Dukes James Madison, the only G5 team besides UNT to be 1-loss this season, has only lost to Louisville, and at Louisville no less. They've soundly defeated every other team this season.

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