Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Nov. 18, 2025, 10:34 a.m.
Overall Rationale: [DUE TO CLOUDFLARE ISSUES AND A VERY LONG AND TIRING WORK TRIP THAT I ONLY JUST GOT BACK FROM, THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS BALLOT IS SEVERELY LIMITED. I WILL RECTIFY THIS NEXT WEEK AND APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.] || Normal Stuff: Allow me to restate why my ballot is the way that it is. And yes, I apologize for a lot of the repeated information as well. REMINDER: In my top 25, I'm including at least a few spots for the G5 schools as an indicator of who I think is favored to make a run at the Playoffs out of those conferences. I also do not mind including high week-to-week ranking variance, so you'll see a lot of that too, even deep into a year. In addition, this poll, by nature, is meant to be overreactive. I'm not here to try to be predictive - I want this to be strictly resume, even if that resume consists of a single game. I'm not here trying to justify every single one of my top 25 staying in the top 25 week-to-week; that's just lame. And it's not the point of what I want to accomplish when doing these rankings. Feel free to look at last week or earlier renditions if you need further insight, but essentially this is strictly-resume (hence there being several teams lower or even unranked compared to the AP or Coaches' Polls) with some boost given to G5 schools overperforming. In addition, I do my best to completely rebuild this poll from scratch as to minimize poll inertia and promote fluidity in my rankings as needed. NOTE: I am attempting to do something a little more comprehensive with my individual team reasonings by adding both current records on a team's schedule and then said team's ESPN-based SOR. This may be reverted or altered in future weeks. FCS team ranks are their placements in the weekly STATS Poll. | HONORABLE MENTIONS/NEXT 10 OUT: SMU Mustangs [7-3, 5-1 ACC], Navy Midshipmen [8-2, 6-1 American], Tennessee Volunteers [7-3, 3-3 SEC], Arizona Wildcats [7-3, 4-3 Big 12], Missouri Tigers [7-3, 3-3 SEC], Louisville Cardinals [7-3, 4-3 ACC], Cincinnati Bearcats [7-3, 5-2 Big 12], Washington Huskies [7-3, 4-3 B1G], San Diego State Aztecs [8-2, 5-1 MWC], Western Kentucky Hilltoppers [8-2, 5-1 CUSA] | DROPPING OUT: #17 Louisville Cardinals [7-3, 4-3 ACC], #21 Cincinnati Bearcats [7-3, 5-2 Big 12], #22 Pittsburgh Panthers [7-3, 5-1 ACC], #25 South Florida Bulls [7-3, 4-2 American] || PRESEASON POLL: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/65801/ | WEEK 2: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/66202/ | WEEK 3: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/66437/ | WEEK 4: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/67064/ | WEEK 5: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/67721/ | WEEK 6: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/68281/ | WEEK 7: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/68792/ | WEEK 8: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/69352/ | WEEK 9: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/69911/ | WEEK 10: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/70249/ | WEEK 11: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/70942/ | WEEK 12/LAST WEEK: https://poll.redditcfb.com/ballot/71383/
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
(-) |
| 2 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
(-) |
| 3 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
(-) |
| 4 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
(+2) |
| 5 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
(-) |
| 6 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
(+1) |
| 7 |
Oregon Ducks
|
(+1) |
| 8 |
BYU Cougars
|
(+1) |
| 9 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
(+5) |
| 10 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
(-6) |
| 11 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
(-1) |
| 12 |
Utah Utes
|
(+3) |
| 13 |
USC Trojans
|
(-) |
| 14 |
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
|
(-3) |
| 15 |
Vanderbilt Commodores
|
(+1) |
| 16 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
(+2) |
| 17 |
Texas Longhorns
|
(-5) |
| 18 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
(+1) |
| 19 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
(+1) |
| 20 |
James Madison Dukes
|
(+3) |
| 21 |
Houston Cougars
|
(+3) |
| 22 |
North Texas Mean Green
|
(NEW) |
| 23 |
Tulane Green Wave
|
(NEW) |
| 24 |
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
(NEW) |
| 25 |
Arizona State Sun Devils
|
(NEW) |
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 2 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 3 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.00 |
| 8 |
BYU Cougars
|
0.05 |
| 9 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
Utah Utes
|
0.00 |
| 13 |
USC Trojans
|
0.00 |
| 14 |
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
|
0.00 |
| 15 |
Vanderbilt Commodores
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 17 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.14 |
| 18 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
0.00 |
| 19 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
-0.03 |
| 20 |
James Madison Dukes
|
0.00 |
| 21 |
Houston Cougars
|
0.25 |
| 22 |
North Texas Mean Green
|
0.00 |
| 23 |
Tulane Green Wave
|
0.00 |
| 24 |
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
0.00 |
| 25 |
Arizona State Sun Devils
|
0.00 |