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LightningDusty Ballot for 2025 Week 15

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 29, 2025, 11:18 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Casual Fan Takes and Resumé

Rank Team Reason
1 Indiana Hoosiers = The ultimate clash for B1G supremacy is coming. PLEASE live up to the hype! I and everyone else in CFB aside from OSU and Purdue fans will be devastated if you get blown out.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes = Michigan defending their logo after the game is objectively hilarious. Got the Wolverine monkey off your back. I have a feeling we might be looking at back to back national championships for the Buckeyes...
3 Georgia Bulldogs ↑1 It was ugly and sloppy, but you swatted away Georgia Tech and got a ticket punched to Atlanta courtesy of Texas. A rematch against that one team you can never seem to beat awaits. Please lose to Alabama again. It'd make me happy.
4 Texas Tech Red Raiders ↑1 No more mountains to climb in these parts. The overwhelming Big 12 favorite, and for good reason.
5 Ole Miss Rebels ↑1 He more than likely gone. Sorry, Ole Miss. Don't look at us! We're probably hiring Billy Napier 2.0! Point your anger firmly at those meddling Tigahs!
6 Oregon Ducks ↑1 Grilled Fisch and will host a playoff game. Oregon might just be the biggest threat in the playoff if they can put everything together for this final stretch. I feel like everyone acknowledges they're a great team, but doesn't consider them national title material.
7 Texas A&M Aggies ↓4 Battered Aggie Syndrome. The loss to Texas peeled away that impressive undefeated record and made me open my eyes. Aside from Notre Dame, Texas A&M has nothing impressive on their resumé. I wouldn't be surprised to see them booted out of the playoff in the first round.
8 BYU Cougars = Unless they get completely eviscerated by Texas Tech, BYU should be in the playoff. They have quality SOR and SOS. Lots of wins over bowl eligible teams, too, which does matter.
9 Oklahoma Sooners = Ugly win against LSU. You're not going far with that sluggish offense.
10 Alabama Crimson Tide = Curious to see how they handle Georgia in a rematch. They can beat anyone at their best, but also frequently play down to competition.
11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish = We'll soon see how far you've truly come since the beginning of the season. A bombastic mirage covered up by your mostly soft schedule? A true rounding into form befitting a legitimate contender? The whole country is eager to see.
12 Vanderbilt Commodores ↑2 EVERYBODY COME ON!!!!!!!!! 👑🕶🦯
13 Miami Hurricanes ↑2 You may have the head to head win over Notre Dame, but everything else is working against you. Weaker SOR, SOS, and the ACC being pitiful. I'd probably have you as the second or third team out right now.
14 Utah Utes ↓2 I've been advocating for Utah for weeks now, but no longer can I do so. Your claim to fame was smashing everyone on your schedule not named BYU and Texas Tech. Without that flash, you simply lack the resumé to get in. Those performances against the Kansas schools didn't inspire a ton of confidence.
15 Virginia Cavaliers ↑1 Beat Duke and you're in. Lose and your entire conference catches fire because the ACC could legitimately miss the playoff entirely if that happens. The choice is yours, my orange and blue brothers.
16 Texas Longhorns ↑5 By far the best three loss team in the nation, but there's too much stiff competition for those at-large bids this year. That Florida loss really killed you. The overtime scares against poor Kentucky and Mississippi State teams don't help. Neither does the belt to ass whooping Georgia gave you. Cautionary tale of a team that can beat anyone at their best, but doesn't reach that peak anywhere near consistently enough. Maybe next year? Arch did show some admirable progress throughout the season.
17 North Texas Mean Green ↑1 Your SOS is really, really, REALLY leaving a lot to be desired, but your SOR is surprisingly good. 11-1 is also 11-1 at the end of the day. Gonna come down to you and Tulane for that coveted G6 playoff slot. Unless...
18 James Madison Dukes ↑1 Adorn blue devil horns NOW! You must become bigger Duke fans than the actual Duke fans. Embrace COASTAL CHAOS!!! Also don't forget to win the Sun Belt Championship because that's kinda sorta still important.
19 USC Trojans ↑1 Sort of a "what if" season for USC. Change the result of that Illinois game and you MIGHT be in the playoff. Lincoln Riley is such a strange coach. He's shown elite ability before with Oklahoma, but that hasn't exactly translated to USC. Next year is pivotal.
20 Michigan Wolverines ↓7 Now I feel embarrassed for ranking you above Vandy and Miami. I thought you might just pull a funny again, but you're more interested in guarding some painted turf than extending the streak to five. Get outta here!
21 Arizona Wildcats ↑3 Arizona has survived the Fisch migration and returned as strong as ever after vanquishing the ketchup and mustard devils of the Sun. Hope you get to play in a fun bowl game!
22 Tulane Green Wave ↑3 Tulane might end up having beaten the ACC champion. That is pure comedy. I don't want your coach. No thanks. Keep him or send him to Auburn. I can't handle another potential Billy Napier. None of us can. It'd be as bad as a theoretical category six hurricane hitting Gainesville.
23 Navy Midshipmen ↑NR 🤏 CLOSE but no cigar! Hey, at least ya still got the Army game. That will always be a beloved football classic.
24 Iowa Hawkeyes ↑NR Nobody really deserves the #24 and #25 spots in the rankings, so I just went with my gut. Iowa is probably the best four loss team in the nation? Regardless, Kirk Ferentz is like McDonald's fries. He never breaks down or goes bad. 27 seasons at Iowa and he can still bring the Hawkeyes to a decent record. It's honestly extremely impressive. The longevity is very admirable.
25 Duke Blue Devils ↑NR COASTAL CHAOS!!! DUKE HOLDS ALL THE POWER!!! SHOULD THEY BE RANKED??? BY ALMOST EVERY METRIC NO!!! BUT THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO CRUSH ALL NARRATIVES!!! THEY CAN GET TWO, COUNT EM TWO, G6 TEAMS INTO THE CFP!!! MANNY DIAZ CAN DO THE ULTRA FUNNY AND WIN THE ACC WITH DUKE WHILE HAVING NEVER EVEN SNIFFED IT WITH MIAMI!!! DUKE COULD CHANGE COLLEGE FOOTBALL FOREVER!!! CHERISH AND EMBRACE THEM!!! 8-5 ACC CHAMPION DUKE!!!

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