Ballot Type: Hybrid

Submitted: Jan. 20, 2026, 6:25 p.m.

Overall Rationale: These are the teams I believe were the best in college football as of the end of the 2025-26 season, in terms of underlying strength. In general, I would expect any given team to win more than 50% of the time on a neutral field against all the teams ranked below it. I start with an average of predictive computer models and make subjective adjustments as necessary.

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Indiana Hoosiers
2	Ohio State Buckeyes
3	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
4	Oregon Ducks
5	Miami Hurricanes
6	Texas Tech Red Raiders
7	Georgia Bulldogs
8	Utah Utes
9	Ole Miss Rebels
10	Texas A&M Aggies
11	Alabama Crimson Tide
12	Texas Longhorns
13	Iowa Hawkeyes
14	Penn State Nittany Lions
15	Vanderbilt Commodores
16	USC Trojans
17	Oklahoma Sooners
18	Washington Huskies
19	BYU Cougars
20	Michigan Wolverines
21	Tennessee Volunteers
22	Missouri Tigers
23	SMU Mustangs
24	LSU Tigers
25	Clemson Tigers

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Indiana Hoosiers	0.00
2	Ohio State Buckeyes	1.29
3	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	1.62
4	Oregon Ducks	0.00
5	Miami Hurricanes	-1.89
6	Texas Tech Red Raiders	0.00
7	Georgia Bulldogs	-0.40
8	Utah Utes	1.28
9	Ole Miss Rebels	-2.92
10	Texas A&M Aggies	0.00
11	Alabama Crimson Tide	0.00
12	Texas Longhorns	0.00
13	Iowa Hawkeyes	0.90
14	Penn State Nittany Lions	11.14
15	Vanderbilt Commodores	0.00
16	USC Trojans	0.76
17	Oklahoma Sooners	-0.86
18	Washington Huskies	3.23
19	BYU Cougars	-2.56
20	Michigan Wolverines	0.04
21	Tennessee Volunteers	4.00
22	Missouri Tigers	3.11
23	SMU Mustangs	0.86
24	LSU Tigers	1.24
25	Clemson Tigers	0.25

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
Virginia Cavaliers	1.89
James Madison Dukes	1.20
Tulane Green Wave	1.18
North Texas Mean Green	0.42
Houston Cougars	0.64
Navy Midshipmen	0.41
TCU Horned Frogs	0.03

Total Score: 44.12