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Charlemagne42 Ballot for 2026 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 13, 2026, 12:06 a.m.

Overall Rationale: As usual, my preseason ballot and my first few weeks of the season will all be 100% all-natural vegetable-free human input. My computer considers only data from the current season, in order to make the fairest judgment of all teams as they are this season. No lingering expectations based on missing QB thumbs keeping Oklahoma down, no lingering expectations of Fernando Mendoza discovering football nirvana floating Indiana *up*. As the computer model gathers data, I will start replacing my input with its input gradually, transitioning through "cyborg" mode for a few more weeks until the Singularity occurs and the computer is completely in charge. This year I'm hoping to have enough time to upgrade my automated data ingestion. I've been using CFBD for CSVs, but I've been experimenting for a while with the API and have built half a workflow on CFBD's in-season endpoints. Shoutout to u/BlueSCar for running the best-in-class CFB API. Lastly, as usual my preseason ballot is aimed at predicting the *end* of the season. It will include some takes that look silly in retrospect, and some takes that look silly contemporaneously. Hopefully it also includes some takes that look prescient. You just never know!

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs It stung to lose the WLOCP, but great teams grow from failure. And oh boy, did Georgia grow. At season's end they had accumulated 3 wins over playoff teams and a fourth ranked win, plus a conference title. It was just enough to edge out Ohio State in the committee's eyes.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes The midseason loss to Indiana made perfect sense. Until Indiana started losing. Still, four ranked wins and a conference title place Ohio State at #2 in the final playoff rankings.
3 Oregon Ducks The Ducks' only blemish is a close loss to Ohio State, which keeps them out of the Big Ten title game. Turns out to probably be for the best, since they capped off the unquestioned best at-large resume in CFB with a brace of ranked wins. Can't take a dive on a title game loss if you don't play in one.
4 Miami Hurricanes It was looking like a perfect season - until a revenge game for Notre Dame caught the Hurricanes napping. Still, they rallied and ripped off four more wins, inclusive of the ACC title game.
5 Penn State Nittany Lions The Nittany Lions get rolling early, and travel to Ann Arbor 6-0. Michigan gives them all they've got, but Penn State prevails. After the bye week, they really get rolling, ending the regular season as the only undefeated team and the unquestioned #1. However, a Big Ten title game spanking by Ohio State moves Penn State down and the Buckeyes up.
6 Oklahoma Sooners A disappointing early loss to Georgia sparks a rally, and the back half of the schedule turns out to not have more Georgia on it. Until it does. Oklahoma loses to Georgia in the SEC title game, in overtime. They'll face West Virginia - or maybe a very lucky G6 champ - in the first round, then Oregon in the second. Atop the mountain waits Georgia.
7 LSU Tigers Lane Kiffin does it again. He positions his new team expertly at 10-2, with no risk of a SEC championship loss to knock them out. He's seeded perfectly at #7, guaranteeing he won't see #1 until the final, and gets to play his first-round game against seed #10, which is looking to be the last team in. Surely it'll be Notre Dame or one of the lower-ranked conference champs. It couldn't be a team LSU lost to en route to get here. Definitely not Alabama. Nope.
8 Florida Gators It wasn't enough to beat Georgia. It wasn't enough to beat FSU. The committee said, show us again, and put you right back up against FSU, winner plays Georgia.
9 Florida State Seminoles Loses to both ACCCG participants, which turns out to be a winning stratagem. Just... maybe don't let rumors fly of your QB getting hurt.
10 Alabama Crimson Tide Miraculously, 8-4 Alabama is the last team in the playoff despite an embarrassing Iron Bowl loss to a 4-win Auburn who had fired not only first-year HC Golesh, but also the interim HC they named to ride out the season. To the interim interim HC of the Auburn Tigers on November 28th, congratulations on the full-time role. We'll see you back on the carousel in 2027.
11 Texas A&M Aggies Dread it. Run from it. 8-4 is Tradition (TM) now. Will be 8-2 mid-November. 6-1 after the midseason FCS cupcake. Doesn't matter. 8-4. First team out of playoffs. Worth noting the committee was, for once, consistent in applying head to head, since Alabama beat them fair and square. Still finished ahead of 10-2 Texas Tech though, so at least you can laugh at someone else, too.
12 Washington Huskies Sends Indiana into a late-season tailspin, and jumps briefly into playoff at-large range before Oregon pulls them down to earth. Started 7-0 though, so clearly something's working.
13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Now that Notre Dame is guaranteed a playoff spot if ranked in the final top 12, they'll be ranked 13.
14 Texas Tech Red Raiders Loses two games, which is collusion. You can't do that. So have fun with that. Misses the CCG on tiebreakers, and finishes with just two ranked wins against two unranked losses late in the season.
15 Michigan Wolverines Can't quite seem to build momentum, understandably, against the hardest schedule in CFB. Still finishes with two ranked wins.
16 Virginia Cavaliers Drops the Commonwealth Cup to sour an otherwise sweet season, ending their dark-horse campaign for an at-large bid.
17 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Surprise team of the year rides an easy schedule - and a little luck - to their best finish since '69. No, the *other* one.
18 Vanderbilt Commodores On a schedule with three non-FBS opponents... oh wait, sorry, Delaware moved up and Kentucky apparently has a football team? Anyway, they'll beat Bama again and get left far outside the playoff for being so uppity.
19 West Virginia Mountaineers Makes the Big 12 championship game on a crazy four-way tiebreaker with Tech, Utah, and another team that isn't even ranked. Shocks Utah to finish as 10-3 Big 12 champ.
20 Indiana Hoosiers Not quite a return to form for Indiana. Either form.
21 Louisville Cardinals ACCCG appearance, falls short of glory.
22 Utah Utes Starts 10-1. Loses in back-to-back weeks to West Virginia and misses yet another playoff shot.
23 Texas Longhorns A strong team, felled by just a few well-placed losses on a schedule that, by the end of the season, will be revealed as truly grueling.
24 Mississippi State Bulldogs Finally beats Lane Kiffin by upsetting LSU. Still can't beat Ole Miss.
25 South Carolina Gamecocks Beats Mississippi State week 3. Still ends the final poll ranked directly behind them.

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