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EpicSchwinn Ballot for 2026 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 12, 2026, 6:48 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Mostly vibe based, especially with this being a preseason. Relatively fresh slate from last season, but I don’t think you can totally ignore the context of the previous season.

Rank Team Reason
1 Ohio State Buckeyes Just…see you in November for the Michigan game and again in January. We know the deal.
2 Texas Longhorns This team gives me a 2012 USC vibe, but I have nothing to back that up with other than just the vibe. They’re stacked everywhere. This is it.
3 Oregon Ducks
4 Georgia Bulldogs
5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Another see you in January. CJ Carr is gonna be a video game.
6 Miami Hurricanes
7 Indiana Hoosiers I have some slight reservations on the roster overhaul that’s going down, primarily the loss of the glue that was all of those elder upperclassmen that followed Cig from JMU. But, they just win all the time. Torn on this one.
8 Texas A&M Aggies
9 LSU Tigers They’re inevitably gonna have some nail biters and lose a game or two, this isn’t their final form. My question is will Kiffin withstand a powderkeg made of Cafe du Monde powdered sugar.
10 Texas Tech Red Raiders
11 Michigan Wolverines Maybe high, but I think Whittingham is the best hire of the cycle. They’re gonna smack dudes. And the DC hire was an extraordinary coup. Love this staff and see a lot of good things on the horizon.
12 Alabama Crimson Tide I think the new QB concerns are overblown, but I’m also concerned about their ability to roster last decade’s levels of talent in this era. I don’t think the boosters are quite there yet, and this year will go a long way and figuring out if their roster building strategy and DeBoer mesh.
13 USC Trojans
14 Ole Miss Rebels
15 Oklahoma Sooners Super-Iowa. Unfortunately they do probably have the talent to win 10 games only scoring 10 points. If they get to 20 points a game, this is a squad. If not, I look forward to some glorious sicko ball.
16 BYU Cougars Defense has DUDES, but lost their DC. If they kept the whole band together I think they’d be higher and would have a legit shot at Tech this year. If they still have that juice, I think we’ll see them in the conversation in November.
17 SMU Mustangs To me they lead the “who will play Miami in December” standings. But it’s a tight race and a lot of it will depend on keeping that dynamic playmaking ability they had in 24.
18 Houston Cougars My Big 12 dark horse. The Fritz schedule is exactly on schedule and they have the money to back it up. Their game against Tech will be a top 20 game this season.
19 Utah Utes I have some reservations on Scalley but I really hope they prove me wrong. Also, who is going to protect Devon Dampier? If they have an answer for that I think Dampier is going to dazzle.
20 Clemson Tigers You already know the take here. We’ll…uh, we’ll see what happens.
21 Penn State Nittany Lions Iowa State with more money? It’s gonna work. Well, I said the same thing about Luke Fickell. But Im feeling good and think they should rise from here.
22 Louisville Cardinals ACC dark horse. Roster is building up well and the Ole Miss game is gonna be fantastic.
23 Iowa Hawkeyes You already know.
24 Illinois Fighting Illini
25 Tennessee Volunteers Lot of talent but so many question marks. QB, first year with Knowles. I just really need Tennessee fans to be patient and let this team grow. The schedule is a meat grinder and there’s a lot of fresh meat. But on the other side is a delicious hamburger powered by a money cannon.

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