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SufferingfOrLife Ballot for 2026 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 9, 2026, 9:56 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Welp, my preseason rankings look a bit off now. You know, I knew Georgia Tech wasn't going to be as good as last year, but I just had a bit of faith. It was pretty foolish. Michigan everyone knows what happened there. And that doesn't even get to me having TCU and Ok State as teams I "considered". Why was I lying? I did not. And it wasn't like people would be angry at my random ballot for having them outside of the teams in the ranking. I mean, I put Iowa nowhere near my rankings, so why did I put those other teams in it? So yeah, pretty dumb on my part there, but you know what, CFB is back; no need to dwell too much on the past.

Teams I dropped:
#14 Michigan: We all saw why they dropped
#18 Washington: Main concern coming into the year was the running game and losing the offensive coordinator, and early signs are concerning. I like the defense, but for now they drop out
#21 Auburn: Really wanted to keep them in, but I watched that game and couldn't do it. Maybe they turn it around the next few weeks to climb back into it
#25 Georgia Tech: This was just pure bias on my part; probably shouldn't have been close to being in, so this is just an obvious drop-out

Teams new to the poll:
#15 Virginia
#21 Missouri
#22 Tennessee
#23 Boise State


Also, my apologies for not having much analysis. I mean, I did this to myself, trying to write more, but I'm not going to lie and say I watched even more than 5 minutes of BYU or Texas Tech or whatever team faced an FCS opponent unless I say it. So if you were really looking forward to this, I don't know why, but sorry. I'll mark the teams I didn't watch.




Rank Team Reason
1 Oregon Ducks —

Result: (W) 34-27 Boise State

I know it is stupid to still have Oregon rated number one... yeah, I don't have too much of a defense; I just think that this team is the most talented, and I'm not going to make a radical change and drop them just because they struggled against the favorite in the G6 while the rest of my top 7ish played cupcakes. Now, if we look back on this and they have a Penn State or Clemson-like season from last year, well then I'll just look dumb, but if they are the undefeated national champions, I'll be proven right. Maybe not a good reason for most, but who cares? I'm going to be wrong a lot; might as well stick with what I believe and be confidently wrong. Again, not rational since I'm about to gush about all the teams under them, but oh well, I've made my bed, and I'm going to lie in it.
2 Texas Longhorns —

Result: (W) 59-7 Texas State

Didn't watch back half of this game, and it will be the same for other cupcake games. From what I did see, Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers look like they'll be one of the best RB duos in the country, and the defense took care of business.
3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish —

Result: (W) 41-13 Wisconsin

A bit of a struggle to start the game, but the defense is great; offense was able to score 28 in the second half. Would like to see the run game and how it improves throughout the year because it is impossible to try and replace two first-round running backs, but I think if they can just have an okay run game, the defense has so much talent they can
4 Ohio State Buckeyes —

Result: (W) 56-3 Ball State

Did not watch this game.
5 Georgia Bulldogs —

Result: (W) 63-3 Tennessee State

Did not watch this game.
6 Indiana Hoosiers —

Result: (W) 52-16 North Texas

Honestly, a little disappointed, which is funny to say after a 36-point win, but felt that the defense wasn't as good as you would hope, and the run game was a bit inconsistent. Josh Hoover played great, though he's a Heisman candidate for sure.
7 Miami Hurricanes —

Result: (W) 45-6 Stanford

Darian Mensah to Malachi Toney is peak; that is all.
8 LSU Tigers ↑3

Result: (W) 51-10 Clemson

I knew this team was good; they had the talent everywhere but needed to just see it once on the field, and yeah, I think they made a statement. I think you can say a lot about Lane Kiffin as a person and, well, even as a coach, but he has shown that in the portal era he can accumulate talent and put together a good team.
9 USC Trojans ↓1

Result: (W) 39-0 Fresno State & 42-26 San Jose State

Played two games and looked way better in Week 1 than in Week 0. Now, is it because SJSU is a dominant offensive force that could only be stopped for so long? Some are saying that. But in all seriousness, Fresno State was going to see a more prepared defense that wasn't going to slow down in the second half, and it also didn't help that the QB, Jayden Mandal, sucks. USC is just working on themselves and improving until the Oregon game in Week 4.
10 Texas Tech Red Raiders ↓1

Result: (W) 33-10 Abilene Christian

Did not watch this game.
11 Ole Miss Rebels ↓1

Result: (W) 41-38 (25)Louisville

Always going to be entertained watching this team, but how will this defense look the rest of the year, and will it have to be a shootout for most of their games?
12 Texas A&M Aggies —

Result: (W) 50-0 Missouri State

Did not watch this game.
13 Oklahoma Sooners —

Result: (W) 51-0 UTEP

Did not watch this game.
14 Alabama Crimson Tide ↑1

Result: (W) 48-10 East Carolina

The run game looked better than at any point it did last year, so that's a positive, and then Keelon Russell just adds another dimension to this offense; he is superbly talented.
15 Virginia Cavaliers NEW

Result: (W) 34-8 NC State

I am 100% overreacting to a Week 0 game, but damnit better late than never to be all in on them. I didn't even watch this game live; I went back and watched a replay of it, and my goodness, it was amazing. I just love a team that can run the ball; it's just my blind spot in rankings. If you have multiple running backs that I like, or just a good run game in general like this Virginia team, I'll like you more than consensus. It's been my theme in these rankings, or at least partially. Virginia also has a light schedule; I see them being really good again, and who knows, they can easily find their way back into the ACC championship game.
16 SMU Mustangs —

Result: (W) 27-24 Florida State

I'm going to be honest, I probably would have dropped them a spot or two if this game was played on a Saturday and I had more time to digest it, but I also think that they still played well. That is a loose interpretation of "well", since they committed so many self-inflicted errors and still were able to pull out the win. That's mainly due in part to playing a Florida State team that would fire their coach in a heartbeat if it were even a smidge more affordable. SMU is still good, though just got to play cleaner football, and I think they are easily a top contender in the ACC and can challenge the likes of Miami, Louisville, and Virginia (Yes, I am high on Virginia).
17 Houston Cougars —

Result: (W) 33-20 Oregon State

Thought it was a good game, but concerned about this pass defense. I know Oregon State had a talented FCS transfer come in, and he's phenomenal, but still would like for Houston to not be struggling this much.
18 Penn State Nittany Lions ↑4

Result: (W) 45-0 Marshall

I don't think this win warranted a 4-spot jump, but I don't know; this game just eased a lot of my worries I had with this team, and maybe it's because it's a G6 school and not like an FCS school. Who knows, but I liked what I saw, and everyone knows Penn State has an easy schedule, so if they can just roll with momentum, they are lined up for a very successful season.
19 BYU Cougars —

Result: (W) 63-7 Utah Tech

Did not watch this game.
20 Utah Utes —

Result: (W) 66-14 Idaho

A lot of depth on the offensive side of the ball, although the defense left some things to be desired.
21 Missouri Tigers NEW

Result: (W) 54-14 Arkansas-Pine Bluff

I'm excited to see this offense add Ahmad Hardy because I already like what I see from Austin Simmons.
22 Tennessee Volunteers NEW

Result: (W) 56-9 Furman

Faizon Brandon looked good, and I like Mike Matthews.
23 Boise State Broncos NEW

Result: (L) 27-34 Oregon

I have to rank them if I am going to keep Oregon at number one, or I just look like an idiot. I think Boise is clearly the best team in G6, and it does feel weird to rank a team after a loss, but they deserve it.
24 Arizona Wildcats —

Result: (W) 35-7 Northern Arizona

The final score is closer than I wish it was, cause all these other teams blew out their FCS teams by more than 28, but it's okay because I'll just be wrong about Arizona and it'll be alright. This is actually one of the few cupcake games I watched, so I think I can say more about it, but really it was just Arizona going up 21 in the first half and then doing nothing else.
25 Louisville Cardinals ↓2

Result: (L) 38-41 Ole Miss

Only team in my top 25 with a loss, and I kind of knew that they were going to lose Week 1 against Ole Miss, so I didn't want to just drop them immediately, and I think they gave me more of a reason not to with how well they played and it coming down to the wire. Kienholz really improved as the game went on, and I think that they will improve as the season goes on and he gets more experience.

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