Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Sept. 8, 2026, 12:14 a.m.
Overall Rationale: The preseason poll is completely out the window. Went with the teams I thought performed the best in Week 1, combined with their overall roster strength and coaching ability to make it not weird. Also, Western Michigan defeated Michigan 12-7 on September 5th, 2026.
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney are unbelievable talents. My current national championship favorite until proven otherwise. |
| 2 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
Miami and Ohio State are more like 1a and 1b right now. Jeremiah Smith is still the best receiver in college football, Julian Sayin still looks awesome, Arthur Smith's offense got better as the game went along, and a name to remember: Legend Bey. |
| 3 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
Oh yeah |
| 4 |
Texas Longhorns
|
Looked pretty good. Now we find out what they're made of this week. They're coming. Pause. |
| 5 |
LSU Tigers
|
I've seen actual gore on the internet that was less violent than what Sam Leavitt and LSU did to Clemson on Saturday night. |
| 6 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
More touchdowns than incompletions is a good start for Josh Hoover. They gotta keep it up. |
| 7 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
Started off slow against Wisconsin, but they pulled away in the second half like we all expected them to. I still anticipate them being undefeated when they face Miami. |
| 8 |
Oregon Ducks
|
That was a close one, but Boise State is a good team. I'm not worried. Yet. |
| 9 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
Trinidad Chambliss is still awesome. Sunday night was a battle between two great teams and Ole Miss showed they're just a little greater. Hoping Kewan Lacy is alright. |
| 10 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
Just your average blowout win over a highly overmatched opponent, nothing really to talk about. |
| 11 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
Same here |
| 12 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
Same here, but Keelon Russell looked pretty good |
| 13 |
BYU Cougars
|
Same here |
| 14 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
Despite the loss, that game forced me to completely reevaluate my position on Louisville. Lincoln Kienholz was really unlocked late in the game and looked awesome, and so did Tre Richardson. I think this team could seriously threaten Miami. |
| 15 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
Only a 23-point win over Abilene Christian, but I'm not worried. Will Hammond is still coming off a major injury and the team is still trying to figure things out. |
| 16 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
So far, it looks like James Franklin was holding this team back from their true potential. That's scary. You know what else is scary? Koby Howard. |
| 17 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
Faizon Brandon killed it in his first start. Love the potential of this team. |
| 18 |
Florida Gators
|
Jadan Baugh. Yes, Aaron Philo looked pretty good, and VB3 was awesome, but... Jadan Baugh. |
| 19 |
UMass Minutemen
|
I usually don't impulse rank teams based on one result, but UMass walked into Piscataway and looked like Ohio State against a team with (allegedly) many more resources than them. And Pop Watson might be one of them ones, man. I like this team. |
| 20 |
USC Trojans
|
Gary Patterson is doing his job pretty well. Let's see where they go from here. |
| 21 |
Washington Huskies
|
24-10 against Wazzu... and they didn't look great doing it... but again, I'm not worried quite yet. |
| 22 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
Mason. Heintschel. Holy cow man. |
| 23 |
Arizona State Sun Devils
|
SEVENTY BOMB and Cutter Boley threw for six touchdowns. Yeah it was Morgan State but woah man. |
| 24 |
Virginia Tech Hokies
|
James, you can't get mad at getting a penalty for high fiving a military member when you put up 73 on the Virginia Military Institute |
| 25 |
UCLA Bruins
|
I like Cal, and I think they're a sneaky good team, and I think UCLA is better than them... but all of that could be very wrong. For now, I'm landing here. |
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.56 |
| 2 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 3 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.00 |
| 8 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 13 |
BYU Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 14 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
2.54 |
| 15 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
0.00 |
| 17 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
0.00 |
| 18 |
Florida Gators
|
1.57 |
| 19 |
UMass Minutemen
|
5.84 |
| 20 |
USC Trojans
|
-0.78 |
| 21 |
Washington Huskies
|
0.00 |
| 22 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
1.87 |
| 23 |
Arizona State Sun Devils
|
1.59 |
| 24 |
Virginia Tech Hokies
|
0.00 |
| 25 |
UCLA Bruins
|
0.00 |
Omissions:
| Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|
SMU Mustangs
|
0.68 |
Utah Utes
|
0.66 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.69 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
0.20 |
Houston Cougars
|
0.31 |
Total Score: 17.29