Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 8, 2026, 8:27 a.m.

Overall Rationale: It's still early, so a lot of erratic movement should be expected. Poll inertia is impossible to avoid mentally, I think, but I'll do my best. I value returning talent, especially QB and the trenches, a lot this early in the season. Given that very few teams played meaningful games in Week 1, there won't be much shuffling outside of those few teams. I do, however, regret not ranking Michigan in my initial preseason poll because it has robbed me of the wonderful feeling I would have had in dropping them out. Oh well.

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2	LSU Tigers
3	Miami Hurricanes
4	Georgia Bulldogs
5	Ohio State Buckeyes
6	Indiana Hoosiers
7	Oregon Ducks
8	Texas A&M Aggies
9	USC Trojans
10	Ole Miss Rebels
11	BYU Cougars
12	Oklahoma Sooners
13	Texas Longhorns
14	Alabama Crimson Tide
15	Texas Tech Red Raiders
16	Louisville Cardinals
17	Washington Huskies
18	Virginia Cavaliers
19	Penn State Nittany Lions
20	Utah Utes
21	SMU Mustangs
22	Boise State Broncos
23	Houston Cougars
24	Navy Midshipmen
25	UMass Minutemen	Throwing them a bone because what else am I gonna do? Rank Mizzou or Iowa? Let them Minutemen have their 15 minutes. Congrats on the W.

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.56
2	LSU Tigers	0.43
3	Miami Hurricanes	0.00
4	Georgia Bulldogs	0.00
5	Ohio State Buckeyes	0.00
6	Indiana Hoosiers	0.00
7	Oregon Ducks	0.00
8	Texas A&M Aggies	0.32
9	USC Trojans	0.25
10	Ole Miss Rebels	0.00
11	BYU Cougars	0.32
12	Oklahoma Sooners	0.00
13	Texas Longhorns	-0.86
14	Alabama Crimson Tide	0.00
15	Texas Tech Red Raiders	0.00
16	Louisville Cardinals	1.87
17	Washington Huskies	0.26
18	Virginia Cavaliers	0.00
19	Penn State Nittany Lions	0.00
20	Utah Utes	0.00
21	SMU Mustangs	0.00
22	Boise State Broncos	0.47
23	Houston Cougars	0.00
24	Navy Midshipmen	1.03
25	UMass Minutemen	0.00

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
Tennessee Volunteers	0.86
Iowa Hawkeyes	0.69

Total Score: 7.92