Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 8, 2026, 8:53 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Early season rankings are based largely on expected results versus other ranked teams, and as the season goes leans more heavily on results. By the end of the season, rankings are based entirely on resume. I lean heavily into head to head results and results against common opponents. I also sort teams into 6 tiers based on championship/playoff likelihood. Tier 1: Championship Frontrunners who are highly likely to make the playoffs, Tier 2: Playoff Teams who could conceivably win the championship but are behind Tier 1, Tier 3: Playoff Possibilities who are unlikely to compete for a championship, Tier 4: Teams with an outside shot at making the playoffs, Tier 5: Teams that can't make the playoffs except for winning conference or unprecedented chaos Tier 6: Teams that are eliminated from playoff contention. Tiers 5 and 6 don't enter into the top 25 until very late in the year.

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Ohio State Buckeyes
2	Georgia Bulldogs
3	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
4	Texas Longhorns
5	Oklahoma Sooners
6	Indiana Hoosiers
7	Miami Hurricanes
8	Oregon Ducks	Don't quite know how good Boise State is yet. A one score win against them might end up looking good or bad.
9	Texas A&M Aggies
10	LSU Tigers
11	Alabama Crimson Tide
12	Ole Miss Rebels	I have a fairly high opinion of Louisville as of now, so a good win.
13	BYU Cougars
14	Penn State Nittany Lions
15	Tennessee Volunteers
16	Texas Tech Red Raiders
17	SMU Mustangs
18	USC Trojans
19	Washington Huskies
20	Iowa Hawkeyes
21	Utah Utes
22	Missouri Tigers
23	South Carolina Gamecocks
24	Pittsburgh Panthers
25	Louisville Cardinals	Going on the road and losing to the #12 team by a late FG shouldn't hurt you too much.

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Ohio State Buckeyes	0.00
2	Georgia Bulldogs	0.17
3	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.00
4	Texas Longhorns	0.00
5	Oklahoma Sooners	1.04
6	Indiana Hoosiers	0.00
7	Miami Hurricanes	0.00
8	Oregon Ducks	0.00
9	Texas A&M Aggies	0.06
10	LSU Tigers	0.00
11	Alabama Crimson Tide	0.00
12	Ole Miss Rebels	0.00
13	BYU Cougars	0.00
14	Penn State Nittany Lions	0.20
15	Tennessee Volunteers	0.38
16	Texas Tech Red Raiders	0.00
17	SMU Mustangs	0.00
18	USC Trojans	-0.32
19	Washington Huskies	0.00
20	Iowa Hawkeyes	0.00
21	Utah Utes	0.00
22	Missouri Tigers	0.50
23	South Carolina Gamecocks	0.00
24	Pittsburgh Panthers	0.24
25	Louisville Cardinals	0.00

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
Virginia Cavaliers	0.20
Houston Cougars	0.31

Total Score: 3.43