Ballot Type: Computer
Submitted: Sept. 8, 2026, 1:18 p.m.
Overall Rationale: '''
TERR-Q (Transitive Extrapolated Round Robin Quicksort):
1) Construct a simulated round robin amongst all FBS teams
2) For each simulated "game", if Team A has beaten Team B more times than Team B has beaten Team A, Team A records a simulated "win" and Team B records a simulated "loss". If Team A has not played Team B or they have played twice and split their games, we look at first-layer transitive wins: i.e. we look at the number of teams x such that Team A has beaten x where x has beaten Team B and we look at the number of teams y such that Team B has beaten y where y has beaten Team A. The simulated "win" goes to Team A if |x| > |y| and Team B if |x| < |y|. If |x| = |y|, we look at second-layer transitive wins: i.e. we look at the number of chains x,x' and y,y' such that Team A > x > x' > Team B and Team B > y > y' > Team A. If |(x,x')| > |(y,y')|, Team A records the simulated "win". If |(x,x')| < |(y,y')|, Team B records the simulated "win". If |(x,x')| = |(y,y')|, we move onto third-layer transitive wins. We continue this process until either Team A or Team B has recorded a simulated "win" or until we've looked up to eighth-layer transitive wins.
3) We split the ranked teams at the largest adjacent gap between simulated round robin records, preferring the gap whose midpoint is closest to .500 when multiple gaps are equally large. We run steps (1), (2), and (3) within each subset until subsets contain only one team, using the entire season's results at each layer of recursion.
'''
[Early-season tiebreakers are last season's final TERR-Q standings)
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
USC Trojans
|
|
| 2 |
Memphis Tigers
|
|
| 3 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
|
| 4 |
SMU Mustangs
|
|
| 5 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
|
| 6 |
Oregon Ducks
|
|
| 7 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
|
| 8 |
Texas Longhorns
|
|
| 9 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
|
| 10 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
|
| 11 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
|
| 12 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
|
| 13 |
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
|
| 14 |
Houston Cougars
|
|
| 15 |
Duke Blue Devils
|
|
| 16 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
|
| 17 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
|
| 18 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
|
| 19 |
USF Bulls
|
|
| 20 |
Washington Huskies
|
|
| 21 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
|
| 22 |
LSU Tigers
|
|
| 23 |
Florida Gators
|
|
| 24 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
|
| 25 |
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
|
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
USC Trojans
|
2.10 |
| 2 |
Memphis Tigers
|
6.25 |
| 3 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
SMU Mustangs
|
2.17 |
| 5 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.14 |
| 8 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
-0.96 |
| 10 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
-0.73 |
| 12 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
0.00 |
| 13 |
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
11.73 |
| 14 |
Houston Cougars
|
2.14 |
| 15 |
Duke Blue Devils
|
9.83 |
| 16 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
0.34 |
| 17 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
-0.47 |
| 18 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.06 |
| 19 |
USF Bulls
|
6.23 |
| 20 |
Washington Huskies
|
0.00 |
| 21 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
0.00 |
| 22 |
LSU Tigers
|
-2.09 |
| 23 |
Florida Gators
|
0.00 |
| 24 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
0.24 |
| 25 |
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
|
0.20 |
Omissions:
| Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|
Georgia Bulldogs
|
4.13 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
1.71 |
BYU Cougars
|
1.88 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
0.86 |
Utah Utes
|
0.66 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
0.02 |
Total Score: 54.93