Rhizical Ballot for 2026 Week 2
Ballot Type: Computer
Submitted: Sept. 8, 2026, 2:29 p.m.
Overall Rationale: this is so scuffed lmao
First live ranking for the model, and... uhh... yeah idk. Just leave it up to small sample size shenanigans, things be weird rn. UMass did dominate their game, but more convincing arguments could be made for several others at the top spot. Looking forward to seeing if any other ballot, computer or human, will pull anything like this
Model summary:
This ranking runs on the optimal transport problem. Teams gather "mass" by playing games (more when they win), to which the Sinkhorn algorithm is applied to find the most optimal way to move each team's mass into each ranking slot. Only FBS vs FBS games considered. Factors of assigning mass are estimated quality of opponent (win record*strength of schedule^3) and point margin (up to 17). The model is blind to all other factors (talent, conference, etc.).
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
UMass Minutemen
|
|
| 2 |
Cincinnati Bearcats
|
|
| 3 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
|
| 4 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
|
| 5 |
UCLA Bruins
|
|
| 6 |
SMU Mustangs
|
|
| 7 |
LSU Tigers
|
|
| 8 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
|
| 9 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
|
| 10 |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
|
|
| 11 |
USC Trojans
|
|
| 12 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
|
| 13 |
Memphis Tigers
|
|
| 14 |
UNLV Rebels
|
|
| 15 |
Stanford Cardinal
|
|
| 16 |
Duke Blue Devils
|
|
| 17 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
|
| 18 |
South Carolina Gamecocks
|
|
| 19 |
Colorado State Rams
|
|
| 20 |
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
|
| 21 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
|
| 22 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
|
| 23 |
Florida Gators
|
|
| 24 |
Oregon Ducks
|
|
| 25 |
Colorado Buffaloes
|
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
UMass Minutemen
|
23.84 |
| 2 |
Cincinnati Bearcats
|
22.75 |
| 3 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
UCLA Bruins
|
8.59 |
| 6 |
SMU Mustangs
|
1.78 |
| 7 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 8 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
1.98 |
| 9 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
|
14.95 |
| 11 |
USC Trojans
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.00 |
| 13 |
Memphis Tigers
|
2.79 |
| 14 |
UNLV Rebels
|
11.25 |
| 15 |
Stanford Cardinal
|
10.25 |
| 16 |
Duke Blue Devils
|
8.83 |
| 17 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.34 |
| 18 |
South Carolina Gamecocks
|
1.93 |
| 19 |
Colorado State Rams
|
6.10 |
| 20 |
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
4.73 |
| 21 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
-1.58 |
| 22 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
1.87 |
| 23 |
Florida Gators
|
0.00 |
| 24 |
Oregon Ducks
|
-3.76 |
| 25 |
Colorado Buffaloes
|
0.00 |
Omissions:
| Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
5.82 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
4.08 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
4.13 |
Texas Longhorns
|
3.99 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
2.89 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
1.71 |
BYU Cougars
|
1.88 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
1.03 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
0.86 |
Utah Utes
|
0.66 |
Washington Huskies
|
0.81 |
Houston Cougars
|
0.31 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
0.02 |
Total Score: 155.48