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HieloLuz Ballot for 2026 Week 3

Ballot Type: Hybrid

Submitted: Sept. 13, 2026, 3:08 a.m.

Overall Rationale: I use a computer ranking which is a pure resume based points system. Teams are assigned a tier based on their rating (1-7). Points are gained for wins, subtracted for losses, based on the opponents tier. Small modifiers for game closeness and SOS based on Opponent's record. |
I use this to sort teams into buckets, then give ranks based primarily on quality wins (top 50 teams), worst losses, and head to head. |
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| Note for early weeks: They are extremely volatile, teams that played week 0 get a big early season boost but it stabilizes around week 5. Early weeks any team with a loss will struggle to get ranked at all.

At this point in the season, every team ranked has beaten a P4 opponent and is undefeated, except for USC, who is 3-0 against G6 teams but all 3 look okay.

Rank Team Reason
1 Texas Longhorns 2-0
1 P4 win v Ohio State
1 G6 win v Texas State
Ohio State is best win of the season so far
2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2-0
1 P4 win v Wisconsin
1 G6 win v Rice
@Wisconsin is a good win right now
3 LSU Tigers 2-0
1 P4 win v Clemson
1 G6 win v LTech
Both blowouts
Clemson win is great, but slightly below ND because it was at home
4 Texas A&M Aggies 2-0
1 P4 win v Arizona State
1 G6 win v Missouri State
Both blowouts home wins
5 Duke Blue Devils 2-0
1 P4 win v Illinois
1 G6 win v Tulane
Both games were close, but @Illinois is a good win
6 USC Trojans 3-0
3 G6 wins v San Jose State, Fresno State, and Louisiana
All blowouts against G6 teams
7 Alabama Crimson Tide 2-0
1 P4 win v Kentucky
1 G6 win v ECU
Both blowouts, @Kentucky solid win, combined with ECU win keeps them above Miss St.
8 Mississippi State Bulldogs 2-0
1 P4 win v Minnesota
1 G6 win v UL-Monroe
Both blowouts, @ Minnesota is good win
9 Pittsburgh Panthers 2-0
1 P4 win v UCF
1 G6 win v Miami (OH)
UCF game close and at home
10 Auburn Tigers 2-0
1 P4 win v Baylor
1 G6 win v USM
Baylor game close, neutral site but basically a home game
11 Iowa Hawkeyes 2-0
1 P4 win v Iowa State
1 G6 win v NIU
Iowa State game close and at home
12 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2-0
1 P4 win v Purdue
1 G6 win v Akron
Purdue game close, Purdue among the worst P4 teams but it was an away game
13 Tulsa Golden Hurricane 2-0
1 P4 win v Oklahoma State
1 G6 win v Sam Houston State
Both games close, OK State win looks real good, but having to survive Sam Houston isn't great
14 UCLA Bruins 2-0
1 P4 win v Cal
1 G6 win v SDSU
Both games close and neither particularly stunning

Cut off here for teams who have only played 1 FBS game
15 Missouri Tigers 2-0
1 P4 win v Kansas
Both blowouts, Going at Kansas is a good win
16 Western Michigan Broncos 2-0
1 P4 win v Michigan
Michigan game close

@Michigan is a great win and best of the bunch down here. Until the MAC resolved their dispute with the Big Ten I am counting this as a Western Michigan win.
17 BYU Cougars 2-0
1 P4 win v Arizona
Arizona game close
18 North Carolina Tar Heels 2-0
1 P4 win v TCU
TCU game close
19 Tennessee Volunteers 2-0
1 P4 win v Georgia Tech
Both blowouts, win at GTech is very good
20 Utah Utes 2-0
1 P4 win v Arkansas
Both blowouts, Arkansas not very good at all, but still P4
21 Miami Hurricanes 2-0
1 P4 win v Stanford
Both blowouts, teams from here down are kind of a crap shoot to figure out who had the tougher opponents
22 Cincinnati Bearcats 2-0
1 P4 win v Boston College
Both blowouts
23 Virginia Cavaliers 2-0
1 P4 win v NC State
Both blowouts
24 Colorado Buffaloes 2-0
1 P4 win v Georgia Tech
GTech game close
25 UMass Minutemen 2-0
1 P4 win v Rutgers
Both blowouts, but Rutgers is the worst P4 team and its not even close. Still a great win

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