Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Sept. 14, 2026, 4:43 p.m.
Overall Rationale: Mostly a birds-eye view analysis, with some personal bias thrown in there (not to an unreasonable extent though, I believe).
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Texas Longhorns
|
What a comeback versus aOSU. Arch looks good, certainly better than last year. |
| 2 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
Georgia is just Georgia. |
| 3 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
I like Indy’s performances so far slightly better than ND’s. |
| 4 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
I agree with AP that ND should be over Miami and OSU. |
| 5 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
Miami looks good, and is actually 2-0. |
| 6 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
OSU is not 2-0 despite how good they look, plus the embarrassment of a final quarter they displayed at Texas. |
| 7 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
Ole Miss the blue blood is coming back with a vengeance. |
| 8 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
I cannot put Mike Elko below Lane Kiffin. |
| 9 |
LSU Tigers
|
Lane Kiffin unfortunately has a very good set of kids under his command. |
| 10 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
Crimson Tide looking better than last year, although still not nearly the nation-stomper they used to be. |
| 11 |
BYU Cougars
|
The Mormons are looking great so far. |
| 12 |
USC Trojans
|
USC is a perennial teen-ranked team, and I think it’s appropriate right now still. |
| 13 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
I have no love for Cody Campbell, but they also didn’t crush Oregon State by as much as a top 10 team should’ve, so they aren’t getting put there. |
| 14 |
SMU Mustangs
|
SMU is going to be a dark horse this season. |
| 15 |
Utah Utes
|
Utah also going to be a dark horse. |
| 16 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
Penn State not looking amazing, but could be worse. |
| 17 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
The Vols have Dolly on their side and still can’t catch a break (struggled against a GT team that lost to U of Colorado at home). |
| 18 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
Not fantastic, but the close margin of victory over Iowa State is a perennial classic of that rivalry game, and isn’t too damning. |
| 19 |
Missouri Tigers
|
Mizzou isn’t looking to be a high-performing team, as usual, but they did shut up KU’s media team pretty well this week. |
| 20 |
Houston Cougars
|
Houston has in recent years shown they’re not bad at football. I believe they have a chance at doing well this year. |
| 21 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
Louisville played close AT Ole Miss, and crushed Villanova. SMU this week will be their big litmus test of Ranked Or Not. |
| 22 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
Looking okay, but no real quality win yet. |
| 23 |
Boise State Broncos
|
Played very close to Oregon, in Eugene, after their plane was delayed and they got there just 3 hours before kickoff. |
| 24 |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
|
They beat OSU, at OSU… No, not THAT OSU, I mean the OSU that actually WON their football game this week. |
| 25 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys
|
Must I say more? |
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.00 |
| 2 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.33 |
| 3 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.00 |
| 8 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
BYU Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
USC Trojans
|
0.00 |
| 13 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
0.00 |
| 14 |
SMU Mustangs
|
0.05 |
| 15 |
Utah Utes
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
0.00 |
| 17 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
0.00 |
| 18 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.00 |
| 19 |
Missouri Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 20 |
Houston Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 21 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
0.01 |
| 22 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
0.00 |
| 23 |
Boise State Broncos
|
1.27 |
| 24 |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
|
0.00 |
| 25 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys
|
0.06 |
Omissions:
| Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|
Michigan Wolverines
|
0.16 |
Florida Gators
|
0.00 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.06 |
Total Score: 1.93