Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Sept. 14, 2026, 4:35 p.m.
Overall Rationale: As I've said before I'm not a huge believer in poll inertia in the early stages of the season. Had a lot more one loss teams than I expected this week so far, but despite a one point loss on the road still displayed a lot of quality for Ohio State in a period of the season where not a lot of schools have played quality opponents. Texas has the best win in the country at the moment and for that they earn the number 1 spot for now, though the winner of Ole Miss-LSU will probably leap them next week unless it's a particularly ugly game. Oregon has an impressive win over Boise St (who had a very impressive win over Memphis) so that kept them ranked, but I couldn't justify have them above Oklahoma State, who I couldn't justify above Tulsa. Michigan, Oklahoma, Western Michigan presented a weird conundrum. The Sooners don't really have anything on their resume yet to deserve a ranked spot, and ultimately I think I have to count Western as the victor of that week 1 game even if it's not the official result.
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Texas Longhorns
|
|
| 2 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
|
| 3 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
|
| 4 |
LSU Tigers
|
|
| 5 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
|
| 6 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
|
| 7 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
|
| 8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
|
| 9 |
BYU Cougars
|
|
| 10 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
|
| 11 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
|
| 12 |
Utah Utes
|
|
| 13 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
|
| 14 |
USC Trojans
|
|
| 15 |
SMU Mustangs
|
|
| 16 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
|
| 17 |
Houston Cougars
|
|
| 18 |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
|
|
| 19 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys
|
|
| 20 |
Oregon Ducks
|
|
| 21 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
|
| 22 |
UCLA Bruins
|
|
| 23 |
Boise State Broncos
|
|
| 24 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
|
| 25 |
Western Michigan Broncos
|
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.00 |
| 2 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.15 |
| 3 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.79 |
| 4 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.01 |
| 5 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
BYU Cougars
|
0.28 |
| 10 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
0.37 |
| 11 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
Utah Utes
|
0.23 |
| 13 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
-0.71 |
| 14 |
USC Trojans
|
0.00 |
| 15 |
SMU Mustangs
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
Virginia Cavaliers
|
0.01 |
| 17 |
Houston Cougars
|
0.39 |
| 18 |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
|
1.81 |
| 19 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys
|
6.06 |
| 20 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.29 |
| 21 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.00 |
| 22 |
UCLA Bruins
|
0.00 |
| 23 |
Boise State Broncos
|
1.27 |
| 24 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
-0.99 |
| 25 |
Western Michigan Broncos
|
0.00 |
Omissions:
| Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
1.08 |
Missouri Tigers
|
0.47 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
0.16 |
Florida Gators
|
0.00 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
0.15 |
Total Score: 15.20