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noah_divine Ballot for 2026 Week 4

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 21, 2026, 8:15 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Evaluating teams with a mix of both resume and the eye test, rewarding teams for scheduling top tier opponents, and as long as you keep it close, I don't punish you too harshly. If you play a bunch of nobodies you had better blow them out though.

Also, for transparency, I am still treating the WMU-Michigan game as a win for Western Michigan, and will treat it that way throughout the season.

Rank Team Reason
1 Ole Miss Rebels As of right now, taking into account both resume and the eye test, I believe Ole Miss is the best team in college football. They have the best quarterback in the sport in Trinidad Chambliss, one of the most underrated coaches in the sport in Pete Golding, and two fantastic wins over Louisville and LSU. This team is now my pick to win the national championship and will remain so until they prove me otherwise.
2 Texas Longhorns It makes sense for Texas to have a sluggish performance after that dramatic win last week, so it doesn't change how I view them as a team. The reason why I have them ranked below Ole Miss is because I think the Rebels have the advantage in a few of the most important metrics: resume, quarterback, and coaching.
3 Georgia Bulldogs As stated earlier, teams that have only played inferior competition so far have to blow them out for me to respect them, and Georgia has done just that, winning decisively over Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, and Arkansas. Gunner Stockton is starting to turn me into a believer, and Kirby Smart is still Kirby Smart. However, I don't think we'll get a real opportunity to evaluate them until they face Alabama on October 10th. (Yes, this is me saying Oklahoma sucks.)
4 Miami Hurricanes An alarming second half performance has made me rethink my national champion pick. I'm not yet worried about Miami, considering Darian Mensah was nearly perfect, Malachi Toney still exists, and Wake Forest is actually a really good team. However, I can't help but think what would have happened if they had been playing Louisville or Notre Dame.
5 Indiana Hoosiers They did not score as many points as I would have hoped, but Indiana has still taken care of business against a weak non-conference schedule. I believe this team can reach the same heights they did last year, but we will not know how good this team really is until they face Ohio State on October 17th.
6 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State took care of business in a get-right game against Kent State, but I have some serious, serious concerns with the Buckeyes' offense, particularly with Julian Sayin. From what we have seen so far, if Jeremiah Smith is taken away, Sayin cannot operate the offense. I don't know if it's the yips, if Ohio State doesn't have a WR2 they truly trust yet, or if Sayin just isn't that great, but whatever it is, they need to address it soon.
7 Louisville Cardinals Yes, this is absurdly high for Louisville, but I'm absurdly high on Louisville. As an Ohio State fan, Lincoln Kienholz's play over three weeks is really making me wish he was back in Columbus. They have a close loss to Ole Miss and a big win over a good SMU team, and I don't think it's crazy to think they have a legit shot to win the ACC outright.
8 LSU Tigers If LSU had not made proper halftime adjustments, they would have been dropped much further, but I was impressed with their comeback effort despite the loss. I think this is still a great team, but they just don't stack up to the teams above them just yet, and that Clemson win isn't looking as great as it did before.
9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish I have not been impressed with Notre Dame so far this season, and I think they have been massively overrated. Wisconsin and Michigan State are not cupcake opponents that I would expect the Irish to blow out, but I expect them to put up more than 24 and 27 points, respectively. I cannot rank Notre Dame any higher until I see more dominant performances from them regardless of their opponent.
10 Tennessee Volunteers Faizon Brandon has looked fantastic especially for a true freshman, but they haven't faced anyone noteworthy yet. This week will be a huge tell as to how good this Tennessee team really is, as they welcome Texas to Knoxville.
11 Florida Gators I have absolutely loved what I have seen from Florida so far, from the performance of Aaron Philo to the elite receiver room to Jadan Baugh running with purpose all over the field. Picked up a fantastic win over Auburn and I cannot wait to see what they do going forward.
12 Alabama Crimson Tide Let Florida State hang with them way, way too long. Still confident in Keelon Russell, but I need to see more from Alabama to truly believe this team has a chance of doing something.
13 BYU Cougars Impressive wins over Arizona and Colorado State, Bear Bachmeier is continuing to improve day by day, and LJ Martin is still LJ Martin. I like BYU's chances in the Big 12 this season.
14 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State has for the most part taken care of business outside of a weird game against Temple. I am very confident that they made the correct move by bringing in Matt Campbell, and I think it will pay dividends for them, but we will find out on October 10th against USC.
15 Utah Utes
16 Boise State Broncos
17 USC Trojans
18 Kentucky Wildcats
19 Oklahoma State Cowboys
20 Texas Tech Red Raiders
21 UCLA Bruins The hiring of Bob Chesney seems to have really lit a spark for this UCLA team
22 Mississippi State Bulldogs
23 Michigan Wolverines
24 Houston Cougars
25 West Virginia Mountaineers

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