Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 20, 2026, 12:19 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Early season rankings are based largely on expected results versus other ranked teams, and as the season goes leans more heavily on results. By the end of the season, rankings are based entirely on resume. I lean heavily into head to head results and results against common opponents. I also sort teams into 6 tiers based on championship/playoff likelihood. Tier 1: Championship Frontrunners who are highly likely to make the playoffs, Tier 2: Playoff Teams who could conceivably win the championship but are behind Tier 1, Tier 3: Playoff Possibilities who are unlikely to compete for a championship, Tier 4: Teams with an outside shot at making the playoffs, Tier 5: Teams that can't make the playoffs except for winning conference or unprecedented chaos Tier 6: Teams that are eliminated from playoff contention. Tiers 5 and 6 don't enter into the top 25 until very late in the year.

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Georgia Bulldogs	Tier 1.
2	Texas Longhorns	Tier 1.
3	Ohio State Buckeyes	Tier 1.
4	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Tier 1.
5	Indiana Hoosiers	Tier 2.
6	Miami Hurricanes	Tier 2.
7	Ole Miss Rebels	Tier 2.
8	Alabama Crimson Tide	Tier 2.
9	BYU Cougars	Tier 3.
10	Penn State Nittany Lions	Tier 3.
11	Texas Tech Red Raiders	Tier 3.
12	Tennessee Volunteers	Tier 3.
13	Louisville Cardinals	Tier 3. Close loss to #7 on road and a solid win against #23 at home means Louisville is here.
14	Utah Utes	Tier 3. Impressive win against USU team that gave Washington trouble.
15	LSU Tigers	Tier 3. Not sure what to make of this team yet.
16	USC Trojans	Tier 4. Struggling against Rutgers dropped them a tier.
17	Iowa Hawkeyes	Tier 4.
18	Missouri Tigers	Tier 4.
19	Pittsburgh Panthers	Tier 4.
20	Florida Gators	Tier 4.
21	West Virginia Mountaineers	Tier 4. Solid road win against Virginia.
22	Duke Blue Devils	Tier 4.
23	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Tier 4. Two road P5 wins is nothing to scoff at.
24	SMU Mustangs	Tier 4.
25	Virginia Tech Hokies	Tier 4.

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Georgia Bulldogs	0.20
2	Texas Longhorns	0.00
3	Ohio State Buckeyes	0.48
4	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.00
5	Indiana Hoosiers	0.00
6	Miami Hurricanes	0.00
7	Ole Miss Rebels	0.00
8	Alabama Crimson Tide	0.00
9	BYU Cougars	0.00
10	Penn State Nittany Lions	0.30
11	Texas Tech Red Raiders	0.00
12	Tennessee Volunteers	0.00
13	Louisville Cardinals	0.34
14	Utah Utes	0.00
15	LSU Tigers	0.00
16	USC Trojans	0.00
17	Iowa Hawkeyes	0.00
18	Missouri Tigers	0.15
19	Pittsburgh Panthers	0.63
20	Florida Gators	0.00
21	West Virginia Mountaineers	0.00
22	Duke Blue Devils	0.00
23	Mississippi State Bulldogs	0.00
24	SMU Mustangs	0.00
25	Virginia Tech Hokies	0.00

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
Michigan Wolverines	0.34
Oregon Ducks	0.21

Total Score: 2.64