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PlactusTX Ballot for 2026 Week 4

Ballot Type: Hybrid

Submitted: Sept. 20, 2026, 11:22 a.m.

Overall Rationale: First divide teams into tiers, then sort within each tier.

At the start of the season, tiers were determined on a projected finish. With spot adjustments – if a team beats a higher-tier team, the winning team will move up and/or the losing team will move down until they're on the same tier – this will serve as a basis until tiers can be properly evaluated based entirely on actual results.

This week's spot adjustments resulted in there being too few teams in my ballot tiers (1-3), so all teams who were lower than tier 1, were undefeated, and had a win against a team in their tier got to move up one tier.

Dropped out: 7 Texas A&M, 17 Virginia, 18 Southern California, 20 Washington, 22 Tennessee, 23 Utah, 24 Nebraska

First five out: Southern California, Washington, Tennessee, Utah, Oklahoma

Rank Team Reason
1 Texas Longhorns LW: 1 | Tier 1 (no change) | W Texas-San Antonio

Texas remains undefeated and continues to have the only win over a fellow tier 1 team.
2 Ole Miss Rebels LW: 16 | Tier 1 (up from 3) | W Louisiana State

Beating LSU moved both teams into tier 2, then Ole Miss got bumped by being undefeated. In addition to LSU, Ole Miss has a win over Louisville, who surges back onto the ballot this week with their win over SMU, which is enough for them to rise all the way to #2.
3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish LW: 3 | Tier 1 (no change) | W Michigan State

The extra teams added to tier 3 push Wisconsin out of even the first five out, but it's still a better win than anyone else in tier 1 has.
4 Indiana Hoosiers LW: 4 | Tier 1 (no change) | W Western Kentucky

Indiana and Georgia are basically the same at this point, with wins over three teams both should clearly beat.
5 Georgia Bulldogs LW: 5 | Tier 1 (no change) | W Arkansas

Next week Georgia will have a chance to move up if they beat Oklahoma.
6 Ohio State Buckeyes LW: 6 | Tier 1 (no change) | W Kent State

Ohio State has one loss to a team among the best and two wins over teams among the worst. That's a huge middle range and why reevaluating tiers based entirely on results remains impossible.
7 Michigan Wolverines LW: 15 | Tier 2 (up from 3) | W Texas-El Paso

Michigan came into the season tier 2. After the controversial finish against Western Michigan, I treated them as if they'd lost but recorded the result as if they'd won. Beating Oklahoma brought them back to tier 3, and remaining undefeated let them get a bump right back to where they started. If anything, the whole mess ultimately helped Michigan's rating, as Western Michigan moved up a tier after the game.
8 LSU Tigers LW: 2 | Tier 2 (down from 1) | L Mississippi

The loss to Ole Miss knocks LSU down a peg or two, but the win over Clemson keeps them from falling too far.
9 BYU Cougars LW: 8 | Tier 2 (no change) | W Colorado State

BYU's win didn't change much for them, so they slide a spot as a couple teams surge ahead while Texas A&M tumbles out.
10 Alabama Crimson Tide LW: 10 | Tier 2 (no change) | W Florida State

The reason BYU slipped while Alabama didn't is because SMU was between them at #9 last week.
11 Miami Hurricanes LW: 12 | Tier 2 (no change) | W Wake Forest

Miami gets their best win so far, shifting them past Iowa who took on a I-AA team.
12 Texas Tech Red Raiders LW : 13 | Tier 2 (no change) | W Houston

Ditto for Texas Tech.
13 Iowa Hawkeyes LW: 11 | Tier 2 (no change) | W Northern Iowa

Next week's game against Michigan will give Iowa a chance to prove themselves. For now, they're secure at the lower end of tier 2.
14 Penn State Nittany Lions LW: 14 | Tier 2 (no change) | W Buffalo

Penn State's stay at the All-You-Can-Eat Cupcake Bar™ comes to a close.
15 Louisville Cardinals LW: NR | Tier 3 (no change) | W Southern Methodist

An impressive win over SMU sends Louisville from the bottom of tier 3 to the top.
16 Duke Blue Devils LW: NR | Tier 3 (up from 4) | W Stanford

Teams that benefitted from the "undefeated, same-tier victory" offer, by definition, have a decent win which secures a high position. Duke, with two such wins (Illinois and Tulane), moves to near the top of tier 3.
17 Virginia Tech Hokies LW: 21 | Tier 3 (no change) | W Maryland

A win over September Maryland helps Virginia Tech not only hold its position but move up even as a bunch of teams move onto the ballot.
18 Florida Gators LW: NR | Tier 3 (up from 4) | W Auburn

Florida's win over Auburn puts them in the group that moved up to tier 3 this week.
19 Kansas State Wildcats LW: NR | Tier 3 (up from 4) | W Tulane

Kansas State's win over Tulane puts them in the group that moved up to tier 3 this week.
20 Vanderbilt Commodores LW: NR | Tier 3 (up from 4) | W North Carolina State

Vanderbilt's crazy win over NC State puts them in the group that moved up to tier 3 this week.
21 Tulsa Golden Hurricane LW: NR | Tier 3 (up from 4) | W East Texas A&M

Tulsa already had their key win, a week 1 win over Oklahoma State. At the time it looked like another miserable season in Stillwater; now... maybe Tulsa's just that good?
22 West Virginia Mountaineers LW: NR | Tier 3 (up from 4) | W Virginia

West Virginia's win over Virginia puts them in the group that moved up to tier 3 this week.
23 Clemson Tigers LW: 25 | Tier 3 (no change) | W North Carolina

Clemson refuses to do anything that'll let me knock them down a tier.
24 SMU Mustangs LW: 9 | Tier 3 (down from 2) | L Louisville

SMU fumbles its first big test, but Florida State's still a good enough win to keep them on the ballot.
25 Pittsburgh Panthers LW: 19 | Tier 3 (no change) | W Syracuse

Pitt's held off on anyone too cupcakey (until next week, vs Bucknell), which is enough to secure the final spot on the ballot.

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