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ChBass Ballot for 2026 Week 4

Ballot Type: Computer

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

Overall Rationale: Each team's performance is compared to their opponent's opponents' performances, with bonuses for wins & losses depending on the quality of the opponent. FCS games are not taken into consideration.

These rankings are going to be a little wonky as the model only takes this year into account, so losses are disproportionately punished and bye weeks or FCS wins are larger missed opportunities.

Rank Team Reason
1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Top 10 offense & defense, and the win against Wisconsin separates them from everyone else.
2 Texas Longhorns Top defense, and a top 25 offense, with the win over Ohio State just has them over Ole Miss.
3 Ole Miss Rebels Top 25 offense & defense, and the boost from the LSU win puts them in the top 3.
4 Mississippi State Bulldogs Top 10 offense gives them a boost, but the pass defense is holding them back from the top tier.
5 Wisconsin Badgers The loss to Notre Dame doesn't hurt them as long as ND is power rated #1, so the top 10 offense & defense keeps them in the cluster of the middle-bottom of the top 10.
6 USC Trojans The top performing offense got them here, but a middling defense and better wins than Louisiana will be needed to stay as the season progresses.
7 Alabama Crimson Tide Slow starts are keeping the Tide in the bottom of the top 10, buoyed by their run defense.
8 Iowa Hawkeyes The top-5 defense gives the hawkeyes a boost, along with their run game.
9 BYU Cougars The cougars are boosted by a top-15 offense & defense.
10 Virginia Tech Hokies The win against Maryland is compensating for the subpar pass defense to keep the hokies in the top 10.
11 Miami Hurricanes A top-20 offense and defense keeps Miami in the mix, but improvements to their run game and pass defense will boost them.
12 Nebraska Cornhuskers A top-10 defense, along with a top passing & scoring offense is supporting Nebraska despite their best win being against Ohio.
13 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State's Top 5 defense supports their middle-tier passing & scoring offense, but the best win on their resume is Temple.
14 Missouri Tigers The top-15 offense (from the passing game) is supporting the defense, but the best win on the resume is Troy.
15 Michigan Wolverines The Oklahoma win and the run/pass defense barely keeps Michigan in the top 15.
16 Utah Utes The passing game, passing defense and scoring defense keeps Utah here, but the Arkansas win is less impressive than they had hoped.
17 Pittsburgh Panthers The scoring defense is enough to boost Pitt into the top 20.
18 Florida Gators Undefeated with a top-5 offense keeps Florida ranked.
19 Indiana Hoosiers Indiana's top-10 defense balances out a below-average offense.
20 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tulsa's run game is boosted by a win over Oklahoma State that looks better and better.
21 Northwestern Wildcats There's really only one game that counts here, but it was impressive enough to rank Northwestern for now!
22 Kansas State Wildcats Despite the best win being against Tulane, the pass defense gets K-State ranked.
23 Texas Tech Red Raiders Despite the passing offense, the win against UH gets Tech in the rankings.
24 West Virginia Mountaineers The mountaineers can run, they can score, and they can stop the pass.
25 Duke Blue Devils Duke's run & scoring defense squeaks them in.

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