Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Sept. 20, 2026, 1:50 p.m.
Overall Rationale: Over the past few weeks, I've been making my own poll, starting with the AP preseason poll and changing teams by feel week by week in a Notepad file. This early on, I rank teams based off certainty of how good they are, so P4-P4 games factor in quite a bit. I also use quite a few mini-rankings to help making these (e.g. Tex > Ind > Mia).
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
|
| 2 |
Texas Longhorns
|
Tex > Ind > Mia, IMO. |
| 3 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
Still looking for a reason to doubt Cignetti. |
| 4 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
|
| 5 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
|
| 6 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
|
| 7 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
Miss > LSU on head-to-head. |
| 8 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
My SEC rankings are Miss > Ala > LSU > TxA&M. |
| 9 |
BYU Cougars
|
BYU > TTU since they both each played 1 FCS, 1 G6, and 1 B12 team, and BYU had better scoring and yardage differentials than TTU. |
| 10 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
|
| 11 |
LSU Tigers
|
LSU > TxA&M, based off LSU losing at a great and hostile team, while TxA&M lost at home to a bottomfeeder. |
| 12 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
Second blanking of a team with initials containing, I, N, and U. |
| 13 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
|
| 14 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
Miss > Lou > SMU, IMO. |
| 15 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
|
| 16 |
USC Trojans
|
Really? Outgaining a team that got blown out by UMass by a yard? |
| 17 |
Houston Cougars
|
I am crazy for having this team unranked earlier this year. |
| 18 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
|
| 19 |
Utah Utes
|
|
| 20 |
Mississippi State Bulldogs
|
MsSt > Fla since MsSt has 2 P4 wins with higher margins of victory compared to Fla's 1. |
| 21 |
Florida Gators
|
|
| 22 |
SMU Mustangs
|
I'm a bit uncertain with this team. |
| 23 |
Oregon Ducks
|
And a bit more uncertain with this one. |
| 24 |
Duke Blue Devils
|
3-0 (2-0 vs P4 teams), the certainty index at this point in the season is strong with Duke! |
| 25 |
Missouri Tigers
|
3-0 with a preseason ranking is good. Getting outgained and falling down 10-0 to Troy isn't. |
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.20 |
| 2 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.00 |
| 3 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.00 |
| 8 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
BYU Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.68 |
| 13 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
4.25 |
| 14 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
0.13 |
| 15 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
USC Trojans
|
0.00 |
| 17 |
Houston Cougars
|
2.60 |
| 18 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
0.00 |
| 19 |
Utah Utes
|
-0.16 |
| 20 |
Mississippi State Bulldogs
|
0.00 |
| 21 |
Florida Gators
|
0.00 |
| 22 |
SMU Mustangs
|
0.00 |
| 23 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.00 |
| 24 |
Duke Blue Devils
|
0.00 |
| 25 |
Missouri Tigers
|
-0.15 |
Omissions:
| Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|
Michigan Wolverines
|
0.34 |
West Virginia Mountaineers
|
0.10 |
Virginia Tech Hokies
|
0.01 |
Total Score: 8.61