Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Sept. 20, 2026, 5:16 p.m.
Overall Rationale: Head-to-head prevails.
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Texas Longhorns
|
Still on top |
| 2 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
Slow start but handled MSU |
| 3 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
Embarrassed a weak SEC foe unlike some top-10 teams |
| 4 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
Statement win. Argument that they belong at #2 for having played somebody |
| 5 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
Another shutout |
| 6 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
Wake made them look silly, but locked in and won |
| 7 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
Boring so far but won |
| 8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
Took care of business |
| 9 |
LSU Tigers
|
Quality loss. Facing A&M next week will tell us a lot |
| 10 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
I want to put them lower, but they simply have the guys as shown by the comeback against FSU |
| 11 |
Florida Gators
|
Hey there's no defense, but the offense looks great. |
| 12 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
Hey there's questionable offense, but the defense looks great. |
| 13 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
I don't think this will last (and SMU is unranked with the loss) but that's still more of a team than most of the teams below them have faced. |
| 14 |
BYU Cougars
|
Best win out of the rest I'm pretty sure |
| 15 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
El Assico lived up to its name, but the Hawkeyes look legit on offense |
| 16 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
Texas next week? Yikes. But also, Auburn the week after should be a good tell. |
| 17 |
Missouri Tigers
|
Are they bad or just slow to start in that Troy game? |
| 18 |
Utah Utes
|
Doing what they must. Beating Iowa State by better than 3 will vault them up even if El Assico is an aberration for the Hawkeyes |
| 19 |
USC Trojans
|
7 points on Rutgers hahaha but 100-yd pick six keeps them from falling down |
| 20 |
West Virginia Mountaineers
|
Beating last week's top 25 gets them here even if I'm not sure they're all that. VT could go here, too, but I like UVA more than UMD |
| 21 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
They did not look good in this win; they deserve to be with Houston, so here they are. They're just kind of here for a while |
| 22 |
Mississippi State Bulldogs
|
Undefeated? Sure. May be overvaluing Minnesota |
| 23 |
Houston Cougars
|
They looked as good as TT (in fact better, but not being able to close it out means you don't get to jump TT or teams an undefeated Clanga). They're also just kind of here unless somebody else does something |
| 24 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
Sickos feast. This might be an overreaction; UK looks good. But A&M is not top-10 (cf. Bama, which destroyed that UK team after a slow start) |
| 25 |
Oregon Ducks
|
Argument VT or SMU belongs here instead, but even shellacking Portland State can't move them too high. Watch this space. |
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.00 |
| 2 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.29 |
| 3 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
0.93 |
| 8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.34 |
| 10 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
Florida Gators
|
0.56 |
| 12 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
0.77 |
| 13 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
0.34 |
| 14 |
BYU Cougars
|
-0.01 |
| 15 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
0.00 |
| 17 |
Missouri Tigers
|
0.41 |
| 18 |
Utah Utes
|
0.00 |
| 19 |
USC Trojans
|
-0.39 |
| 20 |
West Virginia Mountaineers
|
0.19 |
| 21 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
-1.08 |
| 22 |
Mississippi State Bulldogs
|
0.00 |
| 23 |
Houston Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 24 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
0.00 |
| 25 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.00 |