AJ_CC Ballot for 2026 Week 4
Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Sept. 22, 2026, 10:17 a.m.
Overall Rationale: Lot more 1 loss teams than I originally thought I'd have at this point. I've said before I'm not beholden to poll inertia this early. Ole Miss has two high quality wins and that's more than anyone else has so that puts them a 1 for me. I did a little bit of a rerank part way through, ultimately Louisivlle and LSU were a tough comparison. I felt their losses to Ole Miss were essentially even but I was much more impressed by Louisville beating SMU than I was by LSU beating Clemson. West Virginia big riser for me this week. I rated that UVA team highly so that beatdown was very impressive, though I admit I'm hedging a little to see if maybe I overrated UVA and that week1 WVU game against Costal Carolina was a little iffy, but otherwise that's one of the best wins in the country so far in my book. I keep going back and forth on Michigan-Western Michigan so leaving both unranked for now, and I'm gradually getting more impressed by Mississippi State. Couldn't rank Kentucky after that blowout loss to Alabama so goodbye to them and Texas A&M. First 5 out: Western Michigan/Michigan, Missouri, UVA, Penn St, Duke
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
|
| 2 |
Texas Longhorns
|
|
| 3 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
|
| 4 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
|
| 5 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
|
| 6 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
|
| 7 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
|
| 8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
|
| 9 |
BYU Cougars
|
|
| 10 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
|
| 11 |
Utah Utes
|
|
| 12 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
|
| 13 |
LSU Tigers
|
|
| 14 |
West Virginia Mountaineers
|
|
| 15 |
USC Trojans
|
|
| 16 |
SMU Mustangs
|
|
| 17 |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
|
|
| 18 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys
|
|
| 19 |
Oregon Ducks
|
|
| 20 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
|
| 21 |
UCLA Bruins
|
|
| 22 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
|
| 23 |
Houston Cougars
|
|
| 24 |
Boise State Broncos
|
|
| 25 |
Mississippi State Bulldogs
|
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
0.37 |
| 2 |
Texas Longhorns
|
0.00 |
| 3 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
0.92 |
| 6 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
BYU Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
Utah Utes
|
0.15 |
| 12 |
Louisville Cardinals
|
0.55 |
| 13 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 14 |
West Virginia Mountaineers
|
1.99 |
| 15 |
USC Trojans
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
SMU Mustangs
|
2.42 |
| 17 |
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
|
1.86 |
| 18 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys
|
6.83 |
| 19 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.16 |
| 20 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.00 |
| 21 |
UCLA Bruins
|
0.00 |
| 22 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
-0.88 |
| 23 |
Houston Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 24 |
Boise State Broncos
|
0.82 |
| 25 |
Mississippi State Bulldogs
|
-0.27 |
Omissions:
| Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
1.52 |
Florida Gators
|
0.62 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
0.34 |
Missouri Tigers
|
0.41 |
Duke Blue Devils
|
0.00 |
Virginia Tech Hokies
|
0.01 |
Total Score: 20.11