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T-Thugs Ballot for 2026 Week 4

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 21, 2026, 10:38 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Each week, I re-rank all the teams based on their resumes so far. Early in the season, I count p4 wins as a key thing I'm looking for. About this week we can start to distinguish between p4 wins because if you beat a p4 team that also beat a p4 team, that means they're probably not terrible. Early in the season my rankings generally start of on the controversial ballots but it starts to look more like everyone else's when resumes fill in a bit more. I don't rank teams that I think are good but don't have any p4 wins (Indiana, Ohio State, etc.) they'll move up in the rankings when they have beaten teams worth mentioning.

Of note: I've counted Western Michigan's game against Michigan as a win for Western Michigan because the NCAA says they should have won if proper protocols were followed. Sagarin does this as well.

Rank Team Reason
1 Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss is my top team with an impressive resume. They're 3-0 with wins over Louisville (2-1 with a nice win over SMU) and LSU (2-1, beat the hell out of Clemson)
2 Texas Longhorns Texas is 3-0 with a really nice win over Ohio State (2-1)
3 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama is 3-0 with a really nice win over Kentucky (2-1 with a nice win over Texas A&M). Also has a second p4 win over Florida State (1-2)
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame is 3-0 with two p4 wins over Wisconsin (2-1) and Michigan State (2-1)
5 Miami Hurricanes Miami is 3-0 with p4 wins over Wake Forest (2-1, beat Purdue) and Stanford (1-2)
6 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tulsa is 3-0 with a really nice win over Oklahoma State (2-1, beat Oregon)
7 Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan is 3-0 with a really nice win over Michigan (2-1, beat Oklahoma). They play Boise State next week and we'll see if they're for real.
8 Florida Gators Florida is 3-0 with a really nice win over Auburn (2-1, beat Baylor)
9 UCLA Bruins UCLA is 3-0 with a nice win over Cal (2-1, beat Syracuse) and also a second p4 win over Purdue. I think they're probably a bit overrated for me in this poll but I've got them this high thanks to having 2 p4 wins. I don't think their resume will look as good comparitively as teams start playing their conference schedules this week.
10 Duke Blue Devils Duke is 3-0 with a nice win over Illinois (2-1). Also have a win over Stanford (1-2). Another team I've probably got a little too high this week thanks to being one of only a few teams with 2 p4 wins.
11 West Virginia Mountaineers West Virginia makes a big jump in my poll after taking down Virginia (2-1, beat NC State). Kind of a big game now with Oklahoma State this week.
12 Texas Tech Red Raiders Texas Tech jumps into my poll after picking up a nice win over Houston (2-1).
13 BYU Cougars BYU has a nice win over Arizona (2-1). Also has a win over Colorado State (2-1) who looks like they may be a pretty decent G5 team this year.
14 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State jumps into my poll after a nice win over South Carolina (2-1). Their qb looks legit and they could be a tough out this year in the SEC. Big game this week vs Missouri.
15 Missouri Tigers Missouri is 3-0 with a win over Kansas (2-1). Could make a jump up if they beat Mississippi State this week.
16 Pittsburgh Panthers Pittsburgh is 3-0 with a win over UCF (2-1)
17 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa is 3-0 with a win over Iowa State (2-1)
18 Virginia Tech Hokies Virginia Tech is 3-0 with a win over Maryland (2-1)
19 Louisville Cardinals Louisville is my top 1 loss team and I think they may continue to move up. Had a really close loss to Ole Miss and also have a really nice win over SMU (2-1, beat Florida State).
20 LSU Tigers LSU is right there with Louisville for top 1 loss teams. Only loss is to Ole Miss, have a blowout victory over Clemson (2-1, beat North Carolina)
21 Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky makes a surprising appearance for a 1 loss team, but they've only got a loss to Alabama and now have a really nice win over Texas A&M (2-1, beat Arizona State)
22 Cincinnati Bearcats Cincinnati is 3-0 with a win over Boston College (2-1).
23 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia is 3-0 but only p4 win is over 1-2 Arkansas
24 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee is 3-0 but only p4 win is over 1-2 Georgia Tech
25 Utah Utes Utah is 3-0 but only p4 win is over 1-2 Arkansas.

Also considered for this position: USC, Michigan, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State

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