Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 28, 2026, 10:18 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Early season rankings are based largely on expected results versus other ranked teams, and as the season goes leans more heavily on results. By the end of the season, rankings are based entirely on resume. I lean heavily into head to head results and results against common opponents. I also sort teams into 6 tiers based on championship/playoff likelihood. Tier 1: Championship Frontrunners who are highly likely to make the playoffs, Tier 2: Playoff Teams who could conceivably win the championship but are behind Tier 1, Tier 3: Playoff Possibilities who are unlikely to compete for a championship, Tier 4: Teams with an outside shot at making the playoffs, Tier 5: Teams that can't make the playoffs except for winning conference or unprecedented chaos Tier 6: Teams that are eliminated from playoff contention. Tiers 5 and 6 don't enter into the top 25 until very late in the year.

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Georgia Bulldogs	Tier 1.
2	Texas Longhorns	Tier 1.
3	Ohio State Buckeyes	Tier 1.
4	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Tier 1.
5	Indiana Hoosiers	Tier 2.
6	Miami Hurricanes	Tier 2. Wake Forest win looking pretty good.
7	Alabama Crimson Tide	Tier 2. Several solid wins so far.
8	Florida Gators	Tier 3. Impressive win over Ole Miss moves them up.
9	Texas Tech Red Raiders	Tier 3.
10	BYU Cougars	Tier 3.
11	Ole Miss Rebels	Tier 3. Still two solid wins but loss moves them down.
12	Utah Utes	Tier 3.
13	LSU Tigers	Tier 3.
14	Tennessee Volunteers	Tier 4. Not going to hold a 3 point loss to the #2 team against them too much.
15	Iowa Hawkeyes	Tier 4.
16	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Tier 4. Three solid wins so far with a brutal schedule ahead.
17	Pittsburgh Panthers	Tier 4.
18	Duke Blue Devils	Tier 4.
19	Oklahoma State Cowboys	Tier 4. Tulsa loss looks bad, but Oregon and WVU wins look good.
20	Oregon Ducks	Tier 4.
21	Virginia Tech Hokies	Tier 4.
22	Cincinnati Bearcats	Tier 4.
23	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Tier 4.
24	Boise State Broncos	Tier 4.
25	Houston Cougars	Tier 4.

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Georgia Bulldogs	0.00
2	Texas Longhorns	0.00
3	Ohio State Buckeyes	0.27
4	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.00
5	Indiana Hoosiers	0.00
6	Miami Hurricanes	0.00
7	Alabama Crimson Tide	0.00
8	Florida Gators	0.00
9	Texas Tech Red Raiders	0.00
10	BYU Cougars	0.00
11	Ole Miss Rebels	0.00
12	Utah Utes	0.00
13	LSU Tigers	0.00
14	Tennessee Volunteers	0.54
15	Iowa Hawkeyes	0.00
16	Mississippi State Bulldogs	0.00
17	Pittsburgh Panthers	0.52
18	Duke Blue Devils	0.00
19	Oklahoma State Cowboys	0.00
20	Oregon Ducks	0.00
21	Virginia Tech Hokies	0.00
22	Cincinnati Bearcats	0.00
23	Nebraska Cornhuskers	0.00
24	Boise State Broncos	0.00
25	Houston Cougars	0.00

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
UCLA Bruins	0.72
USC Trojans	0.32

Total Score: 2.37