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Justanother_0 Ballot for 2026 Week 5

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 28, 2026, 6:51 p.m.

Overall Rationale: I only consider the top half of each Power Four conference (plus the independents if they perform well enough), along with who I believe to be the best teams from the Group of Six in that given week. I then sort the teams by conference, ranking each team from best to worst within their own conference. The best of the G6 are all grouped into the same set for determining who the best among them are. The independents are also sorted into their own group as well. Finally, I use the six groups made (four P4 conference top 8's, 1 group for the best of the G6, 1 group for the independents) to create the top 25. Any teams absent that I think need explanation will be talked about in the [Notable Omissions] category below.

This is a resume first ballot. While the general vibes of a team are somewhat considered. What a team has accomplished matters more than their talent profile or their coaching staff (not to say that a team’s other stats or intangibles are irrelevant).

{CONFERENCE SWEEPS}

The SEC becomes the first conference this year to get the full eight teams into my ballot!

Notable Omissions:

[Oregon] beats USC, but they'll need another win against a good opponent before they get a vote of confidence from me

[Wisconsin] might be 3-1 with their only loss to Notre Dame, but their marquee win is against a Penn State team that'll be lucky to go 8-4. Also, I am still low on Luke Fickell.

[Pitt] is 4-0, but those games were ugly watches and wins.

[Cincinnati] is 4-0, but they've done this in years prior and that Miami game was god awful.

Thank you for reading!

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