Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 5, 2026, 10:23 p.m.

Overall Rationale: This ballot privileges wins, and recognizes the achievement of undefeated teams.

My contention is that losses can and should challenge priors folks have about teams from talent composites and preseason expectations. We've already seen a number of favorites get upset, and I contend that wins really do matter and losses must invite a reconsideration, or at least allow space for the teams that have not lost to rise to the top of the rankings.

Teams that have close losses to challenging opponents will rise in the next weeks, and and no one is being "punished" for not being ranked highly. There are now only 15 teams who are undefeated, so this group is pretty special!

There will continue be a lot of movement throughout the season, but these teams are the ones who have won in the biggest contests on the field of play so far.

Perhaps more so than other submissions, I see all the conferences as being important and make room at the lower end of the ballot for strong performances or expectations from non-Autonomy conferences, so I include some expected conference champions or those with high expectations for the season.

Again, this will change wildly throughout the season in response to what happens on the field of play and I make an effort to avoid biases and poll inertia, even when it provides ballot submissions that differ from other national polls.

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Indiana Hoosiers	5-0
2	Texas Longhorns	4-0
3	Miami Hurricanes	5-0
4	Utah Utes	4-0
5	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	5-0
6	Georgia Bulldogs	5-0
7	UCLA Bruins	4-0
8	BYU Cougars	4-0
9	Alabama Crimson Tide	5-0
10	Texas Tech Red Raiders	5-0
11	Pittsburgh Panthers	5-0
12	Nebraska Cornhuskers	5-0
13	Duke Blue Devils	4-0
14	James Madison Dukes	5-0
15	North Dakota State Bison	5-0
16	Ohio State Buckeyes	Loss to Texas. Notable win: Iowa
17	Houston Cougars	Loss to Texas Tech. Notable win: UCF
18	Northwestern Wildcats	Loss to Indiana. Notable win: Penn State and Colorado
19	Ole Miss Rebels	Loss to Florida. Notable win: LSU and Louisville
20	LSU Tigers	Loss to Ole Miss. Notable win: Clemson?
21	Oklahoma State Cowboys	Loss to Tulsa. Notable win: Oregon, WVU
22	Oregon Ducks	Loss to Oklahoma St. Notable win: USC, Boise State
23	Boise State Broncos	Loss to Oregon. Notable win: WMU and Memphis
24	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Loss to MS St.. Notable win: Washington and Michigan
25	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Loss to Miami FL.. Notable win:Louisville, Purdue, Stanford

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Indiana Hoosiers	0.90
2	Texas Longhorns	0.00
3	Miami Hurricanes	0.00
4	Utah Utes	1.21
5	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.00
6	Georgia Bulldogs	-0.21
7	UCLA Bruins	1.24
8	BYU Cougars	0.00
9	Alabama Crimson Tide	-1.34
10	Texas Tech Red Raiders	0.00
11	Pittsburgh Panthers	0.64
12	Nebraska Cornhuskers	0.82
13	Duke Blue Devils	1.18
14	James Madison Dukes	2.49
15	North Dakota State Bison	2.42
16	Ohio State Buckeyes	-1.70
17	Houston Cougars	0.92
18	Northwestern Wildcats	0.83
19	Ole Miss Rebels	0.00
20	LSU Tigers	-0.35
21	Oklahoma State Cowboys	0.00
22	Oregon Ducks	-0.52
23	Boise State Broncos	0.00
24	Minnesota Golden Gophers	0.82
25	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	0.00

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
Missouri Tigers	1.56
Florida Gators	1.31
Tennessee Volunteers	0.90
Mississippi State Bulldogs	0.69
Iowa Hawkeyes	0.47
USC Trojans	0.25

Total Score: 22.77