Ballot Type: Hybrid
Submitted: Oct. 4, 2026, 6:19 p.m.
Overall Rationale: Human poll assisted by modified SRS
BONUS RANKINGS:
First 5 Out: 1. Duke 2. Iowa 3. New Mexico 4. Penn State 5. Kansas State
G6 Top 5: 1. Boise State 2. New Mexico 3. James Madison 4. North Dakota State 5. Fresno State
Bottom 5: 1. Charlotte 2. Louisiana-Monroe 3. Northern Illinois 4. Akron 5. UTEP
"Mid" 5: 1. California 2. UTSA 3. South Florida 4. Syracuse 5. Michigan State
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
Their offense seems legitimately scary, and they absolutely blew the doors off of both Mississippi State and Kentucky. I think they are the top team in the country. |
| 2 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
|
| 3 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
If you haven't really played anyone yet, you need to really look dominant in your wins in order to keep the #1 spot. Letting a very mediocre North Carolina stick around wasn't that. |
| 4 |
Texas Longhorns
|
Maybe the only Top 10 team that can truly be called battle tested so far, |
| 5 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
|
| 6 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
|
| 7 |
LSU Tigers
|
|
| 8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
No Kinnick voodoo for the Buckeyes |
| 9 |
Utah Utes
|
Maybe Whitt wasn't the mastermind behind their success. |
| 10 |
Nebraska Cornhuskers
|
They are either here to stay or Cig is about to win by 4+ scores. |
| 11 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
|
| 12 |
BYU Cougars
|
|
| 13 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
|
| 14 |
Oregon Ducks
|
|
| 15 |
Missouri Tigers
|
Proved the doubters wrong with that win. I was one of those doubters. (They also had maybe the highest one-week jump in my computer poll I've seen so far this season.) |
| 16 |
UCLA Bruins
|
|
| 17 |
USC Trojans
|
|
| 18 |
Florida Gators
|
|
| 19 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
|
| 20 |
Houston Cougars
|
|
| 21 |
Arizona Wildcats
|
Only loss is to BYU, and they dominated a solid Cincinnati team. |
| 22 |
Northwestern Wildcats
|
Talk your kids about ranked Northwestern. |
| 23 |
Boise State Broncos
|
|
| 24 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
The Louisville win has already been downgraded from a marquee win to a close shave against a bad team and the Florida blowout now looks even more embarrassing. How did this team beat LSU? |
| 25 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
Watch them blow out Missouri to complete the SEC circle of suck. |
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.72 |
| 2 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.00 |
| 3 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Texas Longhorns
|
-0.14 |
| 5 |
Miami Hurricanes
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Indiana Hoosiers
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.79 |
| 8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.00 |
| 9 |
Utah Utes
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Nebraska Cornhuskers
|
1.18 |
| 11 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
BYU Cougars
|
0.00 |
| 13 |
Tennessee Volunteers
|
0.31 |
| 14 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.00 |
| 15 |
Missouri Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 16 |
UCLA Bruins
|
0.00 |
| 17 |
USC Trojans
|
0.21 |
| 18 |
Florida Gators
|
0.00 |
| 19 |
Pittsburgh Panthers
|
0.00 |
| 20 |
Houston Cougars
|
0.03 |
| 21 |
Arizona Wildcats
|
3.65 |
| 22 |
Northwestern Wildcats
|
0.00 |
| 23 |
Boise State Broncos
|
0.00 |
| 24 |
Ole Miss Rebels
|
-0.82 |
| 25 |
Texas A&M Aggies
|
0.00 |
Omissions:
| Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|
Mississippi State Bulldogs
|
0.69 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.47 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys
|
0.48 |
Duke Blue Devils
|
0.16 |
Total Score: 9.65