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Effective-Lead-6657 Ballot for 2026 Week 7

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 11, 2026, 2:22 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Mostly Vibes

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs (5) After Texas lost, the winner of Georgia-Alabama was going to vault to number 1. Georgia won, and here they are.
2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2) Notre Dame handled their business against Stanford. They're vaulted by Georgia because of the quality of Georgia's win. Next up is a game against BYU, the first real test of the season for the Irish.
3 Indiana Hoosiers (7) I know it wasn't pretty against Nebraska, but the Hoosiers got the job done. I think the Huskers are strong this year, so Indiana moves up with the strong win.
4 Alabama Crimson Tide (4) Bama holds their spot. There's no shame in a close loss to Georgia, and the schedule is looking a lot stronger with wins by Kentucky and South Carolina this weekend.
5 Miami Hurricanes (3) They are dropped after a bye (probably unfairly). Bama's schedule is just way tougher.
6 Texas Longhorns (1) Texas should not have lost the game. The Horns still have one of the best wins of the season, so they stick around at #6.
7 Ohio State Buckeyes (6) The Texas loss is looking worse with Texas's loss. Still, this roster is so talented that I expect the Buckeyes to win out.
8 Texas Tech Red Raiders (8) Now begins the tier of Big 12 contenders. They are kind of just ranked by how strong I think their schedules are. Tech's win over Houston is the best of the bunch.
9 BYU Cougars (9) Bye week before Notre Dame comes to Provo. The Cougars will shoot up the rankings if they can get a win.
10 Utah Utes (10) This schedule is bad, but the Utes have handled it easily. They keep the bad opponents rolling with Colorado next week.
11 Ole Miss Rebels (17) A dominant win and chaos all around them causes Ole Miss to shoot up the rankings. The middle of the SEC is a mess right now. Hopefully, things sort themselves out soon. Missouri v Ole Miss will be a big game this coming Saturday.
12 Tennessee Volunteers (13) They needed a 4th Quarter comeback to beat Arkansas... I guess a win is a win. I'm worried that Bama will crush them.
13 Kentucky Wildcats (19) Somehow, someway the Wildcats did it again. I still don't think this is a good team, but I can't rank a team with their resume much lower.
14 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (25) The Demon Deacons are the only team that have played Miami even kind of close this season. The schedule is pretty easy the rest of the way. They could be a sneaky playoff team when the SEC implodes on itself.
15 Iowa Hawkeyes (21) Moving up after the Bye Week, again because of chaos around them.
16 USC Trojans (24) So this is probably controversial, as Oregon is looking worse by the week. I don't care. Penn State is a solid win for the time being.
17 Mississippi State Bulldogs (16) Bye this past week. Another middle of the SEC matchup next week against LSU.
18 Missouri Tigers (22) Wow, A&M is bad. I still don't know if Missouri is good.
19 Houston Cougars (NR) Houston had looked strong all season, with their only loss a close one to a very strong Texas Tech team.
20 Oklahoma Sooners (NR) They beat Texas, and I'm biased. Enough said.
21 UCLA Bruins (NR) I still don't think they're very good, likely because of my priors coming into the season. Sue me. Wisconsin is a solid opponent next week. Let's see how that one goes.
22 Nebraska Cornhuskers (20) I hadn't watched any Nebraska football until this weekend. They look pretty good, even after the loss.
23 LSU Tigers (15) A couple of plays away from being a top 5 team.
24 Northwestern Wildcats (18) Play a real team please. Ball State doesn't count.
25 Oregon Ducks (14) Too talented for me to drop. Poll inertia at its finest.

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