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quantum_jedi Ballot for 2026 Week 7

Ballot Type: Computer

Submitted: Oct. 11, 2026, 1:06 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Resume ranking that evaluates teams based on who they beat/lost to. More points are awarded for beating good teams and less points are subtracted for losing to good teams. Preseason rankings are evaluated based on weighted previous two year's performance, returning production, and team talent composite. Beating an FCS opponent is awarded minimally, but losing is punished. Ranking score is modified by strength of opponent and travel distance to away games. Early season rankings are influenced heavily by strong non-conference wins (e.g., beating two decent teams is rewarded more than beating a single strong team and an FCS team) though this is biased by preseason rankings. Score accumulates throughout the season, so points are awarded based on the models perception of teams at the time. Higher weighting is given to big wins over losses.

Starting to see some separation and the better teams are starting to distinguish themselves from the pack. Week 6: Fixed an error that double counted strength of opponent that was keeping A&M as a top 15 team; big outlier.

Next five out: Mississippi State (44.18), Texas A&M (43.66), Oregon (42.28), Baylor (41.69), Florida (41.62)

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs (77.66, +0) Georgia retains the top spot after a thrilling win over Alabama!
2 Indiana Hoosiers (64.69, +5) Another close win for the Hoosiers, but they keep on rolling!
3 Alabama Crimson Tide (63.64, -1) Small drop after a close loss to Georgia. Regardless of the loss, Alabama looks the part midway through the season.
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (61.80, +1) Completely dominated Stanford in a game that was never even close to competitive.
5 Missouri Tigers (59.66, +9) What an awesome stretch of wins for Mizzou! The Tigers are looking great so far!
6 BYU Cougars (59.14, +4) Not as convincing as you'd like to see for a team with BYU's aspirations, but a win nonetheless.
7 Texas Longhorns (59.10, -4) Ouch, that was a bad loss. The Texas play calling and offensive line play need to get figured out soon if Texas hopes to compete with the better teams in the SEC.
8 Ole Miss Rebels (58.55, +1) Smacked around Vandy. Besides a now perplexing loss to Florida, Ole Miss is looking very good.
9 Ohio State Buckeyes (58.45, -3) Took care of business at home against a woeful Maryland. Hard to take much away from this one.
10 Miami Hurricanes (57.38, -6) On BYE this week, so slight drop for now.
11 Kentucky Wildcats (57.15, +9) What a clutch team Kentucky is! Back-to-back 35-34 OT wins and the Wildcats are rolling!
12 USC Trojans (53.35, +0) A great win for USC at Penn State. Played a solid team game and looked much better than the previous weeks.
13 Iowa Hawkeyes (53.00, +9) Great bounce back win for the Hawkeyes over a struggling Washington. Game didn't feel nearly as close as the final score.
14 Tennessee Volunteers (52.22, +2) That was way closer than expected for the Vols over Arkansas. They'll need to get it together for Alabama next week.
15 LSU Tigers (49.17, -7) Rough game for the Tigers with the overtime loss to Kentucky.
16 Boise State Broncos (48.49, +20) The Broncos debut in these rankings (after fixing the SoS error that was limiting them prior) and look to be the class of the Pac12.
17 Arizona Wildcats (48.46, +10) Blew out West Virginia on the road to move to 5-1!
18 Texas Tech Red Raiders (48.31, -7) BYE week for the Red Raiders.
19 Utah Utes (47.00, +7) The Utes keep dominating and no game has been closer than 14 points. Not that the schedule has been challenging, but the Big12 race is going to be wild.
20 UCLA Bruins (46.80, +11) Man that was an ugly game, but UCLA found a way to hang on by forcing six Oregon turnovers. Chesney has the Bruins looking dangerous.
21 Pittsburgh Panthers (46.67, -4) Tough loss for the Panthers who are desperately missing Mason Heintschel. This is going to be a season of what-ifs for the Panthers, hopefully they can respond but had to lose such an impactful player.
22 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (46.46, +12) Jake Dickert has Wake Forest playing some great football. 5-1 with their only loss being at Miami, the Deacons are going to be a team to watch as the rest of season seems quite manageable.
23 Houston Cougars (46.14, +9) Another solid win for the Cougars! Big time game next week with Oklahoma State coming to town.
24 Oklahoma Sooners (45.01, +15) Rewarded for an absolutely head-scratching win over Texas, but that's Red River for yah. Great job by the Sooners to take advantage of some baffling Texas mistakes.
25 James Madison Dukes (44.74, +4) JMU moves up from the next five out to the final slot in this week's rankings. Close win over Georgia Southern, but the Dukes stay undefeated and in contention for a second consecutive playoff bid.

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