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ToeInDigDeep Ballot for 2026 Week 7

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 13, 2026, 10:47 a.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 nine 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.

Rank Team Reason
1 Indiana Hoosiers 6-0, win over Nebraska, Northwestern
2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-0, win over UNC, Mi St., Stanford, Purdue
3 BYU Cougars 5-0, win over Arizona, TCU, Iowa St.
4 Miami Hurricanes 6-0, win over Wake Forest, Clemson, Stanford
5 Georgia Bulldogs 6-0, win over Alabama, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Arkansas
6 Utah Utes 5-0, win over Kansas, Iowa State, Utah State, Arkansas
7 UCLA Bruins 5-0, win over Oregon, Maryland, Purdue, UC Berkeley
8 Texas Tech Red Raiders 5-0, win over Houston, Colorado St., Oregon St., Colorado
9 James Madison Dukes 6-0, wins over SDSU, Old Dominion, Georgia Southern, Georgia St.
10 Texas Longhorns 4-1; loss to unranked Oklahoma; win over Ohio State
11 Ohio State Buckeyes 5-1; loss to Texas; win over Iowa, Illinois, Maryland
12 Houston Cougars 5-1; loss to Texas Tech; win over UCF, Kansas State, Oregon State
13 Alabama Crimson Tide 5-1; loss to Georgia; win over Miss St., South Carolina, Kentucky
14 Oklahoma State Cowboys 4-1; loss to Tulsa; win over Oregon, Iowa St., WVU, UCF
15 Boise State Broncos 5-1; loss to Oregon; win over Fresno St., WMU, Memphis, Utah St.
16 Iowa Hawkeyes 5-1; loss to Ohio St.; win over Washington, Michigan, Iowa St.
17 Missouri Tigers 5-1; loss to Miss St.; win over Florida, Texas A&M, Kansas
18 Northwestern Wildcats 4-1; loss to Indiana; win over Penn St., Colorado
19 Arizona Wildcats 5-1; loss to BYU; win over Wazzu, Cincy, WVU
20 USC Trojans 6-1; loss to Oregon; win over Penn St., Washington, Fresno St
21 Ole Miss Rebels 4-1; loss to Florida; win over LSU, Vanderbilt
22 Nebraska Cornhuskers 5-1; loss to Indiana; win over Maryland, Michigan St.
23 Tennessee Volunteers 5-1; loss to Texas; win over Arkansas, Auburn
24 New Mexico Lobos 4-1; loss to Oklahoma; win over UTEP, NM St.
25 Oregon State Beavers 4-2; loss to Texas Tech and Houston; win over SDSU, Colorado St.

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