Back to poll results >>

smartkeg Ballot for 2026 Week 7

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 13, 2026, 2:21 a.m.

Overall Rationale: I heavily weight current-season performance, opponent quality, game control, efficiency, margin, and the eye test, while using prior-season performance, returning talent, and preseason expectations only as supporting evidence of underlying team strength. Wins and losses are evaluated in context: a strong performance against an elite opponent can be more informative than a dominant win over a weak opponent, while a competitive loss to a great team can be more valuable than an unimpressive win over a mediocre one. Conversely, a poor performance against a weak opponent is meaningful negative evidence. Other supporting evidence: quarterback play and performance in high-leverage situations.

Goal: rank who I believe are the best teams right now.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs Best resume in the country. Dominant all season and a win in Tuscaloosa.
2 Alabama Crimson Tide Excellent wins vs Miss St and Kentucky. Losing narrowly to Georgia is not disqualifying, although it exposed some limitations.
3 Miami Hurricanes Dominant all season with wins at Wake and Clemson.
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Dominant all season, highlight is a win at UNC and against Wisconsin.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes Convincing in at Iowa and a 1-point road loss to Texas is more evidence of this team being great than anyone behind them.
6 Indiana Hoosiers Undefeated. Shaky at times, but the Nebraska comeback earns some credit as well.
7 BYU Cougars Undefeated with good wins vs Arizona and Iowa St. Notre Dame next week will clarify how high they belong.
8 Texas Longhorns Still owns the Ohio State win and the Tennessee win, but the Oklahoma loss is a serious blemish and exposed gaps in this squad.
9 Utah Utes Undefeated and consistently convincing against P4 competition.
10 UCLA Bruins Undefeated, with a road win over Oregon and the 54–3 Maryland demolition.
11 Ole Miss Rebels The Florida loss hurts, but Louisville and LSU are still meaningful wins. The 52–17 Vanderbilt win was a solid bounce-back.
12 Kentucky Wildcats The LSU win plus the overtime comeback against South Carolina give Kentucky two excellent recent results. Have liked this team since their performance against Bama and I think they're improving as the season goes on.
13 Texas Tech Red Raiders Undefeated, with a win vs Houston.
14 Mississippi State Bulldogs H2H win against Missouri is their resume definer.
15 Missouri Tigers The Florida demolition remains a marquee win, and the 27–6 Texas A&M result is strong.
16 Tennessee Volunteers Road wins vs GTech and Arkansas and a close loss to Texas. A good, credible resume without a truly elite win.
17 Iowa Hawkeyes Beat Michigan and Washington convincingly; the Ohio State loss is understandable. A good, credible resume without a truly elite win.
18 Arizona Wildcats Has lit up P4 competition and a loss to BYU. Has not looked elite, but very solid. A good, credible resume without a truly elite win.
19 Houston Cougars Good results against UCF and K-St a 2-point road loss to Texas Tech.
20 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Have won convincingly against P4 competition that is not Miami. Best evidence is wins vs Louisville, Purdue, and beatdown of Stanford.
21 Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oregon win remains significant, and they beat West Virginia and UCF. The Tulsa loss caps their ceiling.
22 USC Trojans Have looked shaky, especially in loss to Oregon, and their defense limits them but this is still a good team that can outgun most P4 opponents.
23 Oklahoma Sooners A shaky 2-loss team that has a great win vs Texas.
24 Oregon Ducks An inconsistent team that has good wins vs USC and Boise St, but poor performance in 2 losses. The strength of their wins keeps them in the Top 25.
25 LSU Tigers Have beaten P4 teams convincingly, but clearly not elite, as evidenced by 2 road losses to Kentucky and Ole Miss.

Back to poll results >>