Ballot Type: Computer

Submitted: Oct. 20, 2026, 10:18 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Generated from GippyRank4, a probabilistic college-football ranking model that estimates underlying team quality from game performance and expresses uncertainty rather than treating rank as perfectly known. This ballot uses the 2026 Week 8 Predictive Context rankings. Predictive estimates current underlying team quality using preseason information plus games.

Explore the rankings and uncertainty at: https://sirgippy.github.io/GippyRank4/

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Ohio State Buckeyes	GippyRank expected rank: 3.1. Central 80% interval: 1–6. Top-25 probability: <100%.
2	Georgia Bulldogs	GippyRank expected rank: 4.1. Central 80% interval: 1–8. Top-25 probability: <100%.
3	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	GippyRank expected rank: 4.6. Central 80% interval: 2–9. Top-25 probability: 99.9%.
4	Miami Hurricanes	GippyRank expected rank: 4.8. Central 80% interval: 2–9. Top-25 probability: 99.9%.
5	Indiana Hoosiers	GippyRank expected rank: 4.8. Central 80% interval: 1–9. Top-25 probability: 99.9%.
6	LSU Tigers	GippyRank expected rank: 5.0. Central 80% interval: 2–9. Top-25 probability: 99.9%.
7	Alabama Crimson Tide	GippyRank expected rank: 5.7. Central 80% interval: 2–10. Top-25 probability: 99.9%.
8	Ole Miss Rebels	GippyRank expected rank: 6.2. Central 80% interval: 2–12. Top-25 probability: 99.3%.
9	Oregon Ducks	GippyRank expected rank: 6.4. Central 80% interval: 2–13. Top-25 probability: 99.4%.
10	Texas Longhorns	GippyRank expected rank: 6.9. Central 80% interval: 2–13. Top-25 probability: 99.3%.
11	Texas Tech Red Raiders	GippyRank expected rank: 7.9. Central 80% interval: 2–16. Top-25 probability: 97.8%.
12	Utah Utes	GippyRank expected rank: 8.4. Central 80% interval: 3–16. Top-25 probability: 98.3%.
13	Tennessee Volunteers	GippyRank expected rank: 9.0. Central 80% interval: 3–16. Top-25 probability: 98.2%.
14	BYU Cougars	GippyRank expected rank: 10.5. Central 80% interval: 3–19. Top-25 probability: 95.9%.
15	Nebraska Cornhuskers	GippyRank expected rank: 11.5. Central 80% interval: 4–21. Top-25 probability: 95.4%.
16	UCLA Bruins	GippyRank expected rank: 11.7. Central 80% interval: 4–21. Top-25 probability: 95%.
17	Houston Cougars	GippyRank expected rank: 12.2. Central 80% interval: 5–21. Top-25 probability: 95%.
18	Florida Gators	GippyRank expected rank: 12.6. Central 80% interval: 4–22. Top-25 probability: 93%.
19	Northwestern Wildcats	GippyRank expected rank: 13.1. Central 80% interval: 4–25. Top-25 probability: 91%.
20	Iowa Hawkeyes	GippyRank expected rank: 14.5. Central 80% interval: 5–26. Top-25 probability: 89%.
21	Missouri Tigers	GippyRank expected rank: 16.0. Central 80% interval: 5–30. Top-25 probability: 85%.
22	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	GippyRank expected rank: 16.5. Central 80% interval: 7–29. Top-25 probability: 85%.
23	Louisville Cardinals	GippyRank expected rank: 17.9. Central 80% interval: 7–32. Top-25 probability: 81%.
24	USC Trojans	GippyRank expected rank: 18.1. Central 80% interval: 7–32. Top-25 probability: 80%.
25	Arizona Wildcats	GippyRank expected rank: 18.2. Central 80% interval: 6–34. Top-25 probability: 78%.

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Ohio State Buckeyes	0.47
2	Georgia Bulldogs	0.83
3	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.37
4	Miami Hurricanes	-0.26
5	Indiana Hoosiers	0.04
6	LSU Tigers	2.14
7	Alabama Crimson Tide	1.14
8	Ole Miss Rebels	0.00
9	Oregon Ducks	3.73
10	Texas Longhorns	1.54
11	Texas Tech Red Raiders	-0.91
12	Utah Utes	-0.22
13	Tennessee Volunteers	0.00
14	BYU Cougars	-4.41
15	Nebraska Cornhuskers	9.11
16	UCLA Bruins	-1.58
17	Houston Cougars	-0.18
18	Florida Gators	0.47
19	Northwestern Wildcats	0.00
20	Iowa Hawkeyes	-0.29
21	Missouri Tigers	0.38
22	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	-0.70
23	Louisville Cardinals	2.21
24	USC Trojans	-0.93
25	Arizona Wildcats	-0.09

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
Kentucky Wildcats	2.23
James Madison Dukes	0.07
Boise State Broncos	0.48
SMU Mustangs	0.28

Total Score: 35.09