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quantum_jedi Ballot for 2026 Week 9

Ballot Type: Computer

Submitted: Oct. 26, 2026, 10:04 a.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.

This season continues to be full of surprises and some highly entertaining football. I'm really not sure sure if we have any truly elite teams this year, as the remaining undefeated teams have quite low strength of schedule metrics.

Next five out: Auburn (50.73), Iowa (50.43), Virginia Tech (50.25), Duke (50.02), Minnesota (49.39)

Rank Team Reason
1 Miami Hurricanes (84.15, +3) This probably would have been quite the game if Mason Heintschel, but unfortunately Pitt is a shell of itself now. Regardless, another convincing win for Miami and while the schedule has been decent (#36 SOS) the hurricanes early season win over Wake Forest looks better every week.
2 Kentucky Wildcats (76.49, +2) The SEC leading Wildcats continue to rack up wins and with their only loss to #3 Alabama and a #6 SOS, Kentucky is off to a terrific start! BYE week is next then a huge game at Tennessee.
3 Alabama Crimson Tide (75.08, +7) Good win for the Tide over a floundering A&M squad. This ranking seems far too high as Alabama boasts two losses (#6 Georgia and #15 Tennessee) and only one significant victory (#2 Kentucky). The Tide have also accrued a number of good wins and have faced the #2 SOS. Perhaps the model rewards SOS too much and under-punishes wins. Regardless Alabama has performed well against a very difficult schedule.
4 Indiana Hoosiers (74.92, +7) Josh Hoover needs to be better, but the Hoosier defense is elite again this year and the offense is doing just enough. Indiana's only loss is against #5 Ohio State but they are held back with their best win being over, admittedly underranked, #31 Northwestern.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes (74.13, -3) On BYE this week. Buckeyes are on the road next at USC.
6 Georgia Bulldogs (73.82, -3) On BYE. Up next is the Cocktail Party.
7 LSU Tigers (72.85, +6) Dominant win for the (LSU) Tigers over the (Auburn) Tigers! #7 seems high for LSU, but their losses are looking better (#2 Kentucky and #10 Ole Miss) though their wins are looking worse (#26 Auburn being the best right now).
8 UCLA Bruins (70.39, +0) The Bruins just keep winning! Behind a dominant defense and an offense that doesn't make critical mistakes UCLA is now 8-0! The Bruins' ranking is held back by an abysmal strength of schedule (#55) and their best win being #32 Wisconsin.
9 BYU Cougars (69.49, -8) What the hell was that BYU? An absolute letdown game against UCF after a huge win over Notre Dame last week. BYU is still 6-1 and in contention for the Big 12 championship, but their hopes for an at-large playoff spot are hanging by a thread after this loss.
10 Ole Miss Rebels (69.02, -5) The Rebels dug themselves a huge hole against Texas and did a good job clawing their way back into the game, just couldn't finish. The SEC is a mess and does seem to be a bit of a self-fulfilling cycle but it's wildly fun to watch.
11 Texas Longhorns (68.49, +9) I really don't think Texas deserves to be anywhere close to the top 10, but at times they looked elite against Ole Miss. The problem is that they spent the rest of the game looking miserable. Great defense and a quarter-to-quarter who-knows offense.
12 Utah Utes (68.26, +5) What a terrific day for Ute fans! Great win over a very good Houston team and BYU loses in embarrassing fashion. The Utes are undefeated at 7-0, but are held back by a woeful #78 SOS which is the second worst for teams ranked in the Top 30.
13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (64.87, -4) On BYE this week. Up next is Navy.
14 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (62.77, -2) Also on BYE this week.
15 Tennessee Volunteers (61.74, -8) Dude, what even is the SEC at this point? How do you beat Alabama and then immediately collapse against South Carolina? This is some peak Pac-12 levels of ups and downs for Vol fans. Mercifully they get a BYE to try and figure things out.
16 Missouri Tigers (59.86, -2) On BYE this past week. We'll see if the Tigers can bounce back against Arkansas.
17 Boise State Broncos (57.59, +4) Solid win for the Broncos over Wazzou. Boise State continues to top the Pac-12 but might have some competition from the resurgent Beavs. Up next is a very interesting matchup against the high powered Texas State offense.
18 Arizona Wildcats (56.62, +8) The Wildcats are 6-1 and playing very well! Arizona's only loss is to #9 BYU but they don't really have many strong wins (#35 Cincinnati is the best right now). Regardless, they are beating the schedule in front of them and looking like a strong contender in the Big12.
19 SMU Mustangs (55.89, +8) What an impressive second half of football that SMU played against Cal! The first half was looking dicey, but the Mustangs came out and obliterated the Golden Bears.
20 Florida Gators (55.56, -2) On BYE this week. The Gator's wild ride continues with the Cocktail Party next.
21 Houston Cougars (55.45, -5) Tough loss for Houston at Utah. This is a really good team, but now have two losses in conference and might be out of the Big 12 title race. The Cougars #23 SOS keeps them ranked over Texas Tech despite the 2-losses for Houston.
22 Texas Tech Red Raiders (54.72, -7) Oof that was a rough loss for the Red Raiders against Cincinnati. Tech barely stays in the rankings despite only one-loss because of their dreadful #86 SOS ranking, by far the worst in the Top 30. Huge matchup next week for Texas Tech against Arizona. Big opportunity to right the ship.
23 Oklahoma Sooners (54.17, +12) I am not happy that Oklahoma is ranked this highly. They are 4-3 and look awful and, unfortunately, this model doesn't know that Kamario Taylor was out for Mississippi State so the Sooners get full marks for that win. Perhaps this is a sign to re-weight some of the metrics in the model...
24 UTSA Roadrunners (52.00, +9) The Roadrunners emerge as frontrunners in the American and debut in these rankings! UTSA is 7-1, just dominated Tulane, and their only loss is at #11 Texas. This is a solid team.
25 USC Trojans (51.70, -6) Ugh, how is USC still ranked? They just got dominated by a much improved Wisconsin and their best win is over #53 Washington... The Trojans are 6-2 and at times look as promised and at others look awful. I should just manually write in Northwestern here... Ohio State travels to the Coliseum next week.

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