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ChBass Ballot for 2026 Week 10

Ballot Type: Computer

Submitted: Nov. 1, 2026, 8:10 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Each team's performance is compared to their opponent's opponents' performances, with adjustments for wins & losses depending on the quality of the opponent. FCS games are not taken into consideration.

After this week, it's worth noting that the win/loss adjustments are weighted based on the difference between the opponent's power rating and the top power rating. So, losing to the top power rated team doesn't hurt at all; everyone is expected to lose to them. When there's parity, losses don't hurt as much as when there are incredible teams at the top and everyone else at the bottom. These adjustments allow me to make comparisons between the values of losses and gains.

Rank Team Reason
1 Indiana Hoosiers How is a one-loss team still at the top? Since Ohio State has the top power rating (despite their loss), the effect of the Ohio State loss is minimal. Indiana still has the #2 defense in CFB and a top-25 offense.
2 UCLA Bruins Undefeated UCLA brings their top-25 offense and defense to the #2 spot. It would be higher, but their best win (#29 Oregon) isn't as impressive as they would have liked.
3 Utah Utes Undefeated Utah is in the same boat, but with a more impressive offense and a less impressive defense, and a slightly more impressive best win (#25 Houston).
4 Miami Hurricanes Why isn't Miami #1? They have the #3 offense in cfb but their defense barely scrapes the top 50. Their top win is #14 Wake Forest. Everything will change after facing Notre Dame next week.
5 Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky sits atop the SEC and sits at the conference's highest point here, despite an offense and defense that don't crack the top 35. The win against LSU is appreciating every week, and the loss to Alabama hurts less and less.
6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish ND is the first of three teams with both offense and defense in the top 10, but their best win is unranked not-good Wisconsin (the haters were right; good call by the haters), and the BYU loss is looking worse.
7 Texas Longhorns How does a team who lost to Oklahoma and Florida end up back in the top-10? Is it the name? No; it's the best defense in cfb. Is it the offense? Nope; it's a win against the power rated top team in the game.
8 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State is power rated #1 by the model; it has the best offense in cfb and a top-10 defense, and the sole win against Indiana, which was completely negated by the loss to USC.
9 BYU Cougars BYU still has the 5th best defense in cfb, but the offense is not in the top 50. Baylor made the UCF loss look even worse, so it almost completely wipes out the Notre Dame win.
10 Ole Miss Rebels How does a team who lost to the longhorns and the gators end up back in the top-10? Is it the Grove? No, it's a top-15 offense. Is it the defense? Nope; it's a win against the power rated #3 team in the league.
11 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia's outside of the top 10? But how? Sure, they're power rated #7, with offense and defense in the top 20, respectively, and their best win is against #15 Alabama. But they had to beat #28 Florida to get enough quality wins to offset the one loss to #42 Auburn.
12 USC Trojans How does a team who lost to Oregon and Wisconsin end up back in the top-15? Is it the sweaters? You know what, the gag doesn't fit here; they had a #15 offense at best. It's one good win on the one wet day in LA. If they hadn't won, they'd be #26 behind Wisconsin.
13 Texas Tech Red Raiders Tech held on against Arizona, and is ranked despite having neither an offense or defense that is in the top 25. Their best win is #25 Houston.
14 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Wake continues to benefit from a top-15 defense, and the loss to Miami doesn't hurt them that badly. Their biggest win, however, is #47 Louisville.
15 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama has top-25 offense and defense, they just lost to Tennessee. Their best win is against #38 South Carolina.
16 Boise State Broncos The Broncos' loss to Oregon has aged like milk, but they've stacked up enough wins against the middle of cfb (their best is #41 Memphis) to offset it. They also have a top-15 offense.
17 LSU Tigers LSU is the best team who could lose to anyone. Power rated #3, and with offense and defense both in the top-10, respectively, they would be top-5 if they didn't, you know, lose. Their top win is against Cowbell, but they'll have plenty of opportunity in the gauntlet of upcoming games to work their way up.
18 Iowa Hawkeyes The Hawkeyes have a top-20 defense, and Minnesota is a quirky enough team to lose to, but their best win is against an unranked Wisconsin.
19 Tennessee Volunteers But we beat Bama! But you lost to South Carolina. But we have a top-10 defense! But your offense is 63rd.
20 Northwestern Wildcats And just like that, the cumulative value of all your wins disappears into the cool Oregon night. They still have a top-20 offense, but their best win is #74 Penn State.
21 UTSA Roadrunners They've only lost to the longhorns, so who knows how good Traylor's team could be? Probably not that good, with offense and defense outside the top-50. But wins and losses matter, and they keep winning. Their best win is #78 Texas State.
22 Nebraska Cornhuskers And just like that, the cumulative value of all your wins disappears into the cool Oregon night. They still have a top-15 offense, but their best win is #89 Michigan State.
23 New Mexico Lobos Like UTSA, the lobos keep stacking little wins to offset an SEC loss. Their best win is #35 North Dakota State.
24 Liberty Flames Liberty Biberty, after the opening loss to James Madison in the Virginia Safety School Bowl, has been crawling back and not losing. They actually have a top-10 defense, but their best win is somehow against #115 Florida International.
25 Houston Cougars Coogs have lost to Tech and Utah, but they still have a top-10 offense and a win against #51 Oklahoma State.

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