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placid_salad Ballot for 2026 Week 10

Ballot Type: Computer

Submitted: Nov. 2, 2026, 9:26 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Resume-based ranking recalculated weekly considering a team’s opponent, margin of victory/loss, and home/away/neutral site. Teams earn positive or negative points every game and are ranked by average ranking points per game played so far. Dropped from last week: Nebraska #23 -> 33, Oklahoma state #24 -> 31; Biggest rise: Iowa # 48 -> 28, Washington #76 -> 56, and Troy #123 -> 103 (+20 each); Biggest drop: FIU #70 -> 94 (-24)

Rank Team Reason
1 Miami Hurricanes LW: #1 Best resume so far, 8-0 with only 2 wins by less than double digits and only one FCS opponent weighing down their average
2 Utah Utes LW: #7 Also 8-0 with a big win over Cincinnati helping boost the team. Weighed down by one FCS opponent and a 3-point win over #111 Colorado
3 Ohio State Buckeyes LW: #2 Surprisingly still #3, 6-2 with the best win among the top 3 over Indiana, another strong win over #28 Iowa, and not hampered too much by a 1-point road loss to another top 10 team. No losses or close games against low-ranked teams to weigh them down, at least not yet
4 LSU Tigers LW: #5 Another surprise at 6-2. Dominant wins over 5 teams ranked 51-71 holding them up, and two one-score road losses not weighing them down too much.
5 UCLA Bruins LW: #4 The worst resume of all undefeated teams, with 5/8 wins against teams outside the top 100
6 Georgia Bulldogs LW: #8 7-1 with large margins of victory over everyone but Alabama and their only blemish being a 3-point loss to #67 Auburn. Could use help from Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and WKU who are all ranked #100 or worse
7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish LW: #3 Average game ranking points took a hit this week with Navy joining Michigan State, Stanford, and Rice as ND’s 4 opponents outside the top 100. Only one strong win over #36 Wisconsin and a close loss to BYU keeping them afloat
8 Indiana Hoosiers LW: #6 8-1 with only one really good win over #38 North Texas. All other wins were either by one score, including against #69 Minnesota this week, or against teams outside the top 100.
9 Boise State Broncos LW: #9 7-1 with a loss to #30 Oregon and squeakers against #47 Fresno State and #49 Texas State. Could move up if they keep winning and with some wins from #27 Memphis
10 Texas Longhorns LW: #14 6-2 with their best average opponent ranking so far, with their worst opponent being #66 Mississippi State. Really only hindered by a loss to #62 Oklahoma and a lack of double digit wins against top 25 teams, but that could change if #26 UTSA keeps playing well
11 BYU Cougars LW: #10 7-1 and really hindered by their inability to win by larger margins over FBS teams. A 7-point win over #82 Arizona State stands out
12 Alabama Crimson Tide LW: #13 6-2 and weighed down by a 16-point loss to Tennessee. Their current signature win is over #29 Kentucky, who are ranked so low because they haven’t looked as strong against the top half of their opponents as many other teams have. This week’s game against LSU is a chance to crack the top 10.
13 Ole Miss Rebels LW: #17 6-2 and a very boom-or-bust team. 28-point win over Missouri for the boom, 24-point loss to #37 Florida for the bust. Out of conference, a close win against #32 Louisville was a missed opportunity to move the needle more, and a forgettable drubbing of #134 Charlotte has done more harm than good to their ranking point average.
14 Texas Tech Red Raiders LW: #18 7-1 with close wins over Houston and Arizona and a loss to #42 Cincinnati. Another team that only put up large victory margins over the bottom half of their opponents, but also another team that has chances to show off in November.
15 North Dakota State Bison LW: #19 7-2 with close losses to New Mexico and #54 UNLV. A 6-point win over #44 Air Force and a dominant victory over #48 Jacksonville State lift the team more than the 4 wins over teams outside the FBS Top 100 weigh them down.
16 Wake Forest Demon Deacons LW: #20 7-1 and struggled in their 3 games against top 80 teams, including a narrow 2-point win over #80 Purdue. Other than the Purdue game, the deacs haven’t looked vulnerable against the bottom of the FBS.
17 Houston Cougars LW: #15 6-2, sliding a bit as 4/5 FBS teams the cougars beat lost this week.
18 New Mexico Lobos LW: #16 7-1 and heavily buoyed by a win over North Dakota State, their only win over a top 98 team. Survived a scare this week against #101 San Jose State.
19 USC Trojans LW: #32 7-2 and sliding into the top 25 with a win over Ohio State. Losses to #30 Oregon and #36 Wisconsin, and a narrow win over #119 Rutgers are albatrosses.
20 James Madison Dukes LW: #11 7-2 and tumbling after a loss to #103 Troy. A narrow loss to #84 App State hurts, but a win over Liberty keeps the Dukes in the top 25.
21 Tennessee Volunteers LW: #22 Little movement during a bye week after a close loss to now #41 South Carolina, should shuffle more up or down next week after a matchup with #29 Kentucky. A 7-point win over #100 Arkansas hurts.
22 Arizona Wildcats LW: #12 Now 0-2 against ranked opponents, but outside of a 10-point win over #130 Wazzu, consistently putting up large margins against unranked teams. A 27-point win over #42 Cincinnati is a tentpole victory.
23 Liberty Flames LW: #33 7-1 and cracking into the top 25 with a win over #94 FIU. All of the Flames’ FBS wins are against teams outside the top 90, and a 1-point win over Gardner-Webb does them no favors.
24 Missouri Tigers LW: #25 6-2 with a walkover against #100 Arkansas not moving the needle much and hurting after going 0-2 against the state of Mississippi. A 28-point win over #37 Florida helps their ranking point average.
25 Northwestern Wildcats LW: #21 Sliding after a close loss to #30 Oregon and now 0-2 against the top 60. A narrow win over #104 Michigan State was ugly at the time and looks uglier week by week.

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