Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 2, 2026, 12:43 p.m.

Overall Rationale: This ballot privileges wins, and recognizes the achievement of undefeated and one-loss teams.

My contention is that losses can and should challenge priors folks have about teams from talent composites and preseason expectations. We've already seen a number of favorites get upset, and I contend that wins really do matter and losses must invite a reconsideration, or at least allow space for the teams that have not lost to rise to the top of the rankings.

Teams that have close losses to challenging opponents will rise in the next weeks, and and no one is being "punished" for not being ranked highly. There are now only three teams who are undefeated, and only ten* one-loss teams, so these groups are pretty special!

There will continue be a lot of movement throughout the season, but these teams are the ones who have won (and not lost) in the biggest contests on the field of play so far.

Perhaps more so than other submissions, I see all the conferences as being roughly equal in quality and the ballot will recognize strong performances or expectations from non-Autonomy conferences, so I include some expected conference champions or those with high expectations for the season.

Again, this will change wildly throughout the season in response to what happens on the field of play and I make an effort to avoid biases and poll inertia, even when it provides ballot submissions that differ from other national polls.

This week there is one addition that is an exception to my general rules above that I use to highlight a nice week from a team that bounced back in a big way against a tough opponent. I'll admit that they may not be the 25th-best team in the country and that a 2-loss team should go there by the rules I'm applying, but I'm giving them the 25 spot to highlight a big win

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Utah Utes	Undefeated
2	UCLA Bruins	Undefeated
3	Miami Hurricanes	Undefeated
4	BYU Cougars	Loss at UCF
5	Indiana Hoosiers	Loss to Ohio State
6	Texas Tech Red Raiders	Loss at Cincinnati
7	Kentucky Wildcats	Loss to Alabama
8	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Loss at BYU
9	Georgia Bulldogs	Loss to Auburn
10	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Loss to Miami
11	Boise State Broncos	Loss at Oregon
12	New Mexico Lobos	Loss at Oklahoma
13	UTSA Roadrunners	Loss at Texas
14	USC Trojans	Loss to Oregon, at Wisconsin
15	Texas Longhorns	Loss to Oklahoma, at Florida
16	Ohio State Buckeyes	Loss at Texas, at USC
17	Alabama Crimson Tide	Loss to Georgia, at Tennessee
18	Houston Cougars	Loss at Texas Tech, at Utah
19	Arizona Wildcats	Loss at BYU, at Texas Tech
20	Northwestern Wildcats	Loss at Indiana, at Oregon
21	Iowa Hawkeyes	Loss to Ohio State, at Minnesota
22	SMU Mustangs	Loss at Louisville, at Syracuse
23	Ole Miss Rebels	Loss at Florida, at Texas
24	LSU Tigers	Loss at Ole Miss, at Kentucky
25	Fresno State Bulldogs	Loss at USC, to Boise State, at SDSU

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Utah Utes	0.46
2	UCLA Bruins	0.09
3	Miami Hurricanes	-0.81
4	BYU Cougars	0.42
5	Indiana Hoosiers	0.00
6	Texas Tech Red Raiders	0.91
7	Kentucky Wildcats	0.00
8	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.00
9	Georgia Bulldogs	-1.20
10	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	0.00
11	Boise State Broncos	0.96
12	New Mexico Lobos	2.71
13	UTSA Roadrunners	3.35
14	USC Trojans	0.19
15	Texas Longhorns	-0.16
16	Ohio State Buckeyes	-0.35
17	Alabama Crimson Tide	-0.93
18	Houston Cougars	0.00
19	Arizona Wildcats	0.07
20	Northwestern Wildcats	0.79
21	Iowa Hawkeyes	0.00
22	SMU Mustangs	2.75
23	Ole Miss Rebels	-2.12
24	LSU Tigers	-1.31
25	Fresno State Bulldogs	0.25

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
Tennessee Volunteers	1.79
Missouri Tigers	1.00

Total Score: 22.62