Ballot Type: Hybrid

Submitted: Nov. 8, 2026, 9:54 a.m.

Overall Rationale: First divide teams into tiers, then sort within each tier.

The biggest change this week is I've set up a spreadsheet rating system to help break down the quartiles easier and more objective. This also lets me rate all Division I teams and recognize that a win over South Dakota State is better than one over West Georgia.

A breakdown of tiers:

1. These teams are tested and proven, and could probably absorb another loss before dropping off the playoff bubble completely.
2. This is meant to be the playoff bubble, but I struggled to get enough teams here that even one would be left out. It's also meant to be teams with no margin for error, but if any of them lose, the bubble'd have to expand and they may catch on to the edge, as Kentucky did this week.
3. At this point, a strict yes/no: If the rest of November is as wild as October felt, could this team play its way (back) into the playoff discussion? Some teams don't need much help, some don't have much chance, but for right now, they can dream.
4. The rest of Q1. As before, quartiles are not strict; I look for large-ish gaps between teams. There was a huge one between #33 Northwestern and #34 Louisville.
5. Q2. If I feel strongly enough that a team here deserves to be in the playoff discussion – almost certainly a G6 team with the autobid in play – I'll move them up. It didn't happen this week – removing Liberty from the ballot after I shoehorned them in last week (they would've ended up the first team out anyway) – but it could.
6/7. Q3/Q4.
8. Teams with ratings below 0. This is mostly going to be bad I-AA teams, but Northern Illinois has fallen this far as well.

Dropped out: 21 Texas-San Antonio, 22 Liberty, 24 Cincinnati, 25 Florida
First five out: Auburn, Oklahoma, Florida, South Carolina, Illinois

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Georgia Bulldogs	LW: 1 | Tier 1 | W Mississippi
2	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	LW: 11 | Tier 1 | W Miami (Florida)
3	Utah Utes	LW: 3 | Tier 1 | W Brigham Young
4	UCLA Bruins	LW: 5 | Tier 1 | W Minnesota
5	Indiana Hoosiers	LW: 4 | Tier 1 | bye
6	Texas Longhorns	LW: 13 | Tier 2 | W Missouri
7	Tennessee Volunteers	LW: 14 | Tier 2 | W Kentucky
8	Alabama Crimson Tide	LW: 7 | Tier 2 | W Louisiana State
9	Miami Hurricanes	LW: 2 | Tier 2 | L Notre Dame
10	Texas Tech Red Raiders	LW: 10 | Tier 2 | W West Virginia
11	Kentucky Wildcats	LW: 9 | Tier 2 | L Tennessee
12	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	LW: 12 | Tier 2 | W Merrimack
13	BYU Cougars	LW: 8 | Tier 3 | L Utah
14	Ohio State Buckeyes	LW: 6 | Tier 3 | L Oregon
15	Oregon Ducks	LW: NR | Tier 3 | W Ohio State
16	Ole Miss Rebels	LW: 15 | Tier 3 | L Georgia
17	USC Trojans	LW: 23 | Tier 3 | bye
18	Iowa Hawkeyes	LW: NR | Tier 3 | W Northwestern
19	LSU Tigers	LW: 19 | Tier 3 | L Alabama
20	Missouri Tigers	LW: 17 | Tier 3 | L Texas
21	Duke Blue Devils	LW: NR | Tier 3 | W North Carolina State
22	Boise State Broncos	LW: 16 | Tier 3 | W Colorado State
23	Houston Cougars	LW: 20 | Tier 3 | W Cincinnati
24	Arizona Wildcats	LW: NR | Tier 3 | W Texas Christian
25	New Mexico Lobos	LW: 18 | Tier 3 | W Nevada

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Georgia Bulldogs	0.22
2	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.49
3	Utah Utes	-0.12
4	UCLA Bruins	0.00
5	Indiana Hoosiers	0.00
6	Texas Longhorns	0.32
7	Tennessee Volunteers	0.37
8	Alabama Crimson Tide	0.00
9	Miami Hurricanes	-1.17
10	Texas Tech Red Raiders	0.00
11	Kentucky Wildcats	0.27
12	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	0.00
13	BYU Cougars	0.00
14	Ohio State Buckeyes	0.80
15	Oregon Ducks	0.31
16	Ole Miss Rebels	0.44
17	USC Trojans	0.00
18	Iowa Hawkeyes	0.00
19	LSU Tigers	0.00
20	Missouri Tigers	2.85
21	Duke Blue Devils	0.46
22	Boise State Broncos	-0.30
23	Houston Cougars	-1.65
24	Arizona Wildcats	-0.50
25	New Mexico Lobos	-0.22

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
South Carolina Gamecocks	0.49
SMU Mustangs	0.17

Total Score: 11.15