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ChBass Ballot for 2026 Week 11

Ballot Type: Computer

Submitted: Nov. 8, 2026, 1:29 p.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 Utah Utes Undefeated Utah still has a top-10 offense & the win against BYU gave them just enough to be at the top. I don't know what Kyle Wittingham did to deserve this...
2 UCLA Bruins Undefeated UCLA takes the second spot, but it's starting to looks like they won't have a chance for a marquee win until they face USC.
3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame got their best win, and the goldfish voters will forget all about the loss to BYU and put them at #1, but Pepperidge Farm remembers... It's the only thing holding back ND, who is at the top of the power ratings and is the only team with both a top-10 offense and defense.
4 Miami Hurricanes Losing to top-power-rated Notre Dame doesn't hurt Miami, but it did drop their defense enough to bring them down.
5 Indiana Hoosiers Indiana lost the bye week by everyone else getting points for wins. They still have the #3 defense in cfb and only a loss to #3 power rated Ohio State holding them back.
6 Georgia Bulldogs Again, the goldfish will see the shellacking of Ole Miss and want to put Georgia at $1, but we remember the loss to #58 power rated Auburn. Still, they have a top-15 ranked offense and defense, .giving them a #4 power rating.
7 Alabama Crimson Tide Beating #2 power rated LSU (aka the best team that can lose to anyone) boosted Bama up to the top-10.
8 Texas Longhorns The playoff committee will have to remember that they beat full strength Ohio State, and as long as the longhorns' opponents are ranked, they have nothing to worry about.
9 BYU Cougars The loss to Utah pretty much nets out the cumulative value of all their losses and gains. Fortunately for BYU, they still have a top-5 defense.
10 Wake Forest Demon Deacons The absolute destruction that Wake brought upon Merrimack doesn't factor into these calculations, and their best win is still against #33 power rated Louisville, but when you have one loss and it's to Miami, you don't fall that far.
11 Boise State Broncos The loss to Oregon is starting to hurt less, and their best win is against #22 power rated Memphis. That, and a top-10 rated offense will put you just outside the top 10.
12 USC Trojans USC is still being held up by the Ohio State win, which seems to be buoying a few ranked teams. USC does have a top-15 offense, which helps.
13 Texas Tech Red Raiders Tech is power rated #47, but the only team that can close out a win against them is Cincinnati, so here we are. Their only saving grace is a top-25 ranked offense.
14 New Mexico Lobos Their only loss is to #34 power rated Oklahoma, and their biggest win was against #18 power rated ND State. They have a top-10 defense and have earned a place in the top 15.
15 Kentucky Wildcats The win against LSU keeps them up, but the loss to #26 power rated Tennessee keeps them out of the top-10.
16 Oregon Ducks Wait, Oregon? 3-loss Oregon? The one that lost to #50 power rated Illinois? Yes, the Ohio State win lifts Oregon up and brings them back to life. They also have offense and defense who both are top-30 squads.
17 Liberty Flames Liberty Bibberty only lost to #32 power rated James Madison, so they are in the top-20, despite their strongest win being against #65 power rated FIU.
18 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa has a top-15 defense and a win against #21 power rated Wisconsin, but the losses, including to #54 power rated Minnesota, drag them down.
19 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee is stacking wins against the opponents above them, and the loss to $29 power rated South Carolina is looking better every week, but their offense is not doing them any favors.
20 Ohio State Buckeyes The Buckeyes got their worst loss of the season... last week, since Oregon is power rated above USC. For now, the overall stats have them power rated #3, but I suspect that will not hold with Sayin out.
21 Ole Miss Rebels The loss to Georgia hurt about half as badly as the loss to Florida, and the LSU win really helps the resume. Georgia definitely put a hurt on their defensive rankings.
22 Houston Cougars UH is 9th in the power ratings. They have a top-20 offense and defense, and their best win is against #23 power rated Oklahoma State. The loss to #47 power rated Texas Tech continues to haunt them.
23 Wisconsin Badgers Okay, the model loves Wisconsin. How are the three-loss Badgers not relegated to the scrap heap of the season? Check out the power ratings of their losses: Notre Dame (1), UCLA (7), and Iowa (24). They also have a top-10 defense and a power rating of 21 themselves.
24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs La Tech only has 2 losses, to LSU (power rated #2) & Baylor (power rated #38). Their most impressive win has been #44 power rated Louisiana, but everyone else has just lost more.
25 James Madison Dukes James Madison has had some embarrassing losses, including to #100 power rated Troy (really?), but they have the early season win against #14 power rated Liberty Bibberty, which gives them enough of an offset to stand above the 3+ loss teams.

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