Back to poll results >>

ToeInDigDeep Ballot for 2026 Week 11

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 8, 2026, 3:55 p.m.

Overall Rationale: This ballot privileges wins, recognizing and highlighting 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 two teams who are undefeated, and only eight* 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.

Rank Team Reason
1 Utah Utes Undefeated
2 UCLA Bruins Undefeated
3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Loss to BYU
4 Miami Hurricanes Loss to Notre Dame
5 Georgia Bulldogs Loss to Auburn
6 Indiana Hoosiers Loss to Ohio State
7 Texas Tech Red Raiders Loss to BYU
8 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Loss to Miami
9 Boise State Broncos Loss to Oregon
10 New Mexico Lobos Loss to Oklahoma
11 Iowa Hawkeyes Loss to Ohio State, Minnesota
12 Tennessee Volunteers Loss to Texas, South Carolina
13 BYU Cougars Loss to UCF, Utah
14 Houston Cougars Loss to Texas Tech, Utah
15 Texas Longhorns Loss to Oklahoma, Florida
16 Alabama Crimson Tide Loss to Tennessee, Georgia
17 USC Trojans Loss to Oregon, Wisconsin
18 Kentucky Wildcats Loss to Alabama, Tennessee
19 Arizona Wildcats Loss at BYU, at Texas Tech
20 SMU Mustangs Loss at Louisville, at Syracuse
21 Duke Blue Devils Loss at Georgia Tech, to North Carolina
22 North Texas Mean Green Loss at Indiana, at Texas State
23 Oregon Ducks Loss at Oklahoma State, to UCLA, at Illinois
24 Northwestern Wildcats Loss at Indiana, at Oregon, vs. Iowa
25 Ohio State Buckeyes Loss at Texas, at USC, to Oregon

Back to poll results >>