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Bank_Gothic Ballot for 2026 Week 11

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 9, 2026, 10:04 a.m.

Overall Rationale: First five out: (26) New Mexico, (27) Minnesota, (28) Northwestern, (29) Oklahoma State, (30) JMU

Rank Team Reason
1 Utah Utes One of only two remaining undefeated teams, clear leader of their power conference, with strong wins over BYU and UH. I think Georgia is probably the better team, but my rankings are a blend of power ranking and record. Undefeated get Utah the top spot.
2 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia looks like the best and most complete team in the country, but the head scratcher loss to Auburn puts them below Utah. It's hard to be perfect every week and even great teams can lose a clunker, so I don't hold it against UGA too much.
3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Big win over my former No. 1 Miami moves Notre Dame up. The Irish are 1-1 in their "prove it games," but the BYU game still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Not to the point where I won't count it as a loss for ND or a win for BYU, but I will remember the context. On top of that, they eye test supports Notre Dame at No. 3; when Carr is on his game, they are one of the best in the country.
4 Miami Hurricanes Miami is the class of the ACC and has only one close loss to No. 3 Notre Dame. I'm comfortable rating them as one of the best teams in the country, but I have to slot them below ND. The Wake Forest win continues to age well.
5 UCLA Bruins At No. 5, I am now more in 🤷 mode. I'm solid on my top four but who knows after that. UCLA really hasn't played many good teams, and the good team(s) they've played were missing key players. Undefeated in a power conference has to mean something though, so the Bruins make the top five.
6 Indiana Hoosiers Indiana's only loss was close to an OSU that still had Julian Sayin as their starter. The Hoosiers have wins over a solid UNT squad, Northwestern (who I still rate in my top-30) and Minnesota. It's a respectable schedule, but not super impressive. There were also a lot of close wins that felt like coin flips. A clunker here or there is okay, but Indiana seems to have a lot of them. Winning with defense still nets Indiana the No. 6 spot.
7 Texas Longhorns Texas has the best wins in the country and some of the weirdest losses. They are a bit high in my rankings at 7-2, but they keep beating good teams and it is hard to put them any lower. Especially when they have a win over a Tennessee team (on the road) that keeps kicking ass. Based on head-to-head, I have slotted Texas ahead of Tennessee and Tennessee ahead of Alabama. Based on how well Tennessee and Alabama have played, I've put Texas at No. 7 despite it's struggles on offense.
8 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee's losses to Texas and South Carolina have aged well, and it's wins over Kentucky and Alabama show what it can be when everything clicks. As noted above, I've got Tennessee slotted between Texas and Alabama based on head-to-head, which is good enough for No. 8.
9 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama's dominant wins on the road over LSU and Kentucky justify its spot at No. 9, especially when the losses to UGA and Tennessee look more forgivable as the season goes on. Based on head-to-head, I've got Bama below Tennessee and Texas, but they are still solidly a top-10 team.
10 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Wake Forest is in a similar position to Indiana, as a one-loss team who hung with one of the best teams in the country. Their best win is probably Louisville, however, and it is hard to rank them any higher based on a lack of bad losses. The upcoming SMU game will tell us a lot about this team, but for now I'm happy with them in my top-10.
11 Texas Tech Red Raiders Tech is probably the second best team in the Big 12. I won't ding them too hard for the loss against Cincinnati, but I just don't understand who this team is. The wins over Arizona and Houston are great and I've got Tech as a playoff team, but I would like to see more consistency before I move them up.
12 BYU Cougars BYU has the big win over Notre Dame (although the circumstances of that win taint it a bit), the tough loss to No. 1 Utah, the solid win over Arizona, and a clunker lost to UCF. It's a roller coaster. I still really like BYU, but it is hard to rank them higher. If they win out, they move up, but for now I think No. 12 is a fair spot.
13 Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky is a good team and much improved, but they are not one of the best in the country. And when Kentucky plays the best, they get demolished. Hurts to say, but Big Blue should probably be lower.
14 South Carolina Gamecocks Cocks on the move up in the rankings with multiple quality wins over the last few weeks. Beamer's ass is firmly off the hot seat after righting the ship.
15 Houston Cougars UH isn't one of the best teams in the Big 12. It's the team the best teams in the Big 12 beat to prove they're the best. Tough sledding for the Coogs to take two one-score losses on the road to No. 1 Utah and No. 11 Tech. If Houston keeps winning they will keep moving up, but wins over Baylor, WVU, and CU won't put them in the playoffs.
16 LSU Tigers LSU is a good SEC team. They aren't a great team, although I think LSU is capable of beating great teams when it put everything together. The problem is, LSU rarely puts everything together. Head-to-head losses to Kentucky and Bama put LSU down at No. 16, although they are ahead of Ole Miss due to more recent levels of play from both teams. LSU may save its season with a win over No. 7 Texas - which is completely in the realm of possibility - but you don't win games on paper.
17 Oregon Ducks Oregon appears to have gotten its act together and will be a dangerous team from here on out. But I think it may be too little too late to save the 2026 season.
18 USC Trojans The loss to Oregon and win over OSU puts USC squarely at No. 18.
19 Ohio State Buckeyes OSU with Sayin is one of the best teams in the country. OSU without Sayin is a middle of the pack B1G team. OSU can still win out and save some face, but their season is effectively over.
20 Arizona Wildcats Like UH, Arizona is a good but not great Big 12 team. They're good enough to hang with the best teams, but just don't have the quality wins a team needs to move higher. A win over Utah next week would be huge, but I don't think it moves Arizona into playoff contention. Right now, I'm comfortable with them as a top-20 team but no higher.
21 Boise State Broncos Best G6 team in the country. I wish they played New Mexico this season.
22 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa is quietly doing Iowa things. It's probably disrespectful to have them this low with wins over Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. I'm going give Iowa some closer looks in the next couple of weeks and will happily pull the trigger on moving them up in my rankings. I don't know if they're top-10, but they look more and more like a top-15 team.
23 Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss looked great but have really fallen off. Getting dogwalked by a peer institution in UGA shows that Ole Miss is not a top team, but I still think they are good enough for the top-25.
24 SMU Mustangs I honestly have no idea what to make of SMU. Haywire dangerman Kevin Jennings defines their wins and losses. Are they a top-25 team? Sure. Do I know where to actually put them? Of course not.
25 Missouri Tigers This ranking is probably too low for the Tigers. Missouri doesn't have bad losses like Ole Miss, but Missouri did actually lose to Ole Miss. That head-to-head makes it hard to put Missouri ahead of the Rebels. Missouri can definitely move up depending on performance against UGA, UK, and OU, but I don't think they're a playoff team.

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