Poll Behavior · Reporting & Analysis
Reporting and analysis of AP poll voting. For weekly ballot comparisons, visit Weekly Insights.
2026 Week 10
Alabama
UCLA
Notre Dame
Six SEC teams rank higher in CFP than AP, and none of the eight ranked by both sit lower. Alabama’s résumé offers a football explanation, but its placement exceeds every AP voter’s.
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The Hoosiers stayed sixth in AP while 39 voters lowered them. That helps explain the direction of their CFP drop during a bye, while leaving its size open to challenge.
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Graphic: Poll Behavior; photograph by Trevor Cokley / U.S. Air Force. Source. Photograph: U.S. government work, public domain in the United States; original Poll Behavior composition; school and ranking marks reserved.. Photo: Trevor Cokley / U.S. Air Force. Boise State at Air Force, September 20, 2025. Archive photograph, not current-season action. Proportional scaling/cropping and graphic framing; original photo pixels retained. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.
Archive photo (2025-09-20): Photo: Trevor Cokley / U.S. Air Force. U.S. government work (public domain in the United States). Proportional scaling/cropping and graphic framing; original athlete and uniform pixels retained. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.
The Broncos sit at the bottom of their AP ballot range, while New Mexico remains outside CFP’s Top 25. Expansion adds opportunities next season, but keeps one guaranteed G6 place.
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Both teams moved up one place after major wins. Every voter who changed their relative order moved toward the Utes.
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Graphic: Poll Behavior; photograph by John Hughel / Oregon National Guard. Source. Photograph: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Original school marks remain the property of their owners.. “Oregon National Guard salutes service at University of Oregon Spring football game,” April 25, 2026. Photograph by John Hughel / Oregon National Guard. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/32031029@N03/55232175621/ License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Changes: proportional scaling, top-aligned rectangular crops, feathered alpha edges and compositing within a torn-paper Poll Behavior layout, with an explicit spring-game archive label. No athlete, uniform, ball or equipment was reconstructed. Original people, clothing, equipment and sporting context preserved. The photograph does not depict the November 7 Ohio State game. No endorsement implied.
Archive photo (April 25, 2026): John Hughel / Oregon National Guard, April 25, 2026 spring football game at Autzen Stadium.. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Proportional scaling, top-aligned rectangular crop, feathered alpha edges and compositing in the Poll Behavior layout. No athlete, face, uniform, ball or equipment reconstructed.
A week after most voters kept the Buckeyes above USC, the new ballots put both recent opponents ahead on a large majority of shared lists.
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The Vols’ top-ten support jumped from two ballots to 53. Their position against Alabama remains a separate argument.
Read the AnalysisAlabama
TexasUCLANotre Dame
BYU
Ohio State
USC
New Mexico
Boise State
GeorgiaNotre Dame
IndianaAlabamaTexasBYU
Ole Miss
Texas TechIndianaNotre DameNew MexicoBoise State
UTSA
MiamiBYUOhio State
Arizona
Oklahoma StateBYUTexas Tech
Utah
Houston
Missouri
Florida
Kentucky
SMU
PittsburghBYUAlabama
The Bruins climbed from No. 22 to No. 9 after two wins. All 59 returning voters raised or added them, but 28 still placed them outside the top 10.
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2026–27 Week 1
Jayden Reid led wins over Iowa State and VCU. Nebraska took No. 25, with the decisive edge coming on ballots that ranked both teams.
Read the AnalysisFlorida
Duke
IllinoisHouston
Louisville
Graphic: Poll Behavior; photograph by John McClellan / John Mac. Source. CC BY-SA 2.0; school marks reserved. Photo: John McClellan / John Mac. Olivia Olson at Michigan vs. Minnesota, January 22, 2025. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olivia_Olson_2025.jpg Photo License: CC BY-SA 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ Changes: Proportional cropping/scaling, perimeter masking, framing and graphic overlays. Original photograph, player and uniform preserved. Graphic Composition: CC BY-SA 2.0. School marks remain the property of their respective owners. Typography: Anton (OFL); Liberation Sans (SIL OFL), retained project font files.
Archive photo (January 22, 2025): John McClellan / John Mac. CC BY-SA 2.0. Proportional crop/scale, perimeter masking, framing and graphic overlays.
Graphic: CC BY-SA 2.0. School and other third-party marks remain with their owners.
Thirty of 31 returning AP voters raised the Wolverines after a 2–0 opening week. South Carolina still holds nearly every first-place vote.
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2026–27 Week 1
USC and UConn received identical point totals from the 31 returning voters. Two additional ballots supplied the net difference between third and fourth.
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South Carolina
UConn
NC State
Nebraska
Arizona State
