Dave Preston’s 2026 Week 9 AP Ballot
WTOP · 2026 AP Poll Voter
Dave Preston submitted a complete 25-team ballot for the 2026 Week 9 AP football poll. This ballot includes 3 teams outside the published Top 25 and omits 3 teams inside it.
Notable Ballot Omission
Boise State · AP #20
Dave Preston left Boise State unranked in the 2026 Week 9 AP poll. 67 of 70 voters included the team. 3 voters left it out.
Week 9 Ballot
Positive differences mean a higher vote than the AP rank; negative differences mean a lower vote.
| Vote | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Miami | #1 | 0 |
| #2 | Georgia | #2 | 0 |
| #3 | Indiana | #6 | +3 |
| #4 | Utah | #3 | -1 |
| #5 | UCLA | #5 | 0 |
| #6 | Kentucky | #8 | +2 |
| #7 | BYU | #7 | 0 |
| #8 | Notre Dame | #4 | -4 |
| #9 | Wake Forest | #14 | +5 |
| #10 | Texas Tech | #13 | +3 |
| #11 | Texas | #10 | -1 |
| #12 | Ole Miss | #12 | 0 |
| #13 | USC | #18 | +5 |
| #14 | Ohio State | #11 | -3 |
| #15 | Tennessee | #16 | +1 |
| #16 | Alabama | #9 | -7 |
| #17 | LSU | #15 | -2 |
| #18 | Missouri | #19 | +1 |
| #19 | Iowa | #21 | +2 |
| #20 | Florida | #25 | +5 |
| #21 | Houston | #17 | -4 |
| #22 | Northwestern | NR | Voter Only |
| #23 | New Mexico | #22 | -1 |
| #24 | Virginia Tech | NR | Voter Only |
| #25 | UTSA | NR | Voter Only |
| NR | Arizona | #24 | Omitted by Voter |
| NR | Boise State | #20 | Omitted by Voter |
| NR | Duke | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Liberty | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Louisville | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Minnesota | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Oklahoma State | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Oregon | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | SMU | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | South Carolina | #23 | Omitted by Voter |
Biggest Outliers in This Ballot
| Voter | Team | Vote | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Preston | Alabama | #16 | #9 | -7 |
| Dave Preston | Florida | #20 | #25 | +5 |
| Dave Preston | USC | #13 | #18 | +5 |
| Dave Preston | Wake Forest | #9 | #14 | +5 |
| Dave Preston | Houston | #21 | #17 | -4 |
Added and Omitted Teams
Teams this voter includes outside the AP Top 25, and Top 25 teams they leave out.
| Voter | Team | Vote | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Preston | Arizona | NR | #24 | Omitted by Voter |
| Dave Preston | Boise State | NR | #20 | Omitted by Voter |
| Dave Preston | Northwestern | #22 | NR | Voter Only |
| Dave Preston | South Carolina | NR | #23 | Omitted by Voter |
| Dave Preston | UTSA | #25 | NR | Voter Only |
| Dave Preston | Virginia Tech | #24 | NR | Voter Only |
Conference Comparisons
2026 Week 9 · This ballot only. Positive placement means higher than the AP rank; additions and omissions stay separate.
| Conference / Group | Shared Teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | -0.11 | 0 / 1 | 9 |
| Big Ten | +1.40 | 1 / 0 | 5 |
| Big 12 | -0.50 | 0 / 1 | 4 |
| ACC | +2.50 | 1 / 0 | 2 |
| Pac-12 | — | 0 / 1 | 0 |
| American | — | 1 / 0 | 0 |
| Mountain West | -1.00 | 0 / 0 | 1 |
| Sun Belt | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| MAC | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| Conference USA | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| FBS Independents | -4.00 | 0 / 0 | 1 |
Bars share a −4 to +4 scale. No shared ranked teams means no placement score (—). One ballot does not establish a lasting conference tendency.