Tom Murphy’s 2026 Preseason AP Ballot
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette · 2026 AP Poll Voter
Tom Murphy submitted a complete 25-team ballot for the 2026 Preseason AP football poll. This ballot includes 2 teams outside the published Top 25 and omits 2 teams inside it.
Notable Ballot Omission
LSU · AP #11
Tom Murphy left LSU unranked in the 2026 Preseason AP poll. 68 of 69 voters included the team. Tom Murphy was the only voter to leave it out.
Preseason Ballot
Positive differences mean a higher vote than the AP rank; negative differences mean a lower vote.
| Vote | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ohio State | #1 | 0 |
| #2 | Miami | #7 | +5 |
| #3 | Georgia | #3 | 0 |
| #4 | Oregon | #2 | -2 |
| #5 | Indiana | #6 | +1 |
| #6 | Texas | #5 | -1 |
| #7 | Notre Dame | #4 | -3 |
| #8 | Ole Miss | #9 | +1 |
| #9 | Texas A&M | #8 | -1 |
| #10 | Texas Tech | #12 | +2 |
| #11 | Alabama | #13 | +2 |
| #12 | BYU | #14 | +2 |
| #13 | Oklahoma | #10 | -3 |
| #14 | USC | #14 | 0 |
| #15 | Utah | #21 | +6 |
| #16 | Tennessee | #20 | +4 |
| #17 | Michigan | #16 | -1 |
| #18 | Washington | #17 | -1 |
| #19 | Penn State | #18 | -1 |
| #20 | Clemson | NR | Voter Only |
| #21 | Vanderbilt | NR | Voter Only |
| #22 | Iowa | #22 | 0 |
| #23 | Missouri | #25 | +2 |
| #24 | SMU | #19 | -5 |
| #25 | Houston | #23 | -2 |
| NR | Arizona | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Auburn | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Boise State | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | California | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Florida | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Georgia Tech | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Illinois | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | James Madison | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Liberty | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Louisville | #24 | Omitted by Voter |
| NR | LSU | #11 | Omitted by Voter |
| NR | Memphis | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Minnesota | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Navy | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | New Mexico | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Oklahoma State | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Pittsburgh | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | South Carolina | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | TCU | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Tulane | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | UNLV | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Virginia | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Virginia Tech | NR | Both Unranked |
| NR | Western Michigan | NR | Both Unranked |
Biggest Outliers in This Ballot
| Voter | Team | Vote | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Murphy | Utah | #15 | #21 | +6 |
| Tom Murphy | Miami | #2 | #7 | +5 |
| Tom Murphy | SMU | #24 | #19 | -5 |
| Tom Murphy | Tennessee | #16 | #20 | +4 |
| Tom Murphy | Notre Dame | #7 | #4 | -3 |
Added and Omitted Teams
Teams this voter includes outside the AP Top 25, and Top 25 teams they leave out.
| Voter | Team | Vote | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Murphy | Clemson | #20 | NR | Voter Only |
| Tom Murphy | Louisville | NR | #24 | Omitted by Voter |
| Tom Murphy | LSU | NR | #11 | Omitted by Voter |
| Tom Murphy | Vanderbilt | #21 | NR | Voter Only |
Conference Comparisons
2026 Preseason · This ballot only. Positive placement means higher than the AP rank; additions and omissions stay separate.
| Conference / Group | Shared Teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | +0.50 | 1 / 1 | 8 |
| Big Ten | -0.50 | 0 / 0 | 8 |
| Big 12 | +2.00 | 0 / 0 | 4 |
| ACC | 0.00 | 1 / 1 | 2 |
| Pac-12 | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| American | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| Mountain West | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| Sun Belt | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| MAC | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| Conference USA | — | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| FBS Independents | -3.00 | 0 / 0 | 1 |
Bars share a −3 to +3 scale. No shared ranked teams means no placement score (—). One ballot does not establish a lasting conference tendency.