Jackson Payne Deseret News (Provo, UT) About: Jackson Payne has been writing about sports for the Deseret News since 2023. He originally hails from Northern Virginia and is a graduate of BYU’s Sports Media program, where he received numerous awards for his work as a student journalist. Jackson enjoys hanging out with his wife, consuming comedy and listening to music from before he was born.
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Jan 5, 2026 Week 9 Rankings for Jackson Payne1 Arizona (32) 14-0 Actual: 1Highest: 1 - 32 Voters Lowest: 3 - 2 Voters 1494
2 Michigan (29) 13-0 Actual: 2Highest: 1 - 29 Voters Lowest: 2 - 32 Voters 1493
3 Iowa State 14-0 Actual: 3Highest: 2 - 2 Voters Lowest: 4 - 15 Voters 1390
4 UConn 14-1 Actual: 4Highest: 3 - 14 Voters Lowest: 7 - Percy Allen 1343
5 Purdue 13-1 Actual: 5Highest: 3 - Randy Heitz Lowest: 8 - Brenden Martin 1254
6 Duke 13-1 Actual: 6Highest: 4 - 2 Voters Lowest: 9 - Dylan Sinn 1206
7 Houston 13-1 Actual: 7Highest: 4 - Brenna Greene Lowest: 11 - 3 Voters 1113
8 BYU 13-1 Actual: 9Highest: 5 - Parth Upadhyaya Lowest: 11 - 9 Voters 1039
9 Gonzaga 16-1 Actual: 8Highest: 5 - 4 Voters Lowest: 11 - 4 Voters 1101
10 Nebraska 14-0 Actual: 10Highest: 6 - 3 Voters Lowest: 15 - Toyloy Brown 998
11 Michigan State 12-2 Actual: 12Highest: 9 - 3 Voters Lowest: 15 - 3 Voters 834
12 Vanderbilt 14-0 Actual: 11Highest: 4 - Dylan Sinn Lowest: 16 - Jon Wilner 936
13 Alabama 11-3 Actual: 13Highest: 10 - Pat Rooney Lowest: 20 - Percy Allen 782
14 Texas Tech 11-3 Actual: 14Highest: 11 - Mark Zeigler Lowest: NR - Jeff Rabjohns 676
15 Arkansas 11-3 Actual: 15Highest: 12 - Zach Klein Lowest: NR - Percy Allen 659
16 Illinois 11-3 Actual: 16Highest: 12 - Mark Zeigler Lowest: 22 - Percy Allen 602
17 North Carolina 13-2 Actual: 17Highest: 11 - Sam Rothman Lowest: NR - 1 Voters 557
18 Iowa 12-2 Actual: 19Highest: 15 - 2 Voters Lowest: NR - 3 Voters 340
19 Louisville 11-3 Actual: 20Highest: 16 - 3 Voters Lowest: NR - 3 Voters 336
20 Villanova 12-2 Actual: 26Highest: 15 - Brice Cherry Lowest: NR - 25 Voters 127
21 Georgia 13-1 Actual: 18Highest: 11 - Percy Allen Lowest: NR - 6 Voters 378
22 Utah State 12-1 Actual: 29Highest: 20 - Victor Flores Lowest: NR - 49 Voters 27
23 Tennessee 10-4 Actual: 21Highest: 16 - Brenna Greene Lowest: NR - 9 Voters 277
24 SMU 12-2 Actual: 24Highest: 17 - Parth Upadhyaya Lowest: NR - 23 Voters 142
25 Miami (OH) 15-0 Actual: 30Highest: 23 - 2 Voters Lowest: NR - 47 Voters 22
Ranked Teams Not on Ballot: 22-Kansas 23-Virginia 25-UCF
