David PaschallChattanooga Times Free Press (Chattanooga, TN)
E-mail: dpaschall@timesfreepress.com
Twitter: @DavidSPaschall
About: David Paschall is a sports writer for the Times Free Press. He started at the Chattanooga Free Press in 1990 and was part of the Times Free Press when the paper started in 1999. David covers University of Georgia football, as well as SEC football recruiting, SEC basketball, Chattanooga Lookouts baseball and other sports stories. He is a Chattanooga native and graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received numerous honors for his journalism, including various Tennessee state sports writing awards. In addition, he is in his fifth year on the voting board of the Harris Interactive College Football Poll and his ninth year on the voting board for the Heisman Trophy; he also serves on the voting board for the Biletnikoff and Lombardi awards. He is a past Southern League writer of the year, a former board member of the Football Writers' Association of America.


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Aug 17, 2026Pre-Season Rankings for David Paschall
1Ohio State (40)
12-2Actual: 1
Highest: 1 - 40 Voters
Lowest: 7 - Kirk Bohls
1672
Points
2Georgia
12-2Actual: 3
Highest: 2 - 7 Voters
Lowest: 8 - 2 Voters
1513
Points
3Notre Dame (6)
10-2Actual: 4
Highest: 1 - 6 Voters
Lowest: 10 - Chelsie Brown
1510
Points
4Oregon (14)
13-2Actual: 2
Highest: 1 - 14 Voters
Lowest: 10 - Javon Edmonds
1597
Points
5Texas
10-3Actual: 5
Highest: 2 - 10 Voters
Lowest: 9 - Javon Edmonds
1483
Points
6Indiana (8)
16-0Actual: 6
Highest: 1 - 8 Voters
Lowest: 9 - Chris Carter
1440
Points
7Miami (FL) (1)
13-3Actual: 7
Highest: 1 - Javon Edmonds
Lowest: 9 - Michael Katz
1379
Points
8Ole Miss
13-2Actual: 9
Highest: 6 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - Pat Welter
1102
Points
9Oklahoma
10-3Actual: 10
Highest: 7 - Josh Furlong
Lowest: 17 - Randy Johnson
1047
Points
10Texas A&M
11-2Actual: 8
Highest: 7 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 17 - Ralph Russo
1131
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
11Michigan
9-4Actual: 16
Highest: 10 - BJ Rains
Lowest: 23 - Javon Edmonds
718
Points
12Alabama
11-4Actual: 13
Highest: 8 - Matt Murschel
Lowest: 20 - Brett McMurphy
904
Points
13USC
9-4Actual: 14
Highest: 8 - BJ Rains
Lowest: 25 - Brett McMurphy
839
Points
14LSU
7-6Actual: 11
Highest: 5 - Javon Edmonds
Lowest: NR - Tom Murphy
988
Points
15Texas Tech
12-2Actual: 12
Highest: 5 - Brett McMurphy
Lowest: 23 - Jon Wilner
983
Points
16BYU
12-2Actual: 14
Highest: 8 - Stephen Means
Lowest: NR - Chris Carter
839
Points
17Penn State
7-6Actual: 18
Highest: 14 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - 3 Voters
482
Points
18Washington
9-4Actual: 17
Highest: 10 - Brett McMurphy
Lowest: NR - 6 Voters
501
Points
19Utah
11-2Actual: 21
Highest: 15 - Tom Murphy
Lowest: NR - 15 Voters
304
Points
20Iowa
9-4Actual: 22
Highest: 15 - Javon Edmonds
Lowest: NR - 6 Voters
260
Points
21Louisville
9-4Actual: 24
Highest: 16 - Nicole Auerbach
Lowest: NR - 19 Voters
198
Points
22SMU
9-4Actual: 19
Highest: 12 - Kirk Kenney
Lowest: NR - Ian Kress
434
Points
23Tennessee
8-5Actual: 20
Highest: 14 - Josh Furlong
Lowest: NR - 7 Voters
394
Points
24Houston
10-3Actual: 23
Highest: 15 - Bob Asmussen
Lowest: NR - 10 Voters
252
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
25South Carolina
4-8Actual: 31
Highest: 20 - Greg Luca
Lowest: NR - 65 Voters
10
Points
Ranked Teams Not on Ballot: 25-Missouri