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Ralph RussoThe Athletic (Brooklyn, NY)
Twitter: @ralphDrussoATH
About: Ralph Russo is a Senior Writer for The Athletic, covering college football. Before joining The Athletic, he spent 20 years as the lead national college football writer for The Associated Press. He also previously worked as the AP's Mississippi-based sports writer and did a stint with The Denver Post. Ralph is a native New Yorker and a graduate of Fordham University.


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Oct 4, 2026Week 5 Rankings for Ralph Russo
1Texas (61)
4-0Actual: 1
Highest: 1 - 61 Voters
Lowest: 4 - Bob Ballou
1737
Points
2Notre Dame
4-0Actual: 3
Highest: 2 - 8 Voters
Lowest: 7 - 5 Voters
1532
Points
3Georgia (6)
5-0Actual: 2
Highest: 1 - 6 Voters
Lowest: 6 - 2 Voters
1647
Points
4Ohio State
3-1Actual: 5
Highest: 2 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 7 - 5 Voters
1490
Points
5Miami (FL) (2)
4-0Actual: 4
Highest: 1 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 7 - 4 Voters
1524
Points
6Alabama
5-0Actual: 6
Highest: 2 - 5 Voters
Lowest: 8 - John Johnson
1460
Points
7Indiana (1)
4-0Actual: 7
Highest: 1 - Bob Ballou
Lowest: 12 - Jon Wilner
1380
Points
8Texas Tech
5-0Actual: 11
Highest: 7 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 20 - Dylan Sinn
1062
Points
9LSU
4-1Actual: 10
Highest: 7 - Mike Griffith
Lowest: 19 - Stephen Means
1087
Points
10Utah
4-0Actual: 12
Highest: 8 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - Javon Edmonds
996
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
11Oklahoma State
3-1Actual: 18
Highest: 11 - Ralph Russo
Lowest: NR - 11 Voters
477
Points
12Oregon
3-1Actual: 13
Highest: 9 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 22 - 2 Voters
831
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
13BYU
3-0Actual: 8
Highest: 7 - Kirk Bohls
Lowest: 16 - Mike Griffith
1144
Points
14Mississippi State
4-1Actual: 17
Highest: 10 - Greg Luca
Lowest: NR - 8 Voters
487
Points
15Missouri
3-1Actual: 14
Highest: 8 - David Briggs
Lowest: 23 - Kate Rogerson
755
Points
16Florida
4-0Actual: 16
Highest: 9 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 25 - Keara Bruno
691
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
17Ole Miss
3-1Actual: 9
Highest: 7 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 19 - Murray Evans
1095
Points
18Tennessee
4-1Actual: 15
Highest: 9 - Mike Griffith
Lowest: NR - 1 Voters
746
Points
19Boise State
3-1Actual: 23
Highest: 14 - Kirk Bohls
Lowest: NR - 17 Voters
271
Points
20UCLA
4-0Actual: 21
Highest: 9 - Dylan Sinn
Lowest: NR - 7 Voters
287
Points
21Pittsburgh
5-0Actual: 25
Highest: 11 - Stephen Means
Lowest: NR - 27 Voters
162
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
22Wake Forest
4-1Actual: 27
Highest: 11 - Brian Fonseca
Lowest: NR - 40 Voters
142
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
23Northwestern
3-1Actual: 30
Highest: 17 - Brian Howell
Lowest: NR - 48 Voters
59
Points
24Houston
4-1Actual: 22
Highest: 16 - 3 Voters
Lowest: NR - 17 Voters
279
Points
25Duke
4-0Actual: 29
Highest: 14 - Tom Murphy
Lowest: NR - 51 Voters
83
Points
Ranked Teams Not on Ballot: 19-USC20-Iowa24-SMU