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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Nov 1, 2026Week 9 Rankings for Ralph Russo
1Miami (FL) (62)
8-0Actual: 1
Highest: 1 - 62 Voters
Lowest: 3 - 2 Voters
1740
Points
2Georgia (7)
7-1Actual: 2
Highest: 1 - 7 Voters
Lowest: 7 - Stephen Means
1648
Points
3Utah (1)
8-0Actual: 3
Highest: 1 - Stephen Means
Lowest: 8 - Zach Klein
1540
Points
4Indiana
8-1Actual: 6
Highest: 2 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 13 - Chris Carter
1446
Points
5UCLA
8-0Actual: 5
Highest: 2 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 10 - Nick Jacobs
1473
Points
6BYU
7-1Actual: 7
Highest: 2 - Rece Davis
Lowest: 11 - 2 Voters
1358
Points
7Notre Dame
7-1Actual: 4
Highest: 2 - 5 Voters
Lowest: 10 - Ian Kress
1476
Points
8Kentucky
7-1Actual: 8
Highest: 4 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 16 - Koki Riley
1253
Points
9Texas
6-2Actual: 10
Highest: 7 - Koki Riley
Lowest: 18 - Nick Jacobs
1057
Points
10Ole Miss
6-2Actual: 12
Highest: 5 - Koki Riley
Lowest: 17 - Murray Evans
953
Points
11LSU
6-2Actual: 15
Highest: 9 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 20 - David Jablonski
814
Points
12Tennessee
6-2Actual: 16
Highest: 9 - Chris Carter
Lowest: 23 - Stephen Means
719
Points
13Alabama
6-2Actual: 9
Highest: 5 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 17 - Ty Hildenbrandt
1107
Points
14USC
7-2Actual: 18
Highest: 11 - Bob Asmussen
Lowest: 23 - 3 Voters
539
Points
15Ohio State
6-2Actual: 11
Highest: 5 - Mike Hill
Lowest: 17 - Greg Luca
1049
Points
16Texas Tech
7-1Actual: 13
Highest: 7 - Andy Yamashita
Lowest: 18 - Cameron Cox
931
Points
17Wake Forest
7-1Actual: 14
Highest: 5 - Dylan Sinn
Lowest: 18 - 2 Voters
898
Points
18Iowa
6-2Actual: 21
Highest: 14 - Jon Wilner
Lowest: 25 - Zach Klein
401
Points
19Missouri
6-2Actual: 19
Highest: 14 - Javon Edmonds
Lowest: NR - Chelsie Brown
475
Points
20Houston
6-2Actual: 17
Highest: 13 - Kirk Kenney
Lowest: 23 - Bob Asmussen
590
Points
21Arizona
6-2Actual: 24
Highest: 18 - Spencer Ripchik
Lowest: NR - 20 Voters
154
Points
22Florida
5-3Actual: 25
Highest: 19 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - 36 Voters
94
Points
23Boise State
7-1Actual: 20
Highest: 13 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - 2 Voters
451
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
24Virginia Tech
6-2Actual: 30
Highest: 24 - 4 Voters
Lowest: NR - 61 Voters
12
Points
25UTSA
7-1Actual: 28
Highest: 22 - Matt McGavic
Lowest: NR - 46 Voters
43
Points
Ranked Teams Not on Ballot: 22-New Mexico23-South Carolina