Tom MurphyArkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)
E-mail: tmurphy@arkansasonline.com
Twitter: @TomMurphyADG
About: Louisiana Tech graduate (1988) with MA in English; Covered nine head coaches in last 16 seasons at Alabama (1998-2007) and Arkansas (2007-13). Married with 3 children. Native of Atlanta, Ga.
 


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Jan 20, 2026Final Rankings Rankings for Tom Murphy
1Indiana (66)
16-0Actual: 1
Highest: 1 - 66 Voters
Lowest: 1 - 66 Voters
1650
Points
2Miami (FL)
13-3Actual: 2
Highest: 2 - 66 Voters
Lowest: 2 - 66 Voters
1584
Points
3Ole Miss
13-2Actual: 3
Highest: 3 - 46 Voters
Lowest: 5 - 6 Voters
1492
Points
4Georgia
12-2Actual: 6
Highest: 4 - 7 Voters
Lowest: 7 - 3 Voters
1364
Points
5Oregon
13-2Actual: 4
Highest: 3 - 11 Voters
Lowest: 6 - 13 Voters
1429
Points
6Ohio State
12-2Actual: 5
Highest: 3 - 9 Voters
Lowest: 8 - Keith Farmer
1378
Points
7Texas A&M
11-2Actual: 8
Highest: 7 - 10 Voters
Lowest: 14 - Chad Bishop
1157
Points
8Texas Tech
12-2Actual: 7
Highest: 5 - Keith Farmer
Lowest: 10 - 3 Voters
1232
Points
9Notre Dame
10-2Actual: 10
Highest: 4 - Dylan Sinn
Lowest: 16 - Chad Bishop
1049
Points
10Alabama
11-4Actual: 9
Highest: 7 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 16 - Michael Lev
1065
Points
11BYU
12-2Actual: 11
Highest: 8 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 14 - 2 Voters
961
Points
12Oklahoma
10-3Actual: 13
Highest: 9 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 15 - 2 Voters
941
Points
13Texas
10-3Actual: 12
Highest: 7 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 14 - 6 Voters
952
Points
14Utah
11-2Actual: 14
Highest: 10 - Chad Bishop
Lowest: 18 - Robert Cessna
812
Points
15Virginia
11-3Actual: 16
Highest: 12 - Chad Bishop
Lowest: 25 - Koki Riley
603
Points
16Iowa
9-4Actual: 17
Highest: 14 - 3 Voters
Lowest: NR - 6 Voters
430
Points
17Vanderbilt
10-3Actual: 15
Highest: 13 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 23 - 2 Voters
623
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
18Washington
9-4Actual: 27
Highest: 17 - 3 Voters
Lowest: NR - 50 Voters
76
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
19Illinois
9-4Actual: 26
Highest: 18 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - 34 Voters
123
Points
20Houston
10-3Actual: 22
Highest: 16 - 3 Voters
Lowest: NR - 12 Voters
270
Points
21Tulane
11-3Actual: 18
Highest: 15 - 3 Voters
Lowest: NR - 2 Voters
404
Points
22Navy
11-2Actual: 23
Highest: 16 - Trevor Hass
Lowest: NR - 18 Voters
227
Points
23James Madison
12-2Actual: 19
Highest: 14 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - 5 Voters
399
Points
24TCU
9-4Actual: 25
Highest: 16 - Spencer Ripchik
Lowest: NR - 33 Voters
125
Points
25SMU
9-4Actual: 28
Highest: 18 - Kirk Kenney
Lowest: NR - 47 Voters
69
Points
Ranked Teams Not on Ballot: 20-USC21-Michigan24-North Texas