Travbowman's Week 9 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | Can USC challenge them? |
| 2 | Arizona | Can Utah challenge them? |
| 3 | Iowa State | Can WVU challenge them? |
| 4 | Purdue | Can Wisconsin challenge them? |
| 5 | UConn | Can Xavier challenge them? |
| 6 | Duke | Can FSU challenge them? |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | Can South Carolina challenge them? |
| 8 | Gonzaga | Four conference games in 8 days is weird |
| 9 | Michigan State | Friday night in Lincoln should be fun |
| 10 | Houston | Big 12 regular season title defense starts now |
| 11 | BYU | At Kansas State should be a win? |
| 12 | Nebraska | Huskers should finish 2025 with 17 straight wins |
| 13 | Louisville | Atlantic Coast trip to the Bay Area for New Year's |
| 14 | North Carolina | At SMU this weekend could be fun |
| 15 | Alabama | Saturday vs UK will be wild |
| 16 | Illinois | I think they just scored again vs Mizzou |
| 17 | Virginia | Two road games not an easy way to start ACC play |
| 18 | Kansas | So hard to evaluate this team without knowing what Peterson will be |
| 19 | Tennessee | Saturday at Arkansas will be great |
| 20 | USC | They'll have over a week to prepare for Michigan on Friday |
| 21 | Arkansas | Cal vs Tennessee is always a blast |
| 22 | Texas Tech | Had fun vs Winthrop |
| 23 | Georgia | Bulldogs are for real |
| 24 | Iowa | Schedule hasn't been amazing, chance to prove themselves vs UCLA |
| 25 | Miami (OH) | I don't expect them to exit this week undefeated but they get the 25 slot until then |
Overall Rationale
Just missed: Florida, Kentucky, St Louis, LSU, Utah St, Villanova, St Mary's