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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Sep 20, 2026Week 3 Rankings for Ralph Russo
1Texas (58)
3-0Actual: 1
Highest: 1 - 58 Voters
Lowest: 4 - 2 Voters
1706
Points
2Ole Miss (3)
2-0Actual: 4
Highest: 1 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 7 - 7 Voters
1488
Points
3Notre Dame
2-0Actual: 3
Highest: 2 - 12 Voters
Lowest: 8 - Javon Edmonds
1517
Points
4Miami (FL) (1)
3-0Actual: 6
Highest: 1 - Creg Stephenson
Lowest: 8 - Trevor Hass
1445
Points
5Ohio State
2-1Actual: 7
Highest: 2 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 8 - 3 Voters
1415
Points
6Georgia (3)
3-0Actual: 2
Highest: 1 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 7 - 5 Voters
1580
Points
7Indiana (4)
2-0Actual: 5
Highest: 1 - 4 Voters
Lowest: 8 - Dylan Sinn
1467
Points
8Alabama
3-0Actual: 8
Highest: 6 - David Jablonski
Lowest: 19 - Stephen Means
1182
Points
9LSU
2-0Actual: 10
Highest: 6 - Javon Edmonds
Lowest: 18 - 2 Voters
1078
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
10Louisville
2-1Actual: 16
Highest: 10 - Ralph Russo
Lowest: 24 - Louie Vaccher
692
Points
11Texas Tech
3-0Actual: 11
Highest: 7 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 16 - 3 Voters
1067
Points
12BYU
3-0Actual: 9
Highest: 7 - Dylan Sinn
Lowest: NR - Jerry Humphrey
1090
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
13Florida
3-0Actual: 21
Highest: 13 - Ralph Russo
Lowest: NR - 13 Voters
269
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
14Mississippi State
3-0Actual: 24
Highest: 14 - Ralph Russo
Lowest: NR - 28 Voters
179
Points
15Tennessee
3-0Actual: 14
Highest: 10 - 5 Voters
Lowest: NR - Dylan Sinn
826
Points
16USC
4-0Actual: 12
Highest: 9 - Bob Ballou
Lowest: 21 - Murray Evans
907
Points
17Utah
2-0Actual: 15
Highest: 10 - Nicole Auerbach
Lowest: 22 - 2 Voters
752
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
18Penn State
3-0Actual: 13
Highest: 9 - David Paschall
Lowest: 20 - Adam Lichtenstein
850
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
19Houston
2-1Actual: 25
Highest: 15 - Jon Wilner
Lowest: NR - 39 Voters
127
Points
20SMU
2-0Actual: 22
Highest: 16 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - 22 Voters
212
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
21Tulsa
2-0Actual: 35
Highest: 20 - David Briggs
Lowest: NR - 62 Voters
18
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
22Oklahoma State
1-1Actual: 30
Highest: 17 - Jon Wilner
Lowest: NR - 57 Voters
50
Points
23Oregon
2-1Actual: 20
Highest: 11 - Bob Asmussen
Lowest: NR - 13 Voters
364
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
24Western Michigan
1-1Actual: 33
Highest: 19 - Murray Evans
Lowest: NR - 60 Voters
27
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
25Michigan
2-0Actual: 18
Highest: 13 - 4 Voters
Lowest: NR - 6 Voters
432
Points
Ranked Teams Not on Ballot: 17-Iowa19-Missouri23-Texas A&M