Jon Wilner's report card
San Jose Mercury News · AP Top 25 voter · 8 ballots this season, 6 graded · @wilnerhotline
This week's ballot (Week 7 poll, released Oct 18, grades after the games)
vs the Week 6 ballot · 2 new · out: Mississippi State, USC| # | Team | Last week | The AP poll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ohio State | ▲ 1 | AP 3 ▲ 2 |
| 2 |  BYU | ▲ 8 | AP 2 |
| 3 |  Georgia | ▼ 2 | AP 5 ▲ 2 |
| 4 |  Indiana | ▲ 4 | AP 6 ▲ 2 |
| 5 |  Miami | ▲ 1 | AP 1 ▼ 4 |
| 6 |  Ole Miss | ▲ 1 | AP 7 ▲ 1 |
| 7 |  Notre Dame | ▼ 3 | AP 4 ▼ 3 |
| 8 |  Utah | ▲ 1 | AP 10 ▲ 2 |
| 9 |  UCLA | ▲ 2 | AP 9 |
| 10 |  Texas Tech | ▲ 4 | AP 8 ▼ 2 |
| 11 |  Alabama | ▼ 8 | AP 13 ▲ 2 |
| 12 |  Wake Forest | = | AP 17 ▲ 5 |
| 13 |  Kentucky | ▲ 4 | AP 12 ▼ 1 |
| 14 |  Tennessee | ▲ 9 | AP 11 ▼ 3 |
| 15 |  Iowa | ▲ 1 | AP 15 |
| 16 |  Texas | ▼ 11 | AP 19 ▲ 3 |
| 17 |  Houston | NEW | AP 14 ▼ 3 |
| 18 |  LSU | ▲ 4 | AP 18 |
| 19 |  Arizona | ▲ 2 | AP 25 ▲ 6 |
| 20 |  Boise State | ▼ 2 | AP 21 ▲ 1 |
| 21 |  Oklahoma State | ▼ 8 | AP NR |
| 22 |  Oregon | ▲ 2 | AP NR |
| 23 |  Northwestern | ▲ 2 | AP 24 ▲ 1 |
| 24 |  SMU | NEW | AP 23 ▼ 1 |
| 25 |  Missouri | ▼ 5 | AP 22 ▼ 3 |
Last week = the spot on this voter's previous ballot. The AP poll = the published consensus the same week; ▲ means this voter has the team higher than the poll.
Every ballot, week over week (8 ballots, 39 teams)
| Team | Pre | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| BYU | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Georgia | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Indiana | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| Miami | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Ole Miss | 17 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Notre Dame | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| Utah | · | · | 17 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| UCLA | · | 25 | · | · | 23 | 23 | 11 | 9 |
| Texas Tech | 23 | 15 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| Alabama | 12 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| Wake Forest | · | · | · | · | 17 | 15 | 12 | 12 |
| Kentucky | · | · | · | · | · | · | 17 | 13 |
| Tennessee | · | · | 25 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 14 |
| Iowa | · | 21 | · | · | 20 | 21 | 16 | 15 |
| Texas | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
| Houston | 19 | · | · | 15 | 21 | · | · | 17 |
| LSU | 6 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 18 |
| Arizona | 21 | 23 | · | 22 | · | 22 | 21 | 19 |
| Boise State | 18 | 17 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 20 |
| Oklahoma State | 25 | · | 22 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 21 |
| Oregon | 3 | 10 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 22 |
| Northwestern | · | · | · | · | · | 25 | 25 | 23 |
| SMU | 16 | 20 | 12 | 25 | 24 | · | · | 24 |
| Missouri | · | · | · | · | · | 19 | 20 | 25 |
 Mississippi State | · | · | · | · | 12 | 17 | 15 | · |
 USC | 10 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 19 | · |
 Florida | · | · | · | · | 8 | 20 | · | · |
 Virginia Tech | 24 | · | · | · | 25 | · | · | · |
 Louisville | · | 18 | 15 | 11 | · | · | · | · |
 Penn State | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | · | · | · | · |
 Michigan | 15 | · | 20 | 20 | · | · | · | · |
 West Virginia | · | · | · | 21 | · | · | · | · |
 Western Michigan | · | 24 | 19 | 24 | · | · | · | · |
 Texas A&M | 14 | 14 | 9 | · | · | · | · | · |
 Virginia | · | 19 | 14 | · | · | · | · | · |
 Oklahoma | 9 | 9 | 21 | · | · | · | · | · |
 Washington | 13 | 22 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
 New Mexico | 22 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Yellow = moved up or came in that week. Boxed = moved down. · = not ranked.
Graded weeks
Week 7 (Week 6 poll)
#18 of 70 · 10-6 · -1.4 · poll -1.4Best call: Ole Miss over Missouri, 31-3 (42% going in). Worst miss: Georgia over Auburn, lost 27-24 (88% going in).
| # | Team | That week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | L 24-27 |
| 2 | Ohio State | W 19-15 |
| 3 | Alabama | L 10-26 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | L 24-28 |
| 5 | Texas | L 24-27 |
| 6 | Miami | W 43-35 |
| 7 | Ole Miss | W 31-3 |
| 8 | Indiana | L 15-19 |
| 9 | Utah | W 27-24 |
| 10 | BYU | W 28-24 |
| 11 | UCLA | W 17-7 |
| 12 | Wake Forest | W 41-7 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | L 32-35 |
| 14 | Texas Tech | W 53-25 |
| 15 | Mississippi State | L 0-31 |
| 16 | Iowa | — |
| 17 | Kentucky | W 21-13 |
| 18 | Boise State | — |
| 19 | USC | — |
| 20 | Missouri | L 3-31 |
| 21 | Arizona | — |
| 22 | LSU | W 31-0 |
| 23 | Tennessee | W 26-10 |
| 24 | Oregon | W 17-14 |
| 25 | Northwestern | W 24-21 |
Week 6 (Week 5 poll)
#21 of 70 · 15-5 · +1.1 · poll +0.9Best call: Indiana over Nebraska, 20-17 (37% going in). Worst miss: Texas over Oklahoma, lost 27-24 (80% going in).
| # | Team | That week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | L 24-27 |
| 2 | Ohio State | W 45-16 |
| 3 | Alabama | L 17-20 |
| 4 | Georgia | W 20-17 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | W 58-7 |
| 6 | Miami | — |
| 7 | Ole Miss | W 52-17 |
| 8 | LSU | L 34-35 |
| 9 | Utah | W 41-24 |
| 10 | BYU | W 24-10 |
| 11 | Oregon | L 15-17 |
| 12 | Indiana | W 20-17 |
| 13 | USC | W 31-23 |
| 14 | Texas Tech | — |
| 15 | Wake Forest | W 38-14 |
| 16 | Oklahoma State | W 42-28 |
| 17 | Mississippi State | — |
| 18 | Boise State | W 38-31 |
| 19 | Missouri | W 27-6 |
| 20 | Florida | L 19-38 |
| 21 | Iowa | W 41-24 |
| 22 | Arizona | W 52-31 |
| 23 | UCLA | W 17-15 |
| 24 | Tennessee | W 24-17 |
| 25 | Northwestern | W 45-14 |
Week 5 (Week 4 poll)
#37 of 70 · 14-2 · +2.6 · poll +3.4Best call: BYU over TCU, 17-10 (56% going in). Worst miss: Florida over Missouri, lost 45-17 (62% going in).
| # | Team | That week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | — |
| 2 | Ohio State | W 31-14 |
| 3 | Georgia | W 38-14 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | W 37-26 |
| 5 | Miami | W 41-13 |
| 6 | Ole Miss | — |
| 7 | LSU | — |
| 8 | Florida | L 17-45 |
| 9 | Utah | — |
| 10 | Alabama | W 56-23 |
| 11 | BYU | W 17-10 |
| 12 | Mississippi State | L 23-56 |
| 13 | Oregon | — |
| 14 | Texas Tech | W 29-7 |
| 15 | Indiana | W 47-15 |
| 16 | USC | W 25-21 |
| 17 | Wake Forest | W 57-3 |
| 18 | Oklahoma State | — |
| 19 | Boise State | W 37-18 |
| 20 | Iowa | L 14-31 |
| 21 | Houston | W 27-17 |
| 22 | Tennessee | W 24-14 |
| 23 | UCLA | — |
| 24 | SMU | W 25-16 |
| 25 | Virginia Tech | L 33-35 |
Week 4 (Week 3 poll)
#8 of 69 · 15-5 · +1.0 · poll +0.2Best call: Oklahoma State over West Virginia, 41-24 (29% going in). Worst miss: Penn State over Wisconsin, lost 24-20 (86% going in).
| # | Team | That week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | W 20-17 |
| 2 | Ole Miss | L 28-52 |
| 3 | Ohio State | W 42-19 |
| 4 | Georgia | W 41-13 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | W 49-10 |
| 6 | Miami | W 52-3 |
| 7 | Indiana | W 29-23 |
| 8 | Alabama | W 49-18 |
| 9 | LSU | W 35-6 |
| 10 | BYU | — |
| 11 | Louisville | L 27-30 |
| 12 | Utah | W 31-17 |
| 13 | USC | L 27-41 |
| 14 | Texas Tech | W 49-14 |
| 15 | Houston | W 42-28 |
| 16 | Penn State | L 20-24 |
| 17 | Oklahoma State | W 41-24 |
| 18 | Oregon | W 41-27 |
| 19 | Boise State | W 32-7 |
| 20 | Michigan | L 19-20 |
| 21 | West Virginia | L 24-41 |
| 22 | Arizona | W 34-24 |
| 23 | Tennessee | L 17-20 |
| 24 | Western Michigan | L 7-32 |
| 25 | SMU | W 34-24 |
Week 3 (Week 2 poll)
#45 of 68 · 16-4 · +1.3 · poll +1.1Best call: BYU over Colorado State, 41-23 (38% going in). Worst miss: Texas A&M over Kentucky, lost 31-21 (91% going in).
| # | Team | That week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | W 30-6 |
| 2 | Ohio State | W 59-3 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | W 27-10 |
| 4 | LSU | L 24-32 |
| 5 | Georgia | W 45-17 |
| 6 | Miami | W 33-20 |
| 7 | Indiana | W 38-0 |
| 8 | USC | W 42-35 |
| 9 | Texas A&M | L 21-31 |
| 10 | Alabama | W 50-36 |
| 11 | BYU | W 41-23 |
| 12 | SMU | L 31-41 |
| 13 | Ole Miss | W 32-24 |
| 14 | Virginia | L 27-38 |
| 15 | Louisville | W 41-31 |
| 16 | Penn State | W 55-13 |
| 17 | Utah | W 33-0 |
| 18 | Texas Tech | W 28-26 |
| 19 | Western Michigan | W 28-21 |
| 20 | Michigan | W 52-17 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | W 14-6 |
| 22 | Oklahoma State | — |
| 23 | Oregon | — |
| 24 | Boise State | — |
| 25 | Tennessee | W 42-9 |
Week 2 (Week 1 poll)
#14 of 69 · 15-2 · +3.5 · poll +3.1Best call: Boise State over Memphis, 38-20 (36% going in). Worst miss: Oklahoma over Michigan, lost 17-10 (61% going in).
| # | Team | That week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notre Dame | W 52-0 |
| 2 | LSU | W 45-14 |
| 3 | Texas | W 24-23 |
| 4 | Ohio State | L 23-24 |
| 5 | Georgia | W 70-20 |
| 6 | Miami | — |
| 7 | Indiana | — |
| 8 | USC | W 49-30 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | L 10-17 |
| 10 | Oregon | L 31-39 |
| 11 | Ole Miss | W 41-9 |
| 12 | BYU | W 28-17 |
| 13 | Alabama | W 45-17 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | W 48-20 |
| 15 | Texas Tech | W 35-24 |
| 16 | Penn State | W 27-9 |
| 17 | Boise State | W 38-20 |
| 18 | Louisville | — |
| 19 | Virginia | — |
| 20 | SMU | — |
| 21 | Iowa | W 16-13 |
| 22 | Washington | W 16-14 |
| 23 | Arizona | L 17-28 |
| 24 | Western Michigan | — |
| 25 | UCLA | W 28-10 |
Green = the call was right (the higher-ranked team won). Ballots come from the AP's published voter ballots and grade on the games after each poll's release.