One of the many differences between power ratings and opinion polls is that while both typically take history into account, only one actually needs to. I know it drives me crazy when I see voters in the AP Top 25 or Coaches Poll giving teams too much credit for what they did in prior years and not giving enough credence to what's been going on this season. When I see a 7-3 team getting votes ahead of a 9-1 team just because nobody expected the 9-1 team to be 9-1, it makes me legitimately angry.
In my opinion, it's pure laziness on the voter's part. But history does matter in power ratings. It's proven over time to be one of the more reliable predictors of future success, but even that's changing a bit in modern college football.
Still, it matters, but as the season goes on and new data comes in, it should matter less in any reliable power rating. While I haven't stopped considering it entirely, for the first time this season, the overwhelming majority of each team's rating is based on 2026 performance. That has not led to much change at the top, as our top eight this week is almost exactly the same as it was last week.
Behind those teams, though, things have changed pretty dramatically. We have three new teams in the top 12 this week, including two from the Big 12, and you know what? Texas Tech isn't the highest-ranked of the two!
Extract — continue reading at the source.
