🗳 THE ROBOT POLL — TOP 25
ONE VOTER · NO BIAS · NO BRAND LOYALTY · NO MERCY
Least-squares ratings from actual results: rating = points better than the average FBS team on a neutral field. Margins cap at 28 — style points don't count past four touchdowns. Strength of schedule falls out of the math, not a committee's mood.
1
Ohio State
10–0
—
SOS #45 · best win: Washington
+26.4
2
Texas Tech
9–1
—
SOS #55 · best win: Utah · worst loss: Arizona State
+24.9
3
Indiana
10–0
▲1
SOS #32 · best win: Oregon
+23.7
4
Utah
8–2
▼1
SOS #28 · best win: Arizona State · worst loss: BYU
+22.5
5
Notre Dame
9–2
—
SOS #37 · best win: USC · worst loss: Miami
+22.3
6
Texas A&M
10–0
▲1
SOS #23 · best win: Notre Dame
+19.4
7
Oregon
9–1
▲3
SOS #46 · best win: USC · worst loss: Indiana
+19.2
8
BYU
9–1
—
SOS #7 · best win: Utah · worst loss: Texas Tech
+18.9
9
Miami
8–2
—
SOS #36 · best win: Notre Dame · worst loss: Louisville
+18.3
10
Georgia
9–1
▼4
SOS #38 · best win: Ole Miss · worst loss: Alabama
+18.2
11
Alabama
8–2
—
SOS #11 · best win: Georgia · worst loss: Florida State
+16.2
12
Vanderbilt
8–2
▲3
SOS #49 · best win: Missouri · worst loss: Texas
+15.6
13
Oklahoma
8–2
—
SOS #19 · best win: Alabama · worst loss: Texas
+15.3
14
USC
8–3
▼2
SOS #35 · best win: Iowa · worst loss: Illinois
+14.4
15
Washington
7–3
▲3
SOS #44 · best win: Illinois · worst loss: Wisconsin
+14.2
16
Ole Miss
9–1
▼2
SOS #34 · best win: Oklahoma · worst loss: Georgia
+14.2
17
South Florida
7–3
▲2
SOS #72 · best win: North Texas · worst loss: Navy
+13.1
18
Tennessee
7–3
▲2
SOS #56 · best win: Arkansas · worst loss: Oklahoma
+12.8
19
SMU
7–3
▲5
SOS #61 · best win: Miami · worst loss: Wake Forest
+12.6
20
Arizona
7–3
▲1
SOS #41 · best win: Kansas State · worst loss: Houston
+12.5
21
Iowa
6–4
▼5
SOS #40 · best win: Penn State · worst loss: Iowa State
+12.3
22
Michigan
9–2
NEW
SOS #52 · best win: Washington · worst loss: USC
+11.9
23
Penn State
4–6
NEW
SOS #27 · best win: Nebraska · worst loss: UCLA
+11.6
24
Texas
8–3
▼2
SOS #42 · best win: Vanderbilt · worst loss: Florida
+11.2
25
Illinois
6–4
▼8
SOS #10 · best win: USC · worst loss: Wisconsin
+10.7
🧾 Does the poll mean anything? Over 442 ranked-vs-ranked games since 2016, the higher-ranked team won 63.1%. Teams ranked within 5 spots of each other split nearly even (54.7%) — if the poll says #7 vs #9 is a coin flip, believe the poll, not the seeding.
📜 THE HISTORY — BACKTEST PICKS VS WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
Every season below was predicted walk-forward: the model only ever saw seasons before the one it was picking. These are the receipts for the whole operation.
| SEASON | GAMES | STRAIGHT-UP | VS THE LINE | ATS % | BRIER | ML ROI (FLAT $) |
| 2016 |
760 | 70.3% | 358–382–20 | 48.4% | .190 |
no ML data |
| 2017 |
776 | 70.4% | 390–365–21 | 51.7% | .185 |
no ML data |
| 2018 |
772 | 72.4% | 391–361–20 | 52.0% | .175 |
no ML data |
| 2019 |
774 | 73.1% | 377–384–13 | 49.5% | .176 |
no ML data |
| 2020 (COVID — reported, not counted) |
534 | 71.2% | 274–251–9 | 52.2% | .187 |
no ML data |
| 2021 |
770 | 69.5% | 383–378–9 | 50.3% | .187 |
-4.0% |
| 2022 |
776 | 68.7% | 389–374–13 | 51.0% | .199 |
-4.6% |
| 2023 |
792 | 72.3% | 395–381–16 | 50.9% | .185 |
-1.2% |
| 2024 |
798 | 69.2% | 391–388–19 | 50.2% | .193 |
-5.4% |
| 2025 |
808 | 72.5% | 396–394–18 | 50.1% | .184 |
+1.0% |
💸 The moneyline question, answered on 3,771 games (2021-2025): betting every straight-up pick flat returns -2.8% per dollar — the vig eats it. The one live thread: when the robot backs an UNDERDOG straight up (470 bets), flat ROI is +11.4%, and a ≥5-point modeled edge returns +2.9% on 968 bets. That's the size of sample where luck still writes headlines — so it's a paper-ledger experiment, not a bankroll strategy. The ledger will decide.
🧪 THE LAB — BUILD A WORSE ROBOT
10 SEASONS RE-RUN ON EVERY TOGGLE
HOME FIELD ✓
RATING GAP ✓
REST DIFF ✓
OPP PASS DEF TREND ✓
RUSH DEF TREND ✓
PASS OFF TREND ✓
LOOKAHEAD SPOT ✓
TRAVEL KM ✓
ROBOT POLL · rebuilt every Tuesday by a cron job on a rented computer · picks lock at publish and are never edited
2020 reported separately (you know why) · the robot bets fake money so you can lose real money responsibly