Week 10 of the 2026 college football regular season has officially come and gone, and last Saturday’s action led to another round of significant shakeups in both the AP Poll and College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings.
ESPN analyst and play-by-play commentator Rece Davis is one of 70 national media members who currently hold an AP Poll vote. He joined The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday afternoon to break down his latest ballot following last weekend’s slate of games.
“I didn’t think that Miami deserved to be overly punished,” Davis explained. “I wanted to reward Utah for that great win against BYU. That was a wild, roller coaster game that both teams seemed intent on bludgeoning the other… Wanted to make sure that they got their reward… As well coached as UCLA is, I still want to see them against an elite team… I stacked up the SEC teams according to head-to-head.”
Davis had the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 1 on his Week 10 ballot, but unlike the College Football Playoff selection committee and many other AP voters, he slotted Notre Dame at No. 2 instead of Utah. Despite his praise for the Utes’ win over BYU, he placed them at No. 3.
He also moved the Alabama Crimson Tide to No. 9, placed the Tennessee Volunteers at No. 8 and dropped the Miami Hurricanes to No. 4, just ahead of an undefeated UCLA Bruins squad. These placements all alig with his comments about wanting to see UCLA face an elite opponent before giving the Bruins more credit, and his thoughts on head-to-head outcomes in the SEC.
Unlike many AP voters, Davis takes the time each week to explain the thought process behind his selections. That kind of transparency is something the sport could use more of as college football continues to evolve.
