The Poll Gap: where the polls and the data disagree most.
The AP, Coaches and CFP rankings are votes. The Davis Rankings is a formula. This page lists the teams the two read most differently this week. A big gap does not prove either side wrong: it shows where a vote and a formula look at the same season and disagree. After week 8 of the 2026 season.
Most Overlooked
The data ranks them higher than any poll does.
| Team | TDR | AP | Coaches | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UTSA 7-1 | 8 | NR | NR | ▲ 18+ |
 Liberty 6-1 | T-11 | NR | NR | ▲ 15+ |
 New Mexico 6-1 | 14 | NR | NR | ▲ 12+ |
 Boise State 6-1 | 9 | 20 | 22 | ▲ 11 |
 Arizona 6-1 | 10 | 22 | 21 | ▲ 11 |
 Wake Forest 6-1 | 5 | 14 | 15 | ▲ 9 |
 Virginia Tech 6-2 | 18 | NR | NR | ▲ 8+ |
 Northwestern 6-1 | T-11 | 20 | 18 | ▲ 7 |
 Ohio 6-2 | 19 | NR | NR | ▲ 7+ |
 UCLA 7-0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | ▲ 6 |
Most Overhyped
A poll ranks them higher than the data does.
| Team | TDR | AP | Coaches | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tennessee 6-2 | 62 | 16 | 17 | ▼ 46 |
 Ole Miss 5-2 | T-53 | 12 | 12 | ▼ 41 |
 Iowa 5-2 | 64 | NR | 24 | ▼ 40 |
 Missouri 5-2 | 63 | 23 | 23 | ▼ 40 |
 Houston 6-2 | T-57 | 18 | 19 | ▼ 39 |
 Georgia 6-1 | 40 | 3 | 3 | ▼ 37 |
 BYU 6-1 | 38 | 8 | 9 | ▼ 30 |
 Notre Dame 6-1 | 35 | 5 | 6 | ▼ 30 |
 Texas Tech 6-1 | 39 | 13 | 14 | ▼ 26 |
 USC 6-2 | 45 | NR | 25 | ▼ 20 |
How the gap is measured
A team's poll rank is its best rank in the AP, Coaches or CFP that week. The gap is how many spots apart that rank and the TDR rank are. A team that is in no poll counts as just outside them (rank 26), so its gap is a minimum, shown with a +. Gaps under 5 spots are not listed. TDR's score for every team is explained on the methodology page, and each team's page shows its rank against the polls week by week. These are also the Mind the Gap awards, and the week's recap keeps this week's list.
How much each ranking moves
For every pair of consecutive weeks, how many places a team that was in the top 25 both weeks moved, and how many new teams entered the top 25, averaged over the season. Only weeks where TDR, the AP and the Coaches poll all have a top 25 are counted, so the three are judged on the same weeks.
| Season | Weeks | Spots a top-25 team moves per week | New teams in the top 25 per week | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TDR | AP | Coaches | TDR | AP | Coaches | ||
| 2025 | 14 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 6.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| 2026 (through week 8) | 7 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 8.1 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
Why ours moves more: the question is how good a team is right now. Its latest game counts directly (15% of the score, 100 for a win and 0 for a loss), and a loss also lowers its record. Polls start from last week's ballot, so a team that loses can barely fall. That is a design choice, not a claim that more movement is better.