Luke Fickell’s final Coaches Poll ballot turned heads for all the wrong reasons - not because of bold rankings or a surprise team at the top, but because of one glaring omission: the Georgia Bulldogs didn’t make the cut.
That’s right. A team that finished No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and earned a College Football Playoff berth didn’t even crack Fickell’s Top 25.
Not 25th. Not 24th.
Nowhere to be found. In a year where Georgia was widely recognized as one of the nation’s elite, their complete absence from Fickell’s ballot was, at best, puzzling - and at worst, a total whiff.
To put it in perspective, Fickell’s ballot had a 2.16 deviation score from the consensus - one of the least aligned with the rest of the coaching body. Only Indiana’s Curt Cignetti had a more out-there ballot, registering a 3.24 deviation. So yes, Fickell’s list was unconventional, but it wasn’t just about being different - it was about leaving off a powerhouse program that had clearly earned its spot.
Let’s break down what Fickell did include. Like most coaches, he had Indiana at No. 1 and Miami at No. 2 - two picks that align with the broader consensus.
From there, things got more personal. He slotted Ohio State at No. 3, a move that raised a few eyebrows given the Buckeyes’ up-and-down campaign.
Ole Miss followed at No. 4, with Oregon rounding out his top five.
The rest of his Top 25 featured a mix of traditional powers and some eyebrow-raisers: Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame all landed in the top 10. BYU, Texas, and Utah were next, followed by Virginia, Michigan, and USC. The bottom tier included Georgia Tech, Houston, Iowa, Tennessee, Navy, Arizona, North Texas, Washington, and Illinois.
It’s not a bad list on paper. There are legitimate arguments to be made for most of these programs based on performance, strength of schedule, and late-season momentum. But the absence of Georgia is the kind of thing that makes you double-check the ballot to make sure it wasn’t a typo.
Was it an oversight? A clerical error?
A statement? We don’t know - and Fickell hasn’t offered an explanation.
But what we do know is that Georgia, a team that beat top-tier opponents and played on the biggest stage, somehow didn’t make the cut for one of the sport’s most prominent coaches.
For Wisconsin fans, the hope is that this was just a slip-up, not a sign of distraction. Fickell has been laser-focused on rebuilding the Badgers and pushing his “closing the gap” mantra - a rallying cry for elevating Wisconsin back into national contention.
Maybe that’s where his head was when he filled out the ballot. Maybe he was more locked in on roster management than rankings.
Still, when you’re one of the 63 coaches tasked with voting in the final poll, the expectation is that you’ll recognize the top teams in the country - especially one as visible and accomplished as Georgia. This wasn’t a fringe Group of Five team flying under the radar. This was Georgia.
So while Fickell’s ballot had some strong picks and a few personal touches, the Bulldogs’ omission is a tough one to ignore. Whether it was a simple mistake or something more deliberate, it’s the kind of miss that gets noticed - especially in a sport where every ranking matters.