Back to poll results >>

mgmfa Ballot for 2016 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 21, 2016, 2:45 p.m.

Overall Rationale: I plan on submitting a computer poll from week 3, but until then I'll just submit with my opinion. Preseason polls don't mean much, so it's largely based on what I've read and gut feeling. This isn't a prediction of the final poll - if that were the case I'd factor in schedule, but rather overall skill level. 

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Generally speaking, picking Bama is as safe as it gets. No reason to believe they wont be #1.
2 Oklahoma Sooners They might have the best QB in the country, as well as a top 5 RB. This is a scary offense.
3 Clemson Tigers These guys might also have the best QB in the country. I think #2 is a toss-up between Clemson and OU.
4 Stanford Cardinal As an Iowa fan, I saw what McCaffery can do first hand. And it scares me. He's only going to get better this year, too. 
5 LSU Tigers I'm not sold on the rest of the team, but Fournette should be enough to get these guys into the top 15 at the worst. Go get 'em, Tigers.
6 Ohio State Buckeyes They lose 20(?) starters, but if anyone not named Bama can reload, its OSU. 
7 Florida State Seminoles I'm really not sold on FSU - I know they'll be good but not top 10 good. Dalvin Cook is fantastic, but the question mark at QB scares me. That being said, everyone else has them as a top-5 team, and I generally think wisdom of the crowd is a good idea.
8 Michigan Wolverines Possibly the unluckiest team in the nation last year (Nebraska might disagree), these guys return a ton of talent. Harbaugh is also a top tier coach, which can't be understated. Can't wait for when they clash with undefeated Iowa.
9 Houston Cougars Its the preseason poll, and I want to be optimistic about these guys. I think they have the firepower to beat OU. If nothing else, we'll find out a lot about these guys after week 1. 
10 Michigan State Spartans LJ Scott is legit, and MSU is somehow underrated again. They do have a very tough schedule, but they have the talent at the top-10 coach to make them an elite team this year.
11 TCU Horned Frogs Their defense should be extremely good, and their offense has a good chance to be elite as well. That was about as generic as commentary gets but without games to base it off of, we're all just guessing.
12 Tennessee Volunteers In terms of talent, they're top 10 easily. But year after year Tennessee underwhelms, so I'm hesitantly optimistic about these guys. 
13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish It's all about potential here. I've consistently put teams that showed me last year over teams that didn't, but there's too much talent here to drop them too much further.
14 USC Trojans So much talent. They might not end up this high at the end of the season, but that'll be more reflective of their schedule than their skill.
15 Oregon Ducks I think their defense improves, and no one has a problem with their offense. They started to show their true colors (green?) at the end of last season, and I think they'll continue to carry that into next season.
16 Louisville Cardinals Lamar Jackson is good, and they don't have any resounding weaknesses. They'll be tested early against Houston, so we'll see what they're made of.
17 Iowa Hawkeyes Homer pick? Maybe. But this defense is terrifyingly good. Desmond King is the best corner in the country, and on the other side Mabin is no slouch. If you want to run the ball, Jewell is an NFL-ready LB and Bazata and Johnson are solid on the line. On offense they've got a star QB in Beathard and several RBs and WRs who have shown flashes. If the O-line is as good as it can be, 11-1 or even 12-0 is very possible.
18 Washington Huskies I think this is the year Chris Peterson shows us why he did so well at TCU. They've got a lot of returning starters, let's see if they can put it all together.
19 UCLA Bruins They've got a lot of returners on defense, and return a proven QB on O. The Pac-12 is stacked this year, but these guys could make a run for it.
20 Oklahoma State Cowboys They bring back 17 starters. They're still the third dog in the big 12, but they could definitely surprise some people and make a run to the playoffs.I'd be shocked if they didn't end up ranked, even if they don't go much higher than 20.
21 North Carolina Tar Heels They did really well last year, and return 14 starters. They improved significantly on D last year, and I don't think that's temporary.
22 Boise State Broncos They return a bunch of players from last year. While they weren't good last year, they also weren't terrible - they just weren't on anyone's radar. I think they manage to surprise people and jump back up to their lofty standards.
23 Georgia Bulldogs Now we get to the point where we rank teams I don't personally like but everyone else think highly of. They've got two injured RBs, a new coach, and a freshman QB.Granted, they'll likely rely on a very good defense, but I don't buy the hype.
24 Ole Miss Rebels Another team I think is heavily overrated. Their offensive line is a lot weaker, they've got an investigation looming over them, and their not gonna beat Bama again, are they?
25 Nebraska Cornhuskers Call it a dark horse pick, but they were the most unlucky team in the country last year and return a lot of starters. I don't believe in Tommy Armstrong, but I don't know who else to put at 25 (Florida, I guess).

Back to poll results >>