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TheFlyingBoat Ballot for 2016 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 6, 2016, 1:22 p.m.

Overall Rationale: After the chaos of this weekend, some teams rose after weak performances purely through attrition. Some teams entered the rankings after truly impressive performances. Had to retract poll to put Ole Miss back in. Oops

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama was dominant over USC. Jalen Hurts was one of the star true freshman of the opening weekend, operating incredibly well behind Alabama's respectable OL. Minkah Fitzpatrick lived up to my preseason expectations, and the WR corps of Alabama proved to be deadly as usual. Not much to say, other than Alabama proved why they are #1.
2 Florida State Seminoles Francois led an incredible comeback an against a solid Ole Miss side, coming back from an 11-point deficit. He assuaged most fears that pollsters had about the FSU QB position post-Winston and Dalvin Cook proved why he is considered to be such a dominant back.
3 Clemson Tigers They beat Auburn in an unconvincing fashion. Good enough for a #3, but FSU passes them for obvious reasons.
4 Stanford Cardinal They hold at 4 after grinding out a solid victory over a well-coached KState side.
5 Houston Cougars Houston to me proved that last season was not a fluke but rather a sign of things to come. Their performance in their game against OU was electric and I am excited to see what Herman can do the rest of the season. Ed Oliver definitely earned his 5 star ranking.
6 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State's win over BGSU was methodical, and suggested a lot of fears are not going to be too significant. Most of their rise was others falling off though.
7 Michigan Wolverines They dominated Hawaii, but so did Cal. Michigan is a solid team with a good chance of winning the Big 10 West and the Big 10. Sleight seems to be good. The QB whisperer Harbaugh has definitely worked his magic. Maybe those punches did something. Chris Evans is a beast of an RB. I am excited to see the work of Michigan's new DC.
8 Michigan State Spartans Furman gave them way too much trouble, though I don't think it is emblematic of future problems. Their new QB is no Connor Cook though, but he did a solid job. Over time he should become more confident running this offense.
9 Washington Huskies They beat Rutgers convincingly. How they fare against real competition is yet to be seen, though I have seen enough to get on the train for now. Still a bit apprehensive though.
10 TCU Horned Frogs How they gave up 41 points to SDSU is beyond me. Gary Patterson will likely be able to fix their defensive issues going forwards, and this game showed they are unlikely to see incredibly significant weakening on the offensive front. Then again the Kenny Trill hype train died after a record-breaking first game last time. So perhaps we shouldn't speak too soon.
11 Georgia Bulldogs Kirby Smart calmed many fears with regards to how he will adjust.
12 Texas Longhorns Texas has finally found an offense that works against a team not named Cal. True freshman Shane Buechele led a Briles-style offense to near-perfection, going 16/26 (61.5% completion rate) for 280 yards. A deep ball to Burt and a well-placed pass to Armanti Foreman ensures the standard tactic for beating Texas last year (stack the box and dare Texas to pass) will not be an option this year. The OL at Texas was decent against a beefy ND DL, giving D'Onta Foreman 5.5 yards per carry, and will get better over the course of the season as young players, true freshman center Shackleford and sophomores Vahe and Williams get more experience. The WR corps at Texas shined, with former QB Heard taking a 68 yard catch off the helmet, target #1 Burt pulling in a 72 yard catch for a TD, and Foreman, Oliver, and Warrick all showing they have the tools for the job. The Texas RB corps is big and strong and will continue to impose their will against teams with weaker DLs. DeShon Kizer will likely be the best QB Texas plays, so the defensive weakness in the secondary aren't incredibly worrying, but still do give some cause for concern. The OL at ND abused the Texas DL whenever Texas went into a 4-3 set, but seemed to be a little less powerful when Texas dropped into the 3-3-5. Strong's 3-3-5 will likely give Texas enough defensive success to allow Texas to eke out victories until the young DL recruits can be inserted in. 
13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish DeShon Kizer is the real deal and their line play is really solid. I expect Notre Dame to come back strong against Nevada and Michigan State to avenge their loss. Hopefully Brian Kelly realizes DeShon Kizer is the chosen one and stick with him. Equanimous St. Brown is an incredible WR and Studstill is a stud. People should not be too hard on them following their loss to a strong Texas side.
14 Oklahoma Sooners They lost to Houston, and their run game was weak as hell. 
15 Louisville Cardinals God their QB is jesus
16 Texas A&M Aggies The Aggies played a great game against UCLA prior to minor collapse in the 4th quarter. They dominated on the lines, and Myles Garrett showed why he is considered one of the best draft picks in the coming NFL draft and is without a doubt one of the best pass rushers in the game. The one are needing improvement is their run defense as Soso Jamabo burned them for 4 yards per carry. Trevor Knight wasn't nearly as consistent as I would like to see in a QB, but I guess we can see why he is no longer at Oklahoma. I am apprehensive with regards to their performance in conference play due to their problems with run defense being a problem in the SEC, which will rely far less on the pass than UCLA did, which makes A&M's greatest strength slightly less important. I expect them to end up with 8 to 9 wins prior to the bowl.
17 Ole Miss Rebels Thanks to the AP for reminding me I forgot Ole Miss. Sorry.
18 Oklahoma State Cowboys They played a thoroughly methodical game against an inferior opposition. Worries I had that caused me to leave them off my preseason poll were all addressed. Expect them to compete for the Big XII title this year with OU, Texas, and TCU.
19 Baylor Bears They put on a great performance against a weak opposition, but depth issues will become significant due to their recruiting collapse caused by severe institutional failures with regards to Title IX and protecting the women on their campus from rapists on their football team (instead choosing to protect the football players from the justice the woman who were raped sought.
20 Iowa Hawkeyes They did their job at fake Miami. Giving up 21 was disappointing, but they put up a respectable 45. Still are odds on favorite to win the Big 10 East.
21 Wisconsin Badgers A solid win over a hapless LSU. They aren't as good as people think.
22 Tennessee Volunteers They beat AppSt, but the way they did it causes them to drop a lot. While they are a really good G5 team, beating a really good G5 team in OT after relying on fluke after fluke to get there does not warrant any better position than what I am giving them.
23 Utah Utes They had a real solid win against Southern Utah. While the win itself does;t really mean much of anything, the way they played to secure that win meant a lot. They played a fantastic defense all game and did decently on offense. I hope to see a bit more physicality against BYU, and how they do in that game determines where they go from here.
24 LSU Tigers You may be asking why did LSU get dropped down this far after a single game that they lost only by two points to an okay Wisconsin team? They lost by two points for the reason that I was apprehensive of them for. They had no offense other than Fournette and due to the lack of balance in their offense you can stack the box with no fear in the world. Fournette won't be in contention for the Heisman by the end of this year, I guarantee it. LSU will likely start of conference play decently well, but mark my words, by the end of this regular season they will be unranked after 4 losses in 5 games and in all likelihood will lose their bowl game.
25 UCLA Bruins Their receiving corps needs a lot of work or their stud QB will look passable, just as he did during this game. There were far too many dropped passes and they did not burn their corner nearly often enough for Rosen to take advantage of. Their DL+LB corps needs a lot of work as allowing 5 yards per run is a joke. UCLA needs to show improvement, or will likely fall out during conference play.

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