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Colton3690 Ballot for 2016 Week 15

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Dec. 5, 2016, 12:53 p.m.

Overall Rationale: My method of ranking teams is resume-based, backwards looking. It is not a projection of where teams will end up or who will beat whom, but simply who has accomplished more on the field with some room to move teams up or down based on a subjective elements and "eye test." For me, there is no such thing as a "good loss;" all losses are bad an should hurt you in some way. Margin of Victory is also not a major factor and teams are not rewarded for blow outs. Teams' resumes are evaluated holistically, with best-wins compared, second-best compared, and so on. G5 teams are treated as equal to P5 teams and I therefor tend to have more teams ranked highly from smaller conferences.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Clearly the best team during the regular season, and the only major conference team to finish 13-0.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State has clearly looked to be the second best team in the country to me. They have been relatively consistent despite their offense under-performing on the whole. One of the best in- and out-of-conference schedules with their only loss coming on the road, at night, in a hostile environment.
3 Clemson Tigers Clemson has been a bit more inconsistent this year, with many close calls and potential upsets, though they survived to finish as ACC champs with only one loss which says a lot about their resiliency. Impressive wins over Louisville and Florida State go a long way on their resume.
4 Washington Huskies There was a very close gap between Washington and Penn State. Washington's OOC schedule did not help them very much, but winning convincingly over teams like Colorado, Stanford, etc. is probably what helped give them the edge. Ultimately, their loss to USC, despite it coming at home, is less bad than either of Penn State's losses.
5 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State played about as well as it could down the stretch to help build a strong resume and make a case for the playoff. Ultimately, their losses to Michigan and Pitt were more than they could overcome, and their win over Ohio State wasn't enough to carry them any higher.
6 Oklahoma Sooners After taking two early losses, OU looked to be reeling, but they righted the ship and dominated a weaker Big 12 conference. Ultimately, they were not going to make the top 4 due to their head-to-head loss to Ohio State, but overall a very strong finish for the Sooners.
7 Michigan Wolverines Close losses on the road are what ultimately was Michigan's undoing. Losing on a last second field goal at Iowa and in 2OT to Ohio State cost UM a legit chance at the playoff, and the rest of their resume was not enough to overcome those losses.
8 Western Michigan Broncos A great season by WMU, winning the MAC in undefeated fashion, and defeating two Big Ten teams OOC. Clearly the best G5 teams and deserving of a spot in a NY6 bowl.
9 Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin took a very tough loss in the Big Ten title game, losing to Penn State after leading by 21 points. That loss doesn't hurt them too much in my rankings, however, but it cost them a chance at a Rose bowl and possibly more.
10 Colorado Buffaloes Colorado had a major turn-around season, making it all the way to the Pac-12 title game where they simply were over-matched by Washington. I still think this Colorado team is very strong and deserving of a top 10 ranking.
11 Florida State Seminoles Florida State is one of the best 3-loss teams in the country, though inconsistent play in their biggest games is what ultimately cost them. Even against Florida, they won despite some sloppy QB play.
12 USC Trojans Major in-season turn around by USC, with a huge win on the road against Washington. Very explosive offence and very deserving of a high ranking.
13 Oklahoma State Cowboys Still suffering from the Central Michigan "what if" question. All things considered, OSU has played a decent schedule and came close to winning their conference.
14 Stanford Cardinal I am a bit higher on Stanford than a lot of people. They are another team that struggled early, but was able to turn it around and rattle off some good wins to close out their season strong.
15 Louisville Cardinals I could see Louisville being a lot higher or a lot lower in the final rankings. The way they played early in the season, blowing out FSU and losing a close game at Clemson, made them look like a top 10 team, but losses to Houston and Kentucky down the stretch have you questioning if they should still be ranked. Very poor offensive line play is their weakness and something they really need to shore up going forward.
16 West Virginia Mountaineers Had a good season in the Big 12, but their overall resume is simply a bit lacking in terms of quality wins.
17 Virginia Tech Hokies The Hokies have played solid, fundamental football pretty much all season long. 
18 USF Bulls One of the best looking, least talked about teams around. Close loss to Florida State could have really made their season, but the head-to-head loss to Temple kept them out of the AAC title game and cost them a chance at winning the conference.
19 Iowa Hawkeyes After losing to NDSU early, they have played much better as of late. Head-to-head win over Nebraska on Thanksgiving weekend gets the Hawkeyes into the rankings.
20 Nebraska Cornhuskers Solid season for Nebraska, but the head-to-head loss to Iowa kept them from a potentially higher ranking.
21 Auburn Tigers The second best team in a very weak SEC conference, I have Auburn just slightly ahead of LSU and Florida teams who ended up unranked. All three teams lack a real signature win.
22 Pittsburgh Panthers Two of the best wins in the country belong to Pitt. With upsets over Clemson and Penn State, the Panthers sneak into the rankings despite their 4 losses.
23 Temple Owls Champions of the American conference finished with 10 wins for the second straight season. The AAC was a very underrated conference this year, and it says a lot about Temple that they ended up on top.
24 San Diego State Aztecs Mountain West Champions after defeating Wyoming in Laramie. SDSU was in and out of my rankings all season but end the season at #24.
25 WKU Hilltoppers Champions of C-USA, winning 10 games and getting into the rankings at #25

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