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Ghost_of_Dude Ballot for 2017 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 16, 2017, 3:37 p.m.

Overall Rationale: A hodgepodge based on recruiting, previous season's performance and returning starters, and general feelings. Ordering is more general than definitive. I'll explain some of the what may be controversial placements in the list. 

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide
2 Ohio State Buckeyes
3 Florida State Seminoles
4 USC Trojans USC has numerous holes to fill on offense now, but with arguable Heisman favorite The_Darnold remaining their centerpiece, I don't see much of a step back for this team.
5 Washington Huskies
6 Penn State Nittany Lions
7 Oklahoma State Cowboys I seem to be higher on this team than most, and that was the case last year as well. This could be Oklahoma State's breakout year, returning enough of their team to not face a dropoff from last year's play, and with questions about Oklahoma without Bob Stoops at the helm, the Big XII is theirs for the taking. A very favorable home schedule with most of the other Big XII titans having to play Oklahoma State on the road, they have their best shot at the conference title and a playoff birth this year.
8 Clemson Tigers
9 Wisconsin Badgers
10 Oklahoma Sooners The Sooners still have plenty of talent to make a playoff run, especially returning Heisman candidate Baker Mayfield, but with a new head coach there may be some growing pains. Their week 2 matchup against Ohio State in Columbus will be very telling of what kind of team they'll be. 
11 Auburn Tigers There's been some controversy with people being high on Auburn, but I'm not sure why. They were on a phenomenal late season run until they faced quarterback injuries down the stretch, and with their shiny new Jarrett Stidham now at the helm, they absolutely have the tools to challenge Alabama for the SEC West. However, meeting expectations has been a problem for this team in the past, so they have a lot to prove.
12 Stanford Cardinal
13 Michigan Wolverines Michigan has a lot of talent to replace this year. While I have no doubt they'll do just fine doing so under Harbaugh, I want to see it first before I shoe them into the top 10. 
14 Louisville Cardinals Louisville is a tricky team to rank. Lamar Jackson is an absolute monster of an offensive machine, but the end of last season proved that the team faces lack of depth. The starters are more than capable of beating anybody in their past (people seem to forget that they were mere yards from beating eventual national champions Clemson last year...in Death Valley no less.) However, depth could prove problematic again going forward. 
15 Georgia Bulldogs
16 Florida Gators
17 LSU Tigers
18 USF Bulls USF is poised for a program year. Neck and neck with Western Michigan for last year's best G5 team, they return many of the same pieces and are favored by FPI to win every game (though it puts their actual record closer to 10-2.) While their schedule will make their win total look good, it makes any chances at being G5's first playoff birth pretty much zero, barring complete and total college football chaos. Regardless, they look like G5's best team on paper. 
19 Washington State Cougars
20 Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State had a strong finish last year, and return most of their offensive production. They face some roadblocks in the Big XII (the Oklahoma teams) but they may surprise people this year. I believe they're a dark horse. 
21 NC State Wolfpack FPI seems to like this team quite a bit, but an absolutely brutal schedule will not make proving themselves a top 25 team an easy task.
22 TCU Horned Frogs TCU had a rough going last year, but they've shown that even as a young team they could hang with some of the better teams, having given eventual conference champion Oklahoma a hell of a run for their money. They return more production than pretty much any P5 team, and FPI likes their chances as well.
23 Oregon Ducks Oregon also had a rough year last year but, alongside TCU, they return most of their important pieces and FPI likes them as well. And with Willie Taggart now at the helm, we may well see immediate improvements. 
24 Texas Longhorns Ah yes, the most controversial of choices. But let's set our prejudices aside for a moment and analyze this objectively. They lost to Kansas last year, which was obviously one of the program's most embarrassing moments, and was completely inexcusable. They were also 5 points away from downing Oklahoma and 4 points away from beating WVU. The point is that the talent was clearly there, and much of that talent returns. The awful losses were coaching failures. Now they have Tom Herman, who OC'd his way to a title just three years ago at Ohio State and had Houston in the national spotlight in just his second year. I firmly believe that Texas will be contending for a national title before the end of the decade. Herman will be able to take the talent already on this team and turn it into a winning season. Ranking the Longhorns in the top 25 based on their talent and coaching ability already demonstrated is perfectly reasonable. This ain't Charlie Strong's Texas anymore.
25 Miami Hurricanes

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