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relax_on_the_mat Ballot for 2017 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 19, 2017, 9:18 p.m.

Overall Rationale: A bit of a crapshoot, as is every preseason poll ever.   It's very murky outside of the top ten, which, again, is to be expected in the preseason. I don't believe in Oregon or Noter Dame until they play well enough to make me believe.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide I would like to have anyone other than Bama as #1, but they are such a proven program that I can't do it and I hate myself a little bit for that.
2 USC Trojans I don't see these guys taking any steps back. They finished incredibly strong last year and Darnold is the real deal. Some new receivers, but they pretty much grow NFL caliber receivers on the campus palm trees. I think SC ends up going undefeated this year.
3 Ohio State Buckeyes
4 Florida State Seminoles
5 Penn State Nittany Lions They've got talent and they believe. Urban and tOSU are a little more of a "proven" product, but I really see these two programs being neck-and-neck with it coming down to another decisive head-to-head.
6 Washington Huskies
7 Wisconsin Badgers
8 Clemson Tigers I think Clemson takes several steps back because they are losing sooo many components of their offense. I definitely see them playing second fiddle to FSU until proven otherwise.
9 Oklahoma Sooners
10 Michigan Wolverines I love Michigan but I #10 is the absolute limit. Too many mistakes in high stakes situations, which is rather unlike a Harbaugh-coached team. He's still relatively early into his tenure (hopefully), so the crucial mistakes may be on the decline.  
11 Florida Gators Metric ton of talent, but can they offense? Players suspended for an indefinite period of time also muddy the waters.
12 LSU Tigers Love LSU, but the QB situation has got to improve for them to sniff the top 10. 
13 Oklahoma State Cowboys I think the Cowboys are going to lose to both TCU and Texas, but it would be borderline criminal to not rank the mullet team in the preseason.
14 Louisville Cardinals
15 Stanford Cardinal
16 TCU Horned Frogs
17 Tennessee Volunteers
18 Auburn Tigers
19 UCLA Bruins
20 Nebraska Cornhuskers
21 USF Bulls
22 Washington State Cougars The Cougs are not going to lose to an FCS school, and Falk is going to light it up again in his senior season. Although USC is my not so dark horse to go unbeaten this year, I think WSU upsets USC, Stanford or UW this year and ends the season with no more than 2 losses.
23 Virginia Tech Hokies
24 Georgia Bulldogs
25 Texas Longhorns  I probably shouldn't have Texas ranked, but I really liked what I saw from Buechele last year and I think he and the rest of the team are going to improve under Herman. 

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