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BabyBladder Ballot for 2017 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 5, 2017, 4:04 p.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide 1st poll for the season from me, since I use preseason as an expectation poll. Going to do reasons for top 10 this year.Alabama is the clear #1 after that performance last week. While I could see preseason explanations for about half a dozen teams over them, the first week of football made it clear that there is 1 team to beat right now: Alabama.The offense was surprisingly decent against a dominant FSU defense. In particular their ball control was impressive, and while they might not have put up 24 without those FSU turnovers, they made it count when they needed. RB is deep, a reliable QB, fantastic O-line and what appears to be another great WR make them a team to be reckoned with. As the season goes on, I think the biggest question mark might be play calling. There were a handful of interesting decisions on 3rd down in the game, they only went 3-16 on 3rd down. However, it's hard to know if this is just an anmoly due to new play calling with Kiffin gone + FSU having a top 5 defense.
2 Michigan Wolverines As I stated countless times over the off season, the preseason expectation for Michigan was far too low. With that level of talent and that level of coaching, this is clearly a top 5 team. Might be over-reaction of the year, but this season will determine whether Michigan can compete with the likes of Ohio State, Bama, FSU, and Clemson. The best teams lose players and replace them immediately, rebuilding years don't exist for elite CFB programs. I think Michigan under Harbaugh is one of these programs, and the Florida game certainly supported that theory. Those looking just at the box score will miss out on the details. Without two pick 6's (one of them deflected), Michigan dominated. Well rounded passing and run game, solid oline, and a fantastic defense. They get after the QB and do brilliantly at disguising their coverage, perhaps the best in CFB in that regard. However, we really didn't get to see how good their secondary is because of the front 7 domination last game. Going on purely week 1 results, Michigan looked like the second best team.
3 Clemson Tigers Didn't get a chance to watch the game, but from highlights/stats it looks like they came out flying. Like Michigan, I think they'll be fine despite losing a lot of talent due to great recruiting and coaching. Nothing to do with ranking them #3, but after week 1 they're clear favorites for the ACC.
4 Ohio State Buckeyes Interesting week 1 for the Buckeyes. The key for this team is how willing they are to use Barrett in the ground game. In the 1st half they looked 1 dimensional without him willing to tuck and run, or keep on the read. The 2nd half they punished Indiana's defense with their versatility. How much of their week 1 (early) struggle was due towards looking to next week? How much was their playcalling holding back to keep some surprises? How much prep went into Indiana versus Oklahoma the last few weeks? This week will be very telling. 
5 Oklahoma Sooners Not much to take away from Week 1 victory over UTEP
6 Florida State Seminoles Defense is good enough to win them most of their games, but with Francois 
7 LSU Tigers I'm not sure how good BYU is going to be this year, but a shutout over what is normally a pretty good team is impressive. In a week 1 filled with blowouts of bad teams and struggles for many other top 25 teams, LSU earns a top spot.
8 Penn State Nittany Lions
9 Stanford Cardinal No amazing reason to put Stanford in the top 10, but based on week 1 performances of other teams versus theirs, they are here for now.
10 Oklahoma State Cowboys Offense looks elite, defense looks extremely questionable as expected. Rounds out the top 10.Notable top 10 exclusions compared to AP/coaches: USC, Washington, and Wisconsin. None of these 3 had good enough performances in their openers to warrant a top 10 for various reasons.
11 Virginia Tech Hokies
12 Wisconsin Badgers
13 USC Trojans
14 Georgia Bulldogs
15 Auburn Tigers
16 Washington Huskies
17 Colorado Buffaloes
18 Florida Gators
19 Miami Hurricanes
20 UCLA Bruins
21 Louisville Cardinals
22 Oregon Ducks
23 Michigan State Spartans
24 California Golden Bears
25 West Virginia Mountaineers

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