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GilBrandt Ballot for 2017 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 5, 2017, 12:38 p.m.

Overall Rationale: I will only have undefeated teams in my ranking for this week and MAYBE next week, but my ranking will be a bit strange until 3-4 weeks are out of the way. Teams that barely missed the cut for my ranking are Navy, Fresno St, TCU, Air Force, Army, Ohio, Duke, Miss St, Florida State, and Florida.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama looks like Alabama. Like usual. The reason I left FSU out was because they lost their star QB and will be starting a true freshman (I believe). This changes how I view them until I see them play another game or two
2 Michigan Wolverines Michigan did a great job and I left Florida out because I would like to see them figure something out on offense
3 Ohio State Buckeyes First half I was starting to think I would leave Ohio State out or drop them quite a bit. But they had a powerful second half! Indiana also looks to be a interesting team this season.
4 LSU Tigers Dominant on both sides of the ball. We'll see if this continues or if BYU ends up being really bad this season.
5 Wisconsin Badgers Dominant over a G5 team that I believe isn't a push over.
6 Virginia Tech Hokies Win over a solid Big12 matchup and instate rivalry which can always be interesting. Look forward to WV finding their way back into the rankings
7 Stanford Cardinal Solid win over an easy team. I believe in Stanford as a good team again this year, but also wouldn't be surprised if they fell out of the top 10 by the end of the season. Still guessing at this point.
8 Oklahoma Sooners OU doesn't appear to have lost a step with Stoops retiring, but that is easier when you have a QB like Baker
9 Penn State Nittany Lions Dominant shut out of a G5 team (but an easy one). Looking forward to what Penn State and Barkley can achieve this season.
10 Clemson Tigers Same as Penn St, but you are one spot below for barely scoring less and not shutting the G5 opponent out. Life isn't fair!
11 Washington Huskies Not a "dominant" win over Rutgers. It is hard to tell if this is because Rutgers might be decent this season or if Washington takes a slight step back this season. Just out of the top 10 till I see otherwise
12 Auburn Tigers Dominant win over a G5 team who is usually somewhat decent. Will be interesting to see what Auburn does this season.
13 Oklahoma State Cowboys I still believe in OSU as a top 10 team (slight homerism), but their win wasn't as dominant as some above teams. Just outside of the top 10 which I feel is fair for now. Their offense definitely looks dangerous this year.
14 California Golden Bears Great win at a away P5 game! This might not be the same North Carolina team from last season, but Cal appears to be better than last season. Might be able to make some noise in the Pac this season.
15 Louisville Cardinals This is a confusing one. I feel like Louisville could be ranked a couple spots higher from Lamar alone, but it was a close win over Purdue. Is Purdue a better team this season? Maybe. Time will tell if this is a impressive win or not.
16 South Carolina Gamecocks Great win over a hyped up NCState team. Maybe South Carolina is on the way up again after a tough few years. Also interested to see if NCState lives up to the hype or not.
17 UCLA Bruins I will suffer PTSD when ever I see the colors Blue and Yellow together. Christ A&M why did you have to do this!?!? As angry as I am with my own team, I have to give props to Rosen and UCLA. Rosen was lights out the second half and looked like the NFL prospect everyone has been saying he is. If UCLA can continue that on offense and figure out other problems with the team then they will be a VERY scary team in the Pac this season. Where's the bleach at??
18 Tennessee Volunteers A somewhat awkward but exciting win over Georgia Tech. Flashes of a good team were seen last night, but obviously the run defense is going to hurt Tennessee this year. Definitely interested to see what the Vols do this year along with Georgia Tech.
19 UCF Knights Absolute dominant win over a weak FIU team. All the hype surrounded USF, but I'm starting to think it should have been on this Florida team.
20 USC Trojans Is WMU as good or close to as good as last season? Darnold and the Trojans better hope so because that was a close call in your own home stadium. USC and WMU look like exciting teams to watch, but it also appears that both could either rise together or crash together this season.
21 Maryland Terrapins You gave me great happiness before I knew what was coming for my own Aggies. You're being ranked winning in hostile (throwing trash, come on Longhorns) territory and putting up 51 points on a hyped P5 opponent. Great stuff! I originally had you at 14, but dropped you because you lost your starting QB and a defensive senior. Bummer, but I'm rooting for you this season! Thanks for beating that gross orange team!
22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Crushing win over Temple. Though this doesn't appear to be Matt Rhule's Temple squad anymore, so time will tell if this was a impressive win or not. Still impressive to hang 49 on a G5 team.
23 Vanderbilt Commodores I might get some feedback for this, but it's the first week and Vanderbilt beat a G5 team that usually is pretty decent each season. They also beat them at Middle Tennessee (see that how you will since it is the same state). Convincing enough victory. Go Commodores! Hope you can stay ranked.
24 Iowa Hawkeyes Hard to figure out right now how good both teams are. One spot below Vanderbilt since you beat your G5 team in your own stadium. Though you did beat a G5 team with a QB that is getting NFL praise. Not sure much attention will be brought to Allen now with 0 TDs to show in his first game of the season. Will be interesting watching both teams this season.
25 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia barely cracked my week 1 ranking with their win over a usually solid App St team. Definitely did better with them than Tennessee did last season. I expect Georgia to rise in the rankings when tougher opponents come around.

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