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Nathanael-Greene Ballot for 2017 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 4, 2017, 8:19 a.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama won a tough game against Florida State, so despite several kinks in the offense, they performed well enough to remain at #1 in my poll.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes Though Ohio State started off slow against Indiana this past Thursday, they overcame the issues with their play to win and will move to #2.
3 Clemson Tigers Clemson performed very well against Kent State, Kelly Bryant has taken up the mantle of starting QB and exceeded most people's expectations. With FSU losing Francios and Clemson reloading well from the loss of their best QB in school history, they now take over as the best team in the ACC.
4 Oklahoma Sooners Lincoln Riley did pretty good in his first game as head coach of the Sooners, as Oklahoma handled Texas-El Paso. OU is the best team in the Big 12 for the moment, but challenges later in the season will prove whether or not they can hold onto their spot in the Top 4.
5 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State trounced Akron on Saturday, with Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley performing well on offense while the Defense left Akron with zip on the scoreboard. They move up from #8 to 5 in my poll.
6 Florida State Seminoles With the loss of their stellar QB, the centerpiece of their offense, it is anyone's guess as to how FSU will perform the rest of the year. They still have some weapons on offense though, and a mean defense, but for the time being they are only the 2nd best team in the ACC.
7 Washington Huskies Washington struggled against Rutgers on Friday night in New Jersey, and for the moment it's unknown if Rutgers has improved or the Huskies have fallen backwards. Seeing as Rutgers has been bad in recent years, the Huskies fall out of the Top 4 in my poll, but as they still won the game by double digits, they remain the Top 10. 
8 Wisconsin Badgers Utah State took an early lead against the Badgers on Friday night, but that was all Wisconsin let them have in their 30+ point victory. Wisconsin moves up a rank in my poll, up to #8.
9 Oklahoma State Cowboys Though their were some issues while playing against Tulsa, the Oklahoma State Cowboys managed to win the game with a double-digit differential and move up one rank further into the Top 10, coming in at #9 in my poll.
10 Michigan Wolverines Despite the Florida team they faced having multiple players suspended, Michigan still beat a talented Gator football team with a good performance by their defense, so they will move into the Top 10 and round it out in my poll.
11 Auburn Tigers Auburn had a handful of issues in their game on Saturday, but their comfortable victory over Georgia Southern is enough to move them up a ranking.
12 USC Trojans USC struggled against a Western Michigan team at home, a WMU without their best coach in recent history leading them, a WMU that isn't even projected to win or compete in the MAC Championship by most. As such, they fall out of the Top 10. 
13 Stanford Cardinal With poor performances by the teams ahead of them, the Cardinal moves up to #13 in my poll, right next to their opponent they will be playing next week, USC. 
14 Georgia Bulldogs An App State upset over the Bulldogs was something everyone was talking about leading up to this game, but Georgia was having none of it and won a sound victory over the Mountaineers, giving them no chance to breathe for most of the game.
15 Virginia Tech Hokies A solid showing by Josh Jackson the this Hokies team leaps frog them up from #20 in my poll, as their offense performed well and the defense was spectacular against West Virginia, so they may very well have a strong bid for the ACC Championship this year.
16 West Virginia Mountaineers Despite their loss, West Virginia was right there with Virginia Tech all game long Sunday night, and Will Grier has not lost his touch since his days at Florida. The Wide Receivers left a little to be desired, but their Defense did very well and with a competent QB leading them, the Mountaineers could possibly vie for the Big 12 CCG and a major bowl game.
17 Florida Gators After suspending several players, including a few valuable starters, it's easy to understand why Florida lost to Michigan and why their offense couldn't score much. Their defense wasn't bad, so they do not drop much.
18 Utah Utes Utah played well against North Dakota, and surprising to many, their offense seemed to improve from previous years. If they can keep the good performance going against upcoming Pac-12 teams, they might find themselves in Santa Clara come December. 
19 LSU Tigers LSU comfortably beat a bad BYU team in New Orleans, so they will remain at #19 just as in my previous poll. Upcoming SEC play will be a better test for the Tigers.
20 Louisville Cardinals Though they won Saturday, a one-score win over Purdue isn't all that impressive, especially for a team with a returning Heisman winner. Louisville will need to improve a lot if they want to win the ACC Atlantic this season.
21 WKU Hilltoppers The Hilltoppers move up in my poll after beating a solid Eastern Kentucky team, and with South Florida's anemic performances against San Jose State and Stony Brook, WKU may now be in the driver's seat for the G5 slot in the Fiesta Bowl. 
22 Washington State Cougars The Cougars had a sound performance against Montana State, a surprising victory to some as Wazzu has had a lot of trouble with FCS teams in recent years. For the time being, Washington State moves into the Top 25.
23 Boise State Broncos Troy was a strong team this year, so Boise State earned themselves a hard-fought victory in Idaho on Saturday night. Their game against Washington State will not be easy, however.
24 Navy Midshipmen Navy had a very late game against Lane Kiffin's FAU Owls, but the Midshipmen were dominant the whole way through. At the moment, they are the best team in the American West, but we will see if they can hold onto that status.
25 Maryland Terrapins Is Texas back? Not after the Terps paid a visit to Austin, they aren't. It's likely Texas is just bad, but Maryland played pretty well, and who knows, they may give some B1G East teams a scare or two come Conference Play.

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