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xelphin Ballot for 2017 Week 3

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 11, 2017, 9:18 a.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Retains their spot after a solid smackdown of Fresno State, who had blanked Incarnate word 66-0 the previous week. The fact that Fresno scored on Alabama with both a TD and FG is important when considering FSU only scored a single TD against them (without taking into account the loss of Francois)
2 Clemson Tigers Retains their spot and maybe moves a little closer to stealing Bama's spot after holding Auburn to 2 Field Goals while scoring 2 TD's. This game was at home and was in no way a blowout, but both teams are good and it will be interesting to see how Clemson performs next week when they play AT Louisville.
3 Oklahoma Sooners Absolutely embarrassed Ohio State in Columbus. The game wasn't a blowout, but anyone who thinks OU isn't legit needs to seriously check themselves. Baker Mayfield was an absolute dead shot all game, and any team should fear OU's passing game.
4 Penn State Nittany Lions Just barely relinquishes one spot to OU due to the fact they beat an unranked Pitt vs a top 10 Ohio State, despite it being a very hard-fought rivalry game. This game was played at Happy Valley, and PSU only allowed a TD in the 4th quarter after bringing their lead to 28-6. 
5 Wisconsin Badgers Solid win over FAU, but they still definitely have something to prove. FAU scored on a massive pass in the first quarter to make it seem that they may have some bite, and scored a second time after an interception in Wisconsin's Red Zone. After that however, Wisconsin seemed to wake up and hold FAU very well defensively for the rest of the game.
6 Michigan Wolverines Pretty solid beating of Cincinnati who gave Michigan a scare in the 3rd quarter. A very lucky punt fumble in the 1st gave Cincy some huge momentum which led to a touchdown, and an impressive series in the early 3rd made the score 14-17, but that seemed to wake Michigan up and they pulled away handily in the 4th.
7 Oklahoma State Cowboys Retains after beating the tar out of South Alabama. The game was very one-sided and was nearly a shut-out, but a late 4th quarter TD by USA finally gave them some points.
8 LSU Tigers Very solid beatdown against the Mocs. Mocs scored first, but LSU jumped in and hung 42 points before the mocs could score a TD in the 4th. Jumped 3 spots due losses by Ohio State and Auburn, and the postponement of FSU's game.
9 Virginia Tech Hokies Blanked Delaware.
10 Ohio State Buckeyes Fell very hard to OU, but given the quality of their loss, they only drop 2 spots. They are still going to be a very quality team this year, but they seemed to be very out-of-focus in the OU game and truly did not look like the OSU of two years ago.
11 USC Trojans Really took it to a competent-looking Stanford. Maintained some powerful momentum all game despite Stanford almost matching them exactly. The turning point at the end of the 3rd quarter really solidified and extended their lead and showed they could hang all game. Their game against Texas this week will truly show how powerful USC is.
12 Auburn Tigers Falls 3 due to a loss to Clemson where they were only able to score 2 FG's. This game was played @Clemson, so while they do fall victim to their record, they have a lot of room to grow. Holding Clemson to only two TD's is also important, and their Defense is going to be a factor in their success going forward.
13 Florida State Seminoles Game was cancelled, and as other teams had time to prove themselves this early in the season, unfortunately FSU fell victim to their record.
14 Washington Huskies Very dominant show over Montana, but still have a lot to prove after being a natty contender last year. 
15 Kansas State Wildcats Beat the ever-loving crap out of Charlotte, and probably would have blanked them if not for a 66yd kickoff return late in the first quarter.
16 West Virginia Mountaineers Retain due to thorough beating of ECU. Seemed to let off the gas after the half, which is something to watch in games going forward. Nearly all of ECU's points came in the 3rd and 4th quarters, which makes me think they may have been just settling into "don't lose" mode after the half when they were up by 46.
17 Louisville Cardinals Great game against UNC, and seemed to really turn it on and pull away in the 4th quarter. The garbage time TD by UNC masks how well Louisville turned the game in their favor.
18 Stanford Cardinal Soundly beaten by USC, but was able to hang in there until late in the 3rd quarter when they seemed to really lose their ability to keep up. 
19 Georgia Bulldogs Definitely deserves a bump after beating Notre Dame, but this win needs to be scrutinized due to ND's previous season record and this season's potential.
20 Maryland Terrapins Beat the tar out of Towson. The two TDs scored against them came in the 4th quarter and one of them was garbage time.
21 Florida Gators Cancelled game + record causes a drop.
22 Iowa Hawkeyes Tough win in overtime against an ISU that could very well be legit. This jump is a bit of a homer for me, but also consider that both Miami and USF fell from my polls due to their cancelled games and therefore lack of track record. Iowa has improved every game so far and if ISU can prove their worth in the Big XII, this win will only get sweeter.
23 TCU Horned Frogs Thorough handling of Arkansas. Solid scoring all game while holding Arkansas to a single touchdown scored in the first quarter.
24 Washington State Cougars Big overtime win over Boise State. Their record will be tested later, but for now their first hurdle has been cleared.
25 Oregon Ducks Just barely squeaks into 25th place over Utah due to their very solid handling of Nebraska (in the first half). If they can learn to keep it together in the second half, Oregon will be a force to be reckoned with.

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