Back to poll results >>

nickknx865 Ballot for 2017 Week 5

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 24, 2017, 5:33 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Abandoned the computer ratings for my final because I want to have my finger a little more on the scale with my top 25 rankings. These should be a little less screwy while still trying to be as predictive of games as possible. Other teams under consideration for this ranking were: Utah, LSU, Mississippi State, Cal, Washington State, and Kentucky

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide If there's one thing my computer ratings and I agree on, it's that Alabama should be #1. Vanderbilt wanted Bama and uhh...they got them, 59 points of them. I'd laugh at how bad Vandy got murdered, but they'll beat us by like 40 in the Third Saturday in October, so who the fuck am I kidding.
2 Oklahoma Sooners Gonna have to spank you? Baker Mayfield wha...anyways. This game should not have been this close. Period. However, I think OU looks solid and I agree with my precious computers that they're probably the #2 team. Probably. The only other teams you could make an argument for are Clemson and Washington, I think, and while I was tempted to pick the Tigers here, I don't want to overreact to one game, and OU has looked very good aside from this game.
3 Clemson Tigers They struggled with BC until the 4th, but every team has games like that. I think they'll be ultimately okay.
4 Washington Huskies This is mostly a reaction to how I think Washington played against a Colorado team that people thought would give them some trouble with the game being wet and in Boulder. It looked like a rough game in the 1st half but Washington pulled away in the 2nd half. This Gaskin kid they got is pretty good, anyone ever heard of him?
5 Ohio State Buckeyes I see you over there. You're laughing. "Oh, they've got Ohio State 5th, don't they know the Buckeyes got smashed by OU?" Yes, I do. Yes, I still think this is a top 5 team. However, outside of that game, they've beaten people fairly handily. Yes those opponents haven't been of the top caliber, but I still would probably pick them against any other team in the B1G.
6 Penn State Nittany Lions This one was also kind of tough too. If USC and Penn State, I'd probably pick Penn State here. You could make the argument that USC played better against an opponent of the same or slightly better caliber with Cal, but this is more personal preference.
7 USC Trojans I'd pick Penn State against USC, but I still think USC is top 10 quality.
8 TCU Horned Frogs TCU won very comfortably against an Oklahoma State team that had been murdering their opponents in cold blood. They managed to win comfortably in Stillwater no less. Worthy of this ranking.
9 Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin's competition hasn't been that great, but they've murdered 2 out of their 3 opponents and won comfortably against FAU. My ratings have them here, and I think that's accurate for now.
10 Georgia Bulldogs I feel like that MSU's game against LSU saw MSU get overrated somewhat, but Georgia stomped them comfortably enough for me to think they're the real deal at this point. Clear SEC East favorite.
11 Oklahoma State Cowboys To an extent, I though OSU was overrated. They started out 32nd in my preseason projections, and while I never thought they were *as* bad as what my Elo ratings indicated, I did think they were slightly overrated. They're going to bounce back and could still very well win the Big XII.
12 Michigan Wolverines Struggled with Purdue for a while, though they found their groove in the end. Pretty good team I feel, though not outstanding.
13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish That one point loss to the Georgia Bulldogs doesn't look so bad in hindsight. They've looked pretty decent, and I think that it's fair to say that this squad isn't going to go 4-8 again.
14 Miami Hurricanes We really don't know much about Miami thanks to Hurricane Irma, but them struggling with Toledo in the 1st half was not a good look. They pulled away afterwards, but they must do better on defense if they are going to be deserving of this spot.
15 Louisville Cardinals A part of me feels weird for having Louisville this high, but I see no reason they aren't a top 20 squad as long as Lamar Jackson is in for them.
16 NC State Wolfpack I was *really* on the fence with this one. They did lose to South Carolina, but they doubled them up on yardage and were probably the better team there. This Florida State win just feels like a classic "fools gold" type deal, especially with Francois gone, but NC State is a good football team I feel.
17 Florida State Seminoles FSU without Deondre Francois doesn't look so hot, but they're one of those teams that do so well on the recruiting trail and are talented enough to make you think they'll turn it around.
18 Auburn Tigers I think people sold on Auburn after their game with Clemson, and I think that was a fair assumption given how Auburn's offensive line looked like a literal turnstile. (11 sacks? really? 11? turn the sliders up that's crap). That's going to be a ceiling on how well they'll do this year, but they looked good versus Missouri? Then again, who hasn't? Mississippi State should give us a better idea of how they'll do in SEC play.
19 Virginia Tech Hokies West Virginia is the only team with a pulse you've played, VA Tech, and my computers keep you in the 26-30 range. I think you're better than this, but I really don't know *how* much better. Thankfully you'll play Clemson this week to tell me how much better.
20 San Diego State Aztecs Is San Diego State good in the sense of being a top 25 team? I don't know, to be honest, and them struggling with Air Force makes me think they may not be. Then again, it could also be argued that they took care of business against an Air Force team on the road with a lightning delay and only being favored by 1. I'll keep them ahead of Stanford for now, though I think Stanford would win a rematch.
21 Stanford Cardinal I think people sold too much on Stanford after their 2-game losing skid against USC and San Diego State. While those losses are certainly disappointing, even if the USC loss wasn't entirely surprising, this team is still very good I feel.
22 USF Bulls South Florida looks like they've got things figured out? That win versus Temple was a post-Matt Rhule Temple, but it's still impressive I think how they did. Their games are awful to watch though, though I should thank them for making sure I don't have to watch shitty high school games on Thursday and Friday nights.
23 Duke Blue Devils It's appropriate that I have "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift playing right now while I'm making this, because Duke, look what you made me do. Wake Forest has been playing well, but you might actually compete with NC State for best team in North Carolina.
24 Florida Gators God the SEC East so bad. 31 wins in a row over Kentucky thanks to a 1 point win. Do I think Florida is good? No. Do I still think they're one of the top 25 teams in America? Yeah, probably, but juuuuuuuuusssstttt barely.
25 Wake Forest Demon Deacons I have Wake Forest in a college football top 25. In September. This has to be an alternate reality. I feel like this is a really shaky pick thanks to their 1 point win against Appalachian State and that I should instead pick someone that I know will come back up here, but screw it, this is more fun.

Back to poll results >>