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xelphin Ballot for 2017 Week 11

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 6, 2017, 7:49 a.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs Consistent performance the entire game, even though SCar really tried to make it look like they had a chance.
2 Alabama Crimson Tide Exact same score, exact same point breakdown per quarter as Georgia/SCar. No movement.
3 Clemson Tigers Clemson reclaims the #3 spot from ND mostly because I consider a win over NC State a much more quality win than a win over Wake Forest, especially since ND allowed Wake to score 37 points on them. NC State is a much better team overall and a victory over them should be rewarded.
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 7-1, and handily...however they just allowed Wake Forest to score 37 on them, while Clemson handed defeat to a very good NC State. 
5 Oklahoma Sooners A 10 point victory in Bedlam is enough to move the Sooners into 5th. They really need to get their defense in gear if they want to sneak into the top 4 however.
6 Miami Hurricanes Miami deserves to hop Wisconsin for several reasons, not least of which the fact that Miami has actually played several tough opponents, including Virginia Tech, who had only one other loss at the time of their meeting. Very related and nearly the same reason is the simple strength of schedule. Wisconsin ain't played nobody.
7 Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin should not be underestimated, but after looking at their season record you need to quickly remind yourself that they have exactly 0 wins over ranked opponents, and in fact their SoS is one of the weakest in FBS.
8 TCU Horned Frogs TCU came off a pretty stunning loss to ISU and proved they deserved a spot at the table with a win over Texas.
9 Washington Huskies Nearly blanking the ducks is impressive in itself, but watching Washington play was another matter. Washington really seemed to wake up and decide they wanted to play in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and it wasn't until what looked like half-way through the 4th quarter that they decided to ease off the gas.
10 Oklahoma State Cowboys Despite their defense having issues keeping Sooners out of the end zone, the Cowboys definitely were impressive on the field. Losing by 10 at Bedlam after putting up so many points is a heartbreaker, but shows they have the tools to put the hurt on very good programs.
11 Auburn Tigers While a win over the Aggies is certainly a great win, the Tigers share a problem with Wisconsin in that they really haven't played many opponents of real power, and it won't be until this weekend that we really see what they're made of when they face Georgia.
12 Ohio State Buckeyes The Buckeyes fall from grace after being handed their second loss of the season in absolutely embarrassing fashion to the Iowa Hawkeyes. In a single game, the Hawkeyes managed to squash OSU's playoff hopes, JT Barrett's Heisman hopes, and scored more points than the Buckeyes have allowed in a loss in over 2 decades. 
13 Michigan State Spartans The Spartans have strong-armed their way back into the high teens by virtue of a victory over Penn State, the B1G's previous shoo-in for the CFP.
14 UCF Knights UCF waltzed into enemy territory to face SMU, who had been looking much better this season after an embarrassing last few years. Though only winning by 7, UCF is undefeated and should not be underestimated despite being a G5 team.
15 Penn State Nittany Lions Despite being handed their second loss in 2 weeks, Penn State should not be glanced over. They have all the tools to be an extremely good program, and their secret weapon Saquon Barkley is a front-runner for the Heisman.
16 USC Trojans USC handed Arizona a pretty convincing loss, but if you watched the game you would know that the Wildcats gave the Trojans everything they had, and were it not for a few key plays the game could very easily have gone the other way.
17 Virginia Tech Hokies The Hokies fall from last week, but only after losing to the undefeated Hurricanes in a well fought battle.
18 Memphis Tigers Memphis gets a hefty bump after their absolute demolishing of Tulsa. Though Tulsa had only 2 wins coming into this game, they came out fighting and Memphis quickly put them in their place and didn't let off the gas all game.
19 Washington State Cougars The Cougars delivered a very close defeat to a 6-2 Stanford, but Stanford should be remembered as having 2 pretty embarrassing losses and a few very lackluster wins. 
20 Mississippi State Bulldogs The Bulldogs come away with a sound victory over UMass, but only after allowing 23 points and scoring 34. Though the Bulldogs have a 7-2 record with 2 very quality losses, the losses have been significant margins while a few of their more quality wins were very close battles. Because of this, MSU has a bit to prove but could easily be a player in the coming weeks as they play Alabama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss.
21 Michigan Wolverines The Wolverines are now in a place where they need to prove themselves. Michigan comes off a trophy game and looks towards 3 increasingly difficult games to round out their season. If they can win out, they could be considered for very high ranks based on win record.
22 USF Bulls The American Conference really has showed their power this season, putting a third team into the top 25 rankings with USF. Their solid victory over UConn was softened a bit by the fact that the Huskies snuck in a few scores in the 4th quarter to make the beatdown less brutal. The rest of the Bull's schedule will be tough however, as they face UCF in the final match of the season and that game will determine which team heads to the Conference Championship.
23 West Virginia Mountaineers The Mountaineers hand Iowa State a close defeat to once again prove to the world they deserve to be in consideration. For beating a team who had previously handed losses to OU and TCU, the Mountaineers deserve their spot.
24 Iowa Hawkeyes The Hawkeyes surprised everyone this weekend when they took the Buckeyes behind the woodshed and brutally beat them with no remorse. Though they have 3 losses on the season, two of them are to high ranking opponents, and more than one win is over a ranked team. Next week will really prove the Hawks' meddle as they attempt to dethrone Wisconsin.
25 Iowa State Cyclones Though they suffered a loss to unranked WVU, Iowa State still has a lot to hang their hat on. They can very easily finish the season 8-4, and if they can show up next week they can end the season at 9-3 for the first time in a very long time. Matt Campbell has an extremely good program in his hands and the Cyclones have everything to prove.

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