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ryker888 Ballot for 2017 Final

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Jan. 9, 2018, 8:57 a.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide What a way to finish, an instant classic and with so many freshmen making huge impacts last night the future is bright
2 Georgia Bulldogs A heartbreaking loss but with Smart getting his team here in year 2 they will be a regular at the top of the polls for the next few years
3 Oklahoma Sooners Lost a heartbreaker in OT but with so many upperclassmen on the team they will have a lot to replace next year but things are looking good for Riley in his first season
4 Clemson Tigers Dabo has been in the playoffs the last 3 seasons and I see no reason they wont continue to be at the top of the ACC.  Dabo and Venables  have built something special at Clemson.
5 UCF Knights Not sure if it is just a meme but UCF are not national champions.  That can't take away from a historic season being the only undefeated team in D1 Football.  Not sure if they sustain with Frost taking the entire coaching staff with him but it will be fun to see if they can keep it up.
6 Ohio State Buckeyes Conference champs and with a great Cotton Bowl win Meyer keeps his program at the top of the BIG10, just missed out on the championship but still had a great season.
7 Penn State Nittany Lions Somewhat of a let down with the mid season losses but they may have showed in the Fiesta Bowl that they might be the best team in the Conference.  Losing Barkley but over all Franklin and PSU have done a great job coming back into the national spotlight
8 Wisconsin Badgers May have been overshadowed by PSU and OSU but they were dominant in the Orange Bowl over Miami.  
9 TCU Horned Frogs Were looking like a potential challenger to OU in the Big12 midseason but Patterson and TCU finished out strong with a win over Stanford
10 Miami Hurricanes Disappointing end to the season for Richt and Miami but he has got them back into national prominence, things are looking good going forward for the Canes 
11 Auburn Tigers A quick fall after looking like they may get into the playoffs, losing a lot to the NFL, Steele has built a great defense but can Malzahn keep his offense up?
12 USC Trojans Conference champions but losing the Cotton Bowl, Darnold gone to the NFL but SC still has a good team, will be interested to see if they can keep at the top of the Pac12 because that conference is wide open
13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Great win in the bowl game after a good season, looked to be on the verge of being a playoff team.
14 Michigan State Spartans What a turn around MSU made this year after that dismal season last year following their playoff appearance.  
15 Oklahoma State Cowboys
16 Mississippi State Bulldogs Lost their coach and starting QB but sill managed to win against a Heisman trophy winner in their bowl game.
17 Washington Huskies Not really sure what to make of the Huskies, at times looked like a play off team and others looked terrible, good season but its hard to meet expectations after a playoff appearance 
18 Stanford Cardinal Close loss to TCU but overall a good season, just came up a little bit short in the Pac12 this year.
19 LSU Tigers Not sure what to make of LSU and Coach-O's first season but the Tigers finished well and lost a close one in the bowl game vs ND
20 Northwestern Wildcats Didn't get a change to watch a lot of Northwestern this year but from what I did see they played solid football and had a good win over UK in their bowl. Hard to assess since their division is so weak.
21 Virginia Tech Hokies Had high hopes for the hokies this year, thought they could contend in the ACC but keep up with the U and Clemson.  Lost a close one to OSU in the bowl but still a good season.
22 Memphis Tigers An incredibly fun team to watch and lost a very close game to ISU in the bowl on their home turf
23 Boise State Broncos
24 South Carolina Gamecocks Great bowl win over Michigan and a good season in a down SEC East
25 FAU Owls What a first season for Kiffin and the Owls, so happy to see him doing well

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