Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Jan. 10, 2018, 8:30 a.m.

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Alabama Crimson Tide
2	Georgia Bulldogs
3	Oklahoma Sooners
4	Clemson Tigers
5	Ohio State Buckeyes
6	Penn State Nittany Lions
7	UCF Knights
8	Auburn Tigers	This may be my most controversial pick. I really thought hard over Auburn's placement relative to Wisconsin. There is quite a lot to recommend the Badgers' case to be in the #8 spot here. Ultimately, though, bowl season gave me no reason to drop the Tigers. Auburn had a close loss to a UCF team that I already had ranked higher than them. Wisconsin had a hard-fought win over a Miami team I already had ranked several spots below them. Both of these results match what I would have predicted based on my previous rankings. My poll is not a resume poll but it probably bears pointing out that 3 of Auburn's 4 losses came to Top 7 teams (along with their win against #2 Georgia) while Wisconsin lost their only game to Top 7 competition. Therefore, the difference in the two teams' record is largely a measure of SOS rather than team quality.
9	Wisconsin Badgers
10	TCU Horned Frogs
11	Stanford Cardinal
12	Washington Huskies
13	USC Trojans
14	Miami Hurricanes
15	Oklahoma State Cowboys
16	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
17	NC State Wolfpack
18	Michigan State Spartans
19	Iowa State Cyclones
20	Memphis Tigers
21	LSU Tigers
22	Virginia Tech Hokies
23	Boise State Broncos
24	Fresno State Bulldogs
25	Iowa Hawkeyes	Honorable Mentions to Northwestern, Mississippi State, and Louisville.

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	0.00
2	Georgia Bulldogs	0.00
3	Oklahoma Sooners	0.11
4	Clemson Tigers	0.32
5	Ohio State Buckeyes	0.00
6	Penn State Nittany Lions	0.68
7	UCF Knights	-0.58
8	Auburn Tigers	0.40
9	Wisconsin Badgers	-0.98
10	TCU Horned Frogs	0.00
11	Stanford Cardinal	2.16
12	Washington Huskies	0.58
13	USC Trojans	0.00
14	Miami Hurricanes	0.00
15	Oklahoma State Cowboys	0.00
16	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	-0.88
17	NC State Wolfpack	1.47
18	Michigan State Spartans	-0.57
19	Iowa State Cyclones	4.54
20	Memphis Tigers	0.49
21	LSU Tigers	0.00
22	Virginia Tech Hokies	0.31
23	Boise State Broncos	0.00
24	Fresno State Bulldogs	0.98
25	Iowa Hawkeyes	0.00

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
Northwestern Wildcats	2.49
USF Bulls	0.62
Mississippi State Bulldogs	0.83

Total Score: 18.99