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Grimbo_Reaper Ballot for 2018 Way Too Early

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Jan. 15, 2018, 1:11 p.m.

Overall Rationale: nan

Rank Team Reason
1 LSU Tigers It's close, but in the end, LSU is the number one going into next season. First and foremost, they return a healthy portion of both the offense and defense and may have the strongest secondary in the nation with Greedy Williams, Kristian Fulton, Grant Delpit, Eric Monroe, Kelvin Joseph, and potentially Patrick Surtain. LSU will also finally have depth along the offensive and defensive front and a potential All American LB in Devin White. While the Tigers will be as unproven at RB as they have been in recent memory, the real talent on the offense is at Wide Out and QB. Expect coveted QB Myles Brennan to put up big yards with Drake Davis, Dee Anderson, and incoming superstar Terrace Marshall hauling in TDs. Regardless of the impressive and abundant talent returning to LSU on the roster, the real talent is the staff Coach O has assembled in Baton Rouge. Not only did he retain perhaps the best DC in the country in Dave Aranda, but has promoted a proven and effective veteran in Steve Ensminger to OC after excising the Matt Canada cancer from the program. During his stint as interim OC in 2016, Ensminger bumped LSU's offensive S&P rankings from 41% up to an impressive 73% and a ranking of 22nd in the country. Compare that to Matt Canada's 54% and 42nd ranking and it's clear "Slinger" Ensminger was the way to go, especially when he revealed he is toying with the option of a three QB system in his introductory press conference. LSU looks like it will have a tool for every situation going into 2018.
2 Alabama Crimson Tide I mean. Do I really need to explain why the returning king is still in the top four? Especially when they won the NCG with a true freshman QB? Damien Harris returning is also huge to me. Not that it would matter, if every starter declared it'd be hard to justify dropping them out of being a playoff contender. Damnit.
3 Clemson Tigers In a manner similar to Bama, I feel we've learned that Dabo is someone you can count on to make the playoffs. This goes before mentioning that the biggest barrier Clemson has there is FSU and they'll be looking to have a slight transitional season.
4 Arizona Wildcats Hang on, hang on. Electric dual-threat QB being inherited by Kevin Sumlin? I feel like I've heard this story before. Pac-12 bout to get wrecked. Here's the thing beyond that: Sumlin has learned a lot from his time at A&M. He won't make the same mistakes he did. As such, we're about to see the start of something dangerous over in the Pac. I'd be a bit scared, were I everyone else in that conference. And Michigan State. 
5 Georgia Bulldogs You lose two amazing RBs, your best linebacker ever, your #1 WR, and other key points across the board. Year three of Smart will be good. Damned good. but it won't be quite as good as year two or (probably) year four. 
6 Virginia Tech Hokies Fuente and Foster, man. I just have a really strong feeling about them. They lose some key players but I just have a gut feeling that they're going to be great this season.
7 Washington Huskies This next year is the year for Washington. This is it. I'm really excited to see how they do this next season.
8 Ohio State Buckeyes Does Ohio State lose a ton of experience? ya, pretty much, but y'all remember the last time it was supposed to be a rebuilding season for Ohio State? It's till Urban Meyer and he still has maybe the second most talented roster in college football.
9 Wisconsin Badgers You're telling me that a one-loss team returns their entire offensive line, they're freshman RB (who almost hit 2,000 yards), all their WRs, and their QB? Ya, they'll be good. If it weren't for all the defensive experience they're losing, I'd have them higher.
10 Penn State Nittany Lions So my friends and I switched our fantasy football league to dynasty mode this past season. And man. Let me tell you, as someone who has the 1.01 pick (and 1.02. And 1.03. And 1.04. And 1.07. And 1.10.) in the rookie draft, I am so high on Barkley. Dude is going to carry me to all the championships. Him and Guice. And Ridley. I'm getting off topic, back to PSU. because of how good I think Barkley is, I'm also feeling super sketch on PSU after him. Especially when that's combined with losing your top 5 tacklers, and your top receiver. 
11 Miami Hurricanes Miami loses, what, three players on defense? Three on offense? And they're coached by Richt? Ya, expect a fantastic season that doesn't quite make it over the hump to get U fans where they think they could be but has them thirsty for 2019 because that'll be the year.
12 Texas A&M Aggies Okay. So at first, I was tempted to just write “JIMBO” 700 times as a reason, but if there’s anything I know in obscene abundance, it’s A&M football. So this is going to be long and will be justifying my delusions, so buckle up. Also, this websites format doesn’t allow me to do page breaks, so I’ll be putting like ten ellipses to indicate a new paragraph. ………………………… OFFENSE: Yes, we lose Kirk, Ratley, and Keith Ford. However, what we return is a talented and intelligent QB (dude had Ivy league offers) who is going to be coached by multiple coaches known for developing QB talent to the highest degree. He’ll be playing behind an offensive line that returns every single player and is going to be coached for a third consecutive year by arguably the greatest OL coach in the nation. Starkel will also be handing it off to some very talented RBs and passing to 7/9 of the WRs from this past season. There is a strong recipe for moderate to great success there. ………………………… DEFENSE: In 2016 we lost our #1 (the number one pick overall in the NFL Draft) and #2 pass-rusher (third-rounder) who combined for 13 sacks. In 2017, our starting DEs combined for 16 sacks (and our team sack total increased!). This is probably one of the reasons that the DE coach is being retained. On top of that, we hired the former Green bay DFA to coach the DTs. So in spite of the fact that we lose one starting DE and DT, I have high confidence in our front line not losing a step. Beyond that, we have every single LB returning, a unit that showed a strong step forward from 2016 and is led by Tyrel Dodson (5.5 sacks, 3 int., 105 tackles, 11 TFLs, 8 PBUs, and 4 QB hurries). Our secondary is losing Armani Watts, but they return every other starter, as well as Donovan Wilson (starting safety) and Nick Harvey (CB1) who were out all season due to injury. Dono went down in the UCLA game and his departure was felt immediately as that was when Rosen began to light it up in the second half. 
13 Auburn Tigers Losing Kerryon Johnson, both tackles on the OL, the RG, and a few key players on defense has me viewing Auburn as one of those teams who people will talk about ending up in the playoffs till like two weeks left in the season. Then all the conversation will be shifted to firing Gus.
14 USC Trojans Look. I wasn't super impressed with Darnold. Except when I was. So I don't know if losing him is good for USC or bad. Because when he was on, he was freakin on. But when he wasn't, he was turrible. So his departure might be the worst thing or it could end up bettering the team. But when combined with losing three other guys early and a few Seniors? It's a safe bet to say that they won't get better next season. But they're still one of those stupidly talented rosters, so they probably won't take a huge step back.
15 Mississippi State Bulldogs Well, I was so wrong about that bowl game. Damn. I think the new coach will be able to, at the bare minimum, ride Fitz to a great season. As such, we won't know if he's an actually decent HC for at least another couple years.
16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish So. I would be MUCH higher on ND. But they lost their DC (thanks!) and might lose their OC so... Who even knows. 
17 Florida State Seminoles New coach, returning talent headed by the starting QB, and all that combined with last season's results pushing this Florida team to make a statement. I'm expecting the new coach to use those tools and that drive to carry this team to a really solid, maybe even great, 2018.
18 Florida Gators New coach, returning talent headed by the starting QB, and all that combined with last season's results pushing this Florida team to make a statement. I'm expecting the new coach to use those tools and that drive to carry this team to a really solid, maybe even great, 2018.
19 UCF Knights New coach, returning talent headed by the starting QB, and all that combined with last season's results pushing this Florida team to make a statement. I'm expecting the new coach to use those tools and that drive to carry this team to a really solid, maybe even great, 2018.
20 Texas Longhorns I'm only ranking UT because I want to help build up that hype for when they go all Jericho and come a-tumbling down. 
21 Oklahoma Sooners I know, I know. I made the bold claim that OU will suck this season. We saw how that went. IN MY DEFENSE, I assumed losing a top ten coach would be damaging. I just didn't quite realize just how good Mayfield is. But now you lose some key offensive players on the line and arguably the best QB OU has ever had. And let's be real, OU has had some AMAZING QBs in the past. Hell, you could make an argument that OU has the best history in regards to QBs. And you're losing the best one of those. And Mike Stoops is still there. Until he's gone, I don't trust OU.
22 Boise State Broncos It's Boise State, man. There's just always Boise State. Death, Taxes, and Boise State doing Boise State things. They could lose every starter, hire Tim Beck as their OC and Mark Snyder as their DC and I'd still be like "ya, but it IS Boise State, so they'll probably finish the season ranked." Boise State doing Boise State things.
23 Washington State Cougars I will never count the Pirate out. That's it. Some coaches you just plan on making shit happen with and Leach is one of them. 
24 TCU Horned Frogs I know people are saying "ya, without Kenny we're going to be better!" I'll believe it when I see it. If that were the case, Patterson would have benched Kenny. 
25 Purdue Boilermakers I'm excited to see the Spoilermakers next season. There is some key points being lost on the defense, but I just have a gut feeling on this one.

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