Ballot Type: Hybrid

Submitted: Aug. 16, 2018, 10:40 p.m.

Overall Rationale: This is primarily a computer ranking, with the top few teams (and the #25 spot) hand-selected.

• Ballot
• Analysis

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Clemson Tigers	Clemson over Alabama is probably the single most questionable part of my ranking, and I'm fully aware of that. Clemson goes at #1 because they have much more of last year's team returning this year.
2	Alabama Crimson Tide	I can't justify putting a team that lost 12 players to the NFL (four in the first round) in the #1 spot, but Alabama and Clemson are miles ahead of the rest of the field. With Clemson out of the way, Alabama is the clear #2.
3	Ohio State Buckeyes	Because of my heavy computer reliance, I can't give a justification for every team. Ohio State is the third member of the top 3 in most computer polls, but beyond that it gets complicated.
4	Georgia Bulldogs
5	Wisconsin Badgers
6	Oklahoma Sooners
7	Washington Huskies
8	Penn State Nittany Lions
9	Auburn Tigers
10	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
11	Michigan State Spartans
12	Oklahoma State Cowboys
13	UCF Knights	I still consider UCF the real national champions, but don't let that distract you from Virginia basketball losing to UMBC.
14	USC Trojans
15	Miami Hurricanes
16	TCU Horned Frogs
17	Stanford Cardinal
18	Mississippi State Bulldogs
19	Michigan Wolverines
20	Virginia Tech Hokies
21	LSU Tigers
22	Northwestern Wildcats
23	Boise State Broncos
24	Iowa Hawkeyes
25	North Dakota State Bison	NDSU has a history of beating P5 programs, and has won six of the last seven FCS titles. Though the Bison's 2018 schedule is limited to FCS opponents, their history gets them the coveted #25 spot in my preseason poll.

Teams Ranked:

Rank	Team	Unusualness
1	Clemson Tigers	0.51
2	Alabama Crimson Tide	0.00
3	Ohio State Buckeyes	0.13
4	Georgia Bulldogs	0.00
5	Wisconsin Badgers	0.00
6	Oklahoma Sooners	0.00
7	Washington Huskies	0.00
8	Penn State Nittany Lions	0.00
9	Auburn Tigers	0.00
10	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	0.00
11	Michigan State Spartans	0.00
12	Oklahoma State Cowboys	1.66
13	UCF Knights	0.41
14	USC Trojans	0.00
15	Miami Hurricanes	-0.30
16	TCU Horned Frogs	0.00
17	Stanford Cardinal	0.00
18	Mississippi State Bulldogs	0.00
19	Michigan Wolverines	-0.28
20	Virginia Tech Hokies	0.00
21	LSU Tigers	0.00
22	Northwestern Wildcats	0.73
23	Boise State Broncos	0.00
24	Iowa Hawkeyes	0.78
25	North Dakota State Bison	0.12

Omissions:

Team	Unusualness
West Virginia Mountaineers	0.62
Florida State Seminoles	0.51
Texas Longhorns	0.00

Total Score: 6.06