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JeromesNiece Ballot for 2018 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 19, 2018, 12:10 p.m.

Overall Rationale: This is what I predict the final poll to look like at the end of the 2018 season.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Bama is an automatic at #1 until proven otherwise.
2 Clemson Tigers Dabo is building a Bama-like Death Star at Clemson, and they have a relatively easy path to the playoff this year. That D-Line will be absurd.
3 Washington Huskies I think the Huskies will be far and away the best team in the Pac-12 this year and will be in the playoff for the second time in three years. Jake Browning will have a much bigger year than last year behind a more experienced O-line.
4 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia looks poised to being a national title contender again in 2018, and no one on their schedule really scares me. I predict they will play Bama in the SEC title game and may make the playoff regardless of the outcome of that game.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes Urban Meyer is still the head coach as I am writing this, and he has built a perennial title contender in Columbus. The gauntlet in the Big Ten East this year and the lingering Zach Smith controversy knocks them to fifth but I would not be surprised at all to see them in the playoff.
6 Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin returns a lot from a team that nearly made the playoff last year. Jonathon Taylor is my favorite to win the Heisman.
7 Oklahoma Sooners We'll see how Lincoln Riley handles the loss of Baker Mayfield but I see no reason to believe the Sooners won't be the class of the Big 12 once again in 2018.
8 Miami Hurricanes The Canes are on the come up and I think Mark Richt may have a viable challenger to Clemson here at Miami. Their schedule is relatively easy and I predict they return to the ACC title game.
9 Michigan State Spartans Sparty returns a scary amount of talent, avoids Wisconsin in the regular season and hosts Michigan and Ohio State. They should probably be the favorites to come out of this stacked Big Ten East.
10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Brian Kelly is due for a big season, and I could see it happening with this schedule. I think they will beat Michigan to open the year and spend most of the season in the top 10.
11 Penn State Nittany Lions Trace McSorely is one of the best returning QBs in the country, and I don't think the loss of Saquon Barkley will ultimately hurt Penn State too much. They will be a top-10 quality team but may drop a couple between the Big Ten East gauntlet and Wisconsin.
12 Stanford Cardinal Stanford just feels right at home in the 10-20 range. Bryce Love will be a beast this year (again) but I don't see them getting past Washington.
13 Boise State Broncos Brett Rypien is a great returning QB, and I see Boise State easily grabbing the G5 NY6 spot this year.
14 USC Trojans USC loses a lot of talent on offense, and I'm not completely sold on Clay Helton being a long-term success for the Trojans. Hard to put them lower than 15th in a relatively weak Pac-12 South, though
15 Auburn Tigers This Auburn team could be excellent but their schedule is brutal. They play Washington at a neutral site and Georgia and Bama on the road, and if they lose all three like I think they will, they probably won't be in the top 10.
16 Michigan Wolverines Michigan will definitely have an elite defense, but whether or not Michigan is a title contender will hinge on their offense. Shea Patterson is getting a lot of hype but I'm not sure he will succeed behind this O-Line. I see Michigan going 2-3 against ND, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State.
17 Texas Longhorns I think Tom Herman is about to take a big next step with Texas this year. Would not be surprised if they made it to the Big 12 title game
18 Florida State Seminoles FSU is way too talented to be a 7-6 team again. They will be a top-25 quality team at least but probably will not make it past Clemson in the Atlantic
19 TCU Horned Frogs TCU is not very experienced this year but Gary Patterson always fields a great team. I don't see them beating OSU early but they could sneak into the Big 12 title game
20 Mississippi State Bulldogs Nick Fitzgerald will be great but I have a hard time seeing them make it very far in the SEC West with a new system under Joe Moorehead. They will be a very solid team but they will definitely lose to Bama and a couple other SEC teams.
21 Oregon Ducks The Ducks with Justin Herbert had very strong potential last year. I don't see them beating Washington but they could be a very solid team.
22 Arkansas State Red Wolves Other than an easily-disregarded game at Bama early, Arkansas State has a super easy schedule and is talented. Whoever wins the App State-Arky State game will probably be an 11-1 Sun Belt champ and may get the G5 NY6 spot.
23 Utah Utes Utah returns quite a bit of talent and is in the relatively weak Pac-12 South. Would not be surprised to see them in the Pac-12 title game.
24 FAU Owls Lane Kiffin should be coaching at a P5 gig, but until then he's fucking bitches in Boca Raton. If they run the table again in the C-USA and put up a fight against OU, they will probably finish ranked.
25 UCF Knights McKenzie Milton is the only reason I'm ranking UCF. We'll see if Heupel will be anywhere near as good a coach as Scott Frost but I highly doubt it.

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