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xelphin Ballot for 2018 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 16, 2018, 1:56 p.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Very simply - Defending national champs. Pretty hard to disagree there.
2 Georgia Bulldogs UGA lost some key talent to the NFL, but their latest recruiting class is absolutely stacked and the dawgs will be hungry for revenge. They have a bit to prove, but it would be unfair to not have them nipping at Bama's heels at #2.
3 Clemson Tigers Clemson's Defense is going to be stupidly good again this year. Their Offense doesn't have that much to prove, but if their 24-6 beatdown by Bama in the playoffs last season taught us anything, it's that their offense couldn't capitalize at the highest level. 
4 Oklahoma Sooners Taking UGA to double overtime in an incredibly entertaining playoff game made this decision fairly easy. They don't have Baker Mayfield anymore, but Lincoln Riley stepped up and showed he could coach a supremely talented team even as a relative rookie.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes Beat up on USC and return a ton of talent.
6 Wisconsin Badgers Boy, I never thought I'd be happy putting Wisconsin this high, but they are going to be absolute monsters this season. They have a season that should produce a ton of wins as well, so a single slip could cause them to slide badly.
7 Miami Hurricanes Miami has something to prove this year, and will very easily be a power for the ACC. Their talent and pre-season predictions have them this high, but they have a few difficult hurdles. Not playing Clemson in the regular season will definitely help them in the long run - but they will have to play them if they can win out their division of the ACC.
8 Penn State Nittany Lions The loss of Saquon Barkley hurts, but if they can fill that position with someone half as good, the Nittany Lions are not going to play around. They also have an absolute gauntlet of a schedule, playing Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin...though they play all but Michigan at home. If they can arrive in Piscataway in late November without a loss, it's all over.
9 Washington Huskies The Pac-12 is always hard to predict, but I would be surprised if Washington is not top-dog (ha!). They open against Auburn, which could very easily derail their season, especially since they follow up two weeks later by playing a personal dark horse: Utah. Their first 3 games are going to be absolutely crucial.
10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame has one hell of a schedule this year, and if they can show up the way they did against LSU in bowl season, they are going to be a team to watch. 
11 Michigan State Spartans With a doozy of a schedule, and coming off of the recent scandals rocking the program, this is going to be interesting. They return an only slightly older team that is ready to prove they've grown.
12 TCU Horned Frogs Assuming there's no more injuries in the coming weeks, TCU is going to be a power in the Big 12. 
13 Auburn Tigers Losing to UCF hurt, especially when many believe that Auburn should have been sniffing a championship after defeating Alabama.
14 USC Trojans Got absolutely dunked on by Ohio State after winning the Pac-12. They have a lot to prove this year.
15 UCF Knights 0-12 in 2015.6-7 in 2016.13-0 in 2017. Unofficial National Champs.If they keep their current trajectory, UCF is going to be champions of the damn Galaxy.
16 Mississippi State Bulldogs
17 Virginia Tech Hokies
18 Texas Longhorns T E X A S I S B A C Kmaybe.
19 Michigan Wolverines Going 8-5 with a loss in a bowl to finish the season means they have everything to prove. They're still Michigan, but they are a beaten and bruised Michigan.
20 West Virginia Mountaineers
21 Florida State Seminoles Showed up strong for bowl season, but still ended the season 7-6. They have a ton to prove, but if they can get their ducks in a row they have the talent to make it happen.
22 Northwestern Wildcats Everyone is sleeping on Northwestern and that should not happen.
23 LSU Tigers
24 South Carolina Gamecocks
25 Oklahoma State Cowboys

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