Back to poll results >>

GilBrandt Ballot for 2018 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 4, 2018, 8:55 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Just like last week, I don't really know where to rank most of these teams. Was at a Fall Wedding (I know...) this past weekend so I was not able to watch many games. Also I got called out for leaving Miami out last week. Even though I did it by accident, it ended up working out because they were embarrassed by LSU, so instead of adding them this week, LSU will take their place. I'm sure I'll get called out again this week for leaving out a team like Penn State, but they let App State nearly upset them. App State is a good G5 team, but expectations were high for Penn State. Leaving them out until I see them prove themselves again. This week, the 5 teams who barely missed my rankings are Washington State, Arizona State, Iowa, Memphis, and Missouri.Sooo Ole Miss isn't in my team choices. They were supposed to be ranked under Miss St.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Good god. They have always been good, but have always seemed to have just an average to above average QB that is elevated by the team around them. Tua seems special. Glad things are finally starting to break Alabama's way...
2 Auburn Tigers Solid win over a tough Washington team. Auburn started hot and I honestly thought they were about to steamroll the Huskies. Overall great game on both sides, so it'll be interesting to see where these two teams end up at the end of the season.
3 Oklahoma Sooners So I'll be one of the first people to get upset at others when they dismiss a G5 team like the game will be a breeze. I was trying to warn fans to not get too big headed about crushing the upcoming game. FSU and OU thought they would crush Houston, Auburn and Baylor thought they would crush UCF. BUT I will also be the first to eat crow. I was wrong. I really thought Lane Kiffin and FAU would give OU a bigger challenge. I thought OU might struggle without Baker and that the defense from last season would be exposed. 
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Thought Notre Dame might struggle after losing Elko, but I was wrong. They struggled in some areas and excelled in others. It'll be interesting to see if they can stay up here.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes Welp I knew they would handle the weaker OSU, but they really man handled them. Oregon State was able to score some, so hopefully they are starting to have a team again instead of the dumpster fire we have come to know. Ohio St on the other hand appears to be doing just fine with Meyer currently out of the picture.
6 Clemson Tigers Clemson easily handled their FCS opponent. We'll see how they do against my Aggies. Please be gentle :(
7 Georgia Bulldogs Another SEC team in my top 10. Georgia made easy work of their FCS team just like Clemson. Just like Clemson, they will have an actual test next week against South Carolina.
8 West Virginia Mountaineers Looks like it will probably be OU and WVU at the top of the Big12 this season, and maybe TCU. Will Grier did his thing and easily took care of the Vols.
9 LSU Tigers Another SEC team in my top 10...for now. Do I think LSU could stay up here? ehhh maybe, but they definitely surprised me. Along with Miami surprising me in a different way. LSU seemed to easily take care of Miami. I'm now interested and terrified to see where the gumbo enthusiasts go this season.
10 Virginia Tech Hokies Taggart will be hearing gobbling in his nightmares for a few weeks now.
11 Washington Huskies They may have lost, but it was to a good Auburn team and they kept it close. The Huskies should take care of a weak Pac12
12 Michigan Wolverines Didn't look as good as Washington, but I also believe Auburn is better than Notre Dame, so Michigan is below Washington. I think Michigan will be decent this season. Might end the season in the 10-15 range.
13 Mississippi State Bulldogs So I originally had Miss State here and Ole Miss right below them, but Ole Miss appears to be missing from my SEC choices (https://imgur.com/9FDJoJr). So I guess they are banned from a bowl and this poll. Harsh but fair, mods.
14 Boise State Broncos Boise looking good this season, They are always a tough G5 team, but I believe they will be one of the NY6 teams this year.
15 UCF Knights Milton looks great and UCF is starting where they left off with Frost.
16 Oregon Ducks
17 Stanford Cardinal
18 Wisconsin Badgers So I'm sure Wisconsin will be higher eventually, but other teams had bigger wins vs better teams. 
19 Colorado Buffaloes Not sure if Colorado will stay in the rankings, but they beat CSU in an away game. Convincingly 
20 South Carolina Gamecocks South Carolina looks pretty good this season. Excited to see how they do vs Georgia.
21 Fresno State Bulldogs Fresno State and Nevada each score 70+!! It would be awesome to have a few good teams in the Mountain West. Hopefully these two and Boise continue to impress.
22 Nevada Wolf Pack
23 Florida Gators Florida, A&M, and TCU all beat their easy opponents. We'll see how they all do vs better competition.
24 Texas A&M Aggies
25 TCU Horned Frogs

Back to poll results >>