Back to poll results >>

noahthearc Ballot for 2018 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 4, 2018, 2:31 p.m.

Overall Rationale: This poll is still based partially on preseason expectations, but now with a week of results we can start to judge teams by their play on the field and not just base feelings. That being said, a blowout win over one FCS team or another doesn't mean much, so the team's that played other P5 teams and won get a bit of a boost.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide No Change. Alabama rolled through Louisville in expected style.
2 Clemson Tigers No Change. Clemson beat Furman easily as one would expect.
3 Wisconsin Badgers No Change. Wisconsin handled Western Kentucky, looking especially good on defense.
4 Georgia Bulldogs No Change. Georgia opened with an easy matchup in Athens against Austin Peay and did what you'd expect.
5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish +3 spots. Notre Dame opened with a solid performance beating their rival Michigan. One of the better wins of the first week boosts them up.
6 Auburn Tigers +6 spots. The Tigers managed a narrow victory over Washington, but an impressive one nonetheless.
7 Oklahoma Sooners +2 spots. Oklahoma obliterated FAU in a game where no one seemed sure if it should have been a blowout or a close game. No one except Lane Kiffin.
8 USC Trojans -4 spots. USC slips from early high expectations a bit due to a not-so-convincing victory over UNLV.
9 Penn State Nittany Lions -3 spots. Penn State was lucky to eek out a win over App State in overtime at home, but the team still has lofty expectations.
10 West Virginia Mountaineers +3 spots. Perhaps handling Tennessee isn't as impressive of a storyline as in previous years, but West Virginia looked good in their opener and have a favorable schedule ahead.
11 LSU Tigers +9 spots. LSU likely had the best victory of the week when they beat up on Miami.
12 Virginia Tech Hokies +3 spots. The Hokies won in Tallahassee by 3 scores. A great way to start their season, but not as indicative a scoreline as the game went.
13 Ohio State Buckeyes +5 spots. Still a certain measure of uncertainty around Ohio State due to the coaching issues. The offense looks as good as ever, but the defense may have some problems. Win the next two and they'll be back to their normal championship talk.
14 TCU Horned Frogs -3 spots. TCU slips a few spots, mostly because of teams rising up.
15 Mississippi State Bulldogs +3 spots. Moving up mostly on the back of other team's falling. Mississippi State beat down FCS side Stephen F Austin showing a strong offense.
16 NC State Wolfpack No Change. Although some team's jumped the Wolfpack, they stay at the same spot as last week. NC State fought to beat FCS top team James Madison.
17 Stanford Cardinal +1 spot. Stanford ran away from San Diego State after a nervous first half and moves up as others slide.
18 Washington Huskies -12 spots. A disappointing lost in Atlanta to Auburn for the Huskies, but they showed all signs of being a contender for the Pac-12 and possibly more.
19 UCF Knights +1 spot. Unsure if this UCF team can live up to last year, but an electric start in Storrs shows UCF will be a good team once again.
20 Boise State Broncos Debut Ranking. The Broncos jump into the ranking after a convincing win over Troy in Alabama.
21 Miami Hurricanes -11 spots. Miami avoided total humiliation with an attempted comeback in the second half against LSU, but the offense needs work.
22 Oklahoma State Cowboys +1 spot. The Cowboys move up after winning versus Missouri State. Not much to say.
23 South Carolina Gamecocks +2 spots. Carolina has high expectations of being a SEC East contender and they didn't disprove anything with their win over Coastal Carolina this week. They can prove it all next week as Georgia comes to Columbia.
24 Cincinnati Bearcats Debut Ranking. After going to the Rose Bowl and shocking the Chip Kelly led-UCLA Bruins 26-17, the Bearcats commanded some respect.
25 USF Bulls -1 spot. Perhaps a bit over hyped, but the expectations are still there even if the Bulls didn't impress with a 34-14 win over Elon.

Back to poll results >>