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GenialGiant Ballot for 2018 Week 3

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 11, 2018, 9:06 a.m.

Overall Rationale: While three of the teams I ranked last week lost to unranked opponents (Michigan State, Northwestern, and Memphis), I am still confident in where I've placed teams (and, more generally, which teams I've placed here). My computer model is starting to provide some results that are a bit more than noise, but I doubt I'll be relying on it for a couple more weeks. First N Out - Texas A&M and Appalachian State

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama continues to eviscerate over-matched opponents and maintains their first-place position.
2 Georgia Bulldogs With their dominant victory over South Carolina, Georgia jumps to second this week.
3 Clemson Tigers By the end of the season, a two-point win over Texas A&M might look better than a blowout over South Carolina, but we're not at that point yet.
4 Ohio State Buckeyes Rutgers' 2018 squad joins the ranks of teams the Buckeyes have run rough-shod over in the past few seasons; a more interesting game against TCU awaits.
5 Auburn Tigers A trouncing of an FCS team doesn't give us much more information about Auburn; a highly-anticipated game against LSU will likely help on this front.
6 Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma's Kyler Murray continues to impress and Oklahoma continues its climbing of the ranks.
7 Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin keeps playing good football, but the teams below them are playing better football against better opponents, which explains the Badgers' slow drop from week to week.
8 Penn State Nittany Lions The Nittany Lions absolutely dismantled Pitt in prime time and their week one opponent, Appalachian State, dominated their G5 opponent this week, both of which contribute to Penn State's rise.
9 Stanford Cardinal Stanford took care of business against rival USC and find themselves comfortably in the top ten.
10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Let's be clear, an eight-point win over Ball State is a poor performance for a top team, and Notre Dame suffers as a result.
11 LSU Tigers LSU steamrolled their FCS foe, but a bout with Auburn should provide some more information about the two SEC West teams.
12 TCU Horned Frogs Despite a sloppy start against SMU, TCU managed to put the game away in the second half and will hope to continue that efficiency into a game against Ohio State.
13 Virginia Tech Hokies VT dominated FCS William & Mary, but their win over FSU looks less impressive given the Seminoles' struggles with FCS Samford.
14 Oklahoma State Cowboys Oklahoma State has looked great this season, albeit against weak competition; a game against Boise State will hopefully help clarify how good the Cowboys are in 2018.
15 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State defeated a Kansas State team that isn't as ferocious as previous versions, but the Bulldogs are 2-0 under Joe Moorhead.
16 West Virginia Mountaineers West Virginia dismantled FCS Youngstown State and awaits their first real challenge when they play NC State.
17 Washington Huskies The Huskies steamrolled an over-matched FCS squad but don't see any change in their ranking.
18 Miami Hurricanes After a 77-0 rout of FCS Savannah State, Miami sees a moderate rise in their ranking, though this is due primarily to teams above them losing.
19 USC Trojans The Trojans lost to rival Stanford in fairly convincing fashion and slip as a result.
20 Boise State Broncos The Broncos took care of business against a bad UConn team and look ahead to a match-up against a ranked Oklahoma State team.
21 Iowa Hawkeyes The Hawkeyes managed to stifle Iowa State and remain my dark horse top 25 pick, though this take is becoming slightly less hot over time.
22 Arizona State Sun Devils The Sun Devils enter my top 25 after beating Michigan State, but it will take some time before we see if ASU is legit, the Spartans were over-rated, or both.
23 UCF Knights UCF continues to beat up on teams and that will likely continue when the Knights take on hapless UNC.
24 Michigan State Spartans The Spartans fell to Arizona State by three points and cling to a spot in the top 25.
25 Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors Hawai'i is 3-0 and has beaten some marginally okay teams; it will be interesting to see what this team can do against better opposition.

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