Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Sept. 17, 2018, 11:41 p.m.
Overall Rationale: This is my first ballot of the season.I started with undefeated teams, then teams with two wins and a single loss to an undefeated team. I counted 59 such teams. No teams with two losses were ranked, and only Washington made it with a loss to a 2-1 team.For ranking within this pool, FCS wins are partly discounted while handing the only loss to a fellow member of the pool earns a bonus.The rest is good old-fashioned eye test. Don't put too much stock into the ordering of the 11-25 teams.
Rank | Team | Reason |
---|---|---|
1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 3-0 with three blowouts against 2-1 FBS teams. Enough said. |
2 | LSU Tigers | The Tigers handed both Miami and Auburn their only losses so far. Despite the FCS game sandwiched in between, LSU has arguably the best resume in the country at this point. |
3 | Clemson Tigers | Mostly eye test here, since Clemson barely escaped against their only serious competition. |
4 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Two FBS blowouts and one tough win against a good team. That's good enough for a high spot. |
5 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Though all three wins were one-score games, you can't discount the Irish's strength of schedule: both Michigan and Vanderbilt have no other losses and Ball State has an FBS football program. |
6 | Georgia Bulldogs | Georgia may well be a top-3 team. They've blown out all three teams they've played. But those three teams have combined to beat zero FBS opponents, so Georgia's SOS takes a big hit. |
7 | Oklahoma Sooners | One good win... maybe? We won't know much more about the Sooners until the second Saturday in October. For now, the road win at Iowa State and the blowout of 2-1 FAU are just enough to keep them ahead of OSU. |
8 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | Three blowouts, one of which was a probably good team. Small deduction for not having played on the road. |
9 | Penn State Nittany Lions | Penn State recovered from a poor showing in the opener to absolutely lay waste to Pittsburgh, which is Pitt's only loss. Three FBS games, three FBS wins. |
10 | Stanford Cardinal | It turns out Stanford is playing football this year, so into the top 10 they go. |
11 | Auburn Tigers | |
12 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | |
13 | West Virginia Mountaineers | |
14 | TCU Horned Frogs | |
15 | Duke Blue Devils | Did you know that Duke has three FBS wins, two of which are on the road? I haven't watched them play, but I hear Zion Williamson is great. |
16 | Indiana Hoosiers | Indiana has been doing just enough to win, knocking off two 2-1 opponents and also Ball State, which has an FBS football program. |
17 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | |
18 | UCF Knights | |
19 | Texas A&M Aggies | |
20 | Washington Huskies | |
21 | California Golden Bears | |
22 | Oregon Ducks | |
23 | North Texas Mean Green | Fun fact: I looked for North Texas in three different conferences before I found them in the fourth. (It's Conference USA.) |
24 | Miami Hurricanes | |
25 | USF Bulls |
Teams Ranked:
Rank | Team | Unusualness |
---|---|---|
1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 0.00 |
2 | LSU Tigers | 0.51 |
3 | Clemson Tigers | 0.00 |
4 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 0.00 |
5 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 0.47 |
6 | Georgia Bulldogs | 0.00 |
7 | Oklahoma Sooners | 0.00 |
8 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | 0.41 |
9 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 0.00 |
10 | Stanford Cardinal | 0.00 |
11 | Auburn Tigers | 0.00 |
12 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 0.00 |
13 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 0.00 |
14 | TCU Horned Frogs | 0.35 |
15 | Duke Blue Devils | 0.67 |
16 | Indiana Hoosiers | 2.99 |
17 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | 4.99 |
18 | UCF Knights | 0.00 |
19 | Texas A&M Aggies | 0.16 |
20 | Washington Huskies | -0.53 |
21 | California Golden Bears | 0.07 |
22 | Oregon Ducks | 0.00 |
23 | North Texas Mean Green | 0.90 |
24 | Miami Hurricanes | 0.00 |
25 | USF Bulls | 0.00 |
Omissions:
Team | Unusualness |
---|---|
Virginia Tech Hokies | 1.93 |
Wisconsin Badgers | 0.65 |
Michigan Wolverines | 0.63 |
Boston College Eagles | 0.32 |
Iowa Hawkeyes | 0.00 |
Total Score: 15.57