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GenialGiant Ballot for 2018 Week 11

Ballot Type: Hybrid

Submitted: Nov. 6, 2018, 12:28 a.m.

Overall Rationale: This week, I once again employed my two-model ranking with a human component at the end. I averaged the normalized scores from two models -- a points-based strength-of-schedule model and a results-based strength-of-schedule model -- then manually adjusted rankings with a tolerance of 10 positions from the model average. Teams must be in the top 35 of the combined ranking and the top 55 of each individual model. First N Out - Auburn (23), Cincinnati (25) Notable Absences - UCF (33; 60 in one poll), Syracuse (39), Boston College (37), NC State (43), Utah (20)

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama rolled over LSU and made it even more apparent that they're the best team in the country. (2)
2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame managed to put away Northwestern to remain undefeated. (3)
3 Michigan Wolverines Ouch, oof, owie, my Nittany Lions. (1)
4 Clemson Tigers Beating up on "P5" Louisville is fun and all, but it doesn't tell us as much about Clemson as we might like. (6)
5 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia secured its spot in the SEC Championship Game with a win over Kentucky. (4)
6 LSU Tigers A 0 on the scoreboard, but not in our hearts. (8)
7 Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma's win over Texas Tech wasn't pretty, but it was technically a win. (5)
8 Ohio State Buckeyes See above, but with Ohio State and Nebraska. (7)
9 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State is looking good and makes it into the top 10 this week. (14)
10 Kentucky Wildcats A tough loss to Georgia will keep Kentucky out of the SEC Championship Game, but this season can still be something special for the Wildcats. (12)
11 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State has three losses, but they're all to top 10 teams, so they get a bit of a pass. (13)
12 Washington Huskies Washington sort of fell off the Pac-12 radar for a bit, but they're back in the top 15 after defeating Stanford. (14)
13 Northwestern Wildcats A close loss to Notre Dame may dampen Northwestern's spirits, but it does nothing to dampen their Big Ten West dreams. (15)
14 Texas Longhorns Taking West Virginia to the wire, Texas certainly put in a strong showing. (16)
15 Fresno State Bulldogs Fresno State is still the G5 team on which I'm the highest; a statement echoed by my models (or at least one of them). (18)
16 Washington State Cougars The Cougars finally broke into my computer top 35 (or, more accurately, the top 55 of both my models), so they find themselves in my top 25 (16).
17 West Virginia Mountaineers Ditto. (27)
18 Missouri Tigers What a win over Florida; Missouri jumps into the top 20 as a result. (19)
19 Iowa Hawkeyes A close loss to Purdue isn't enough to derail my computer's (or my) enthusiasm for the Hawkeyes. (9)
20 Florida Gators A tough loss for Florida, who still hope to make the best of this season. (17)
21 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue's dominant win over Ohio State, as well as their slightly-less-dominant win over Iowa, lifts Purdue into the top 25. (11)
22 South Carolina Gamecocks Surrendering 44 points in a win isn't a very SEC thing to do, yet here we are. (30)
23 Utah State Aggies The Aggies have put together a strong season, not the least of which is their early-season nail-biter with Michigan State. (32)
24 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State feasted on their mid-season cupcake and look to finish strong this season. (22)
25 Iowa State Cyclones Iowa State returns in the same spot they found themselves last week. (35)

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