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MonkeyPunch Ballot for 2018 Final

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Jan. 9, 2019, 8:09 a.m.

Overall Rationale: All previous poll results are thrown out.  Only bowl matchups will be used to determine placement. So sorry!  It doesn't matter if your team went undefeated and claimed to be back to back national champs, you likely aren't receiving a final vote in this poll unless you won your last game.  Also, if a team barely won against a 6-6 team, they are not getting votes in this poll. At some point, you have to just understand that top 25 means one of the top 25 teams in the country.  Not one of the best mediocre teams you could find to fill holes in your ballot.  I am going to give Boise State AND Boston College a spot in this poll due to the injustice in the game cancellation.  That's the least I can do since my Christmas was basically ruined by mother nature.  

Rank Team Reason
1 Clemson Tigers The only team to ever go 15-0 in the FBS.  The team that made me shout out loud during my gym workout with how badly they were putting the hurt on Bama.  It was so satisfying to watch them get completely and utterly demolished for once.  FInally, the throne is someone elses.  Congrats Clemson.  You guys did great!
2 Alabama Crimson Tide They look dominant.  It's their title to lose and I just don't know if I know anything more about Clemson after they embarrassed Notre Dame....Ok, ok.  I will admit.  I did NOT see this coming.  I just assumed Clemson smoked Notre Dame because Notre Dame was overrated.  Nope, Clemson is scary good.  Sorry Bama, you got Roll Tide'd.
3 Army West Point I don't really care if people hate this placement.  Army flat out annihilated Houston so bad they fired their coach.  I mean, come on Houston.  You let a team put up 70 points in a bowl game.  Seventy.  This game further cemented the point I have tried to make all year long.  The AAC was always overrated and they were riding on last year's "success"  I don't really understand where the notion that teams like Temple and Memphis and Houston are legit contenders each year.  They have had good years, but there is no consistency.  Especially if you look at wins and losses.  The AAC may have been the 7th best conference in the regular season but it got outclassed in the post season with every game. Army gets spot number 3 since they easily put up more points than nearly anyone... nearly. (Auburn could have, but kneeled it instead)
4 LSU Tigers They beat a pesky UCF team playing without their star QB.  UCF performed better than I would have thought, but they were never in this game.  LSU rolled them from the opening whistle to the end.  Sorry UCF, this would be a different narrative if your star didn't go down.  Unfortunately, UCF wasn't deep enough at QB to contend. 
5 Ohio State Buckeyes Urban's last game?  He was a great coach.  Loved him at Utah.  It is his time to go though.  Poor guy should have left before going to an Ohio State.  Let's also not forget that even though this team ends my poll ranked #4, they still lost to Purdue and as such lost their ability to claim the title "THE"  Yeah, suck it!
6 Florida Gators They were pretty good all year and showed it in their bowl by dismantling Michigan.  I thought it would be a closer game.  It's a damn shame they didn't get matched up with UCF.  A damn shame. 
7 Washington State Cougars They didn't Coug it!  The PAC12 has had some pretty poor showings lately in bowl season, and this year was no exception.  Close wins in all the games.  Washington State did enough to beat another ranked team, so congrats!  Even though you lost the Apple Cup and the Pac 12 to Washington, at least you won your bowl game!
8 Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky beat another "ranked" opponent.  And you know what?  Good for Kentucky.  I can't remember the last time they were good in football.  It's always been shootyhoops.  Not this time!
9 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern in the rankings?  Kentucky in the rankings?  WTF year was this for college football?  A good one I suppose.  Love seeing teams like this do good again.  Oh and they beat a "ranked" team in their bowl, so kudos!
10 Syracuse Orange Syracuse exposed an overranked West Virginia.  Weird to actually type that out, but congrats to the Orange.  Helluva season. 
11 Fresno State Bulldogs They surpassed Boise to win the Mountain Best and continued that momentum against an Arizona team who didn't really want to be there I guess.  Herm did well, but he went soft at the end. As a homer BSU fan, I could blame the weather for Boise losing the championship game to them, but I won't, because Fresno played with heart and Boise could have won. something something missed field goal..............
12 Utah State Aggies Another 10 win Mountain West team that won their bowl game convincingly.  This game was supposed to showcase 2 dynamic quarterbacks who put up video game numbers all season.  Instead, it just showed how far ahead the Mountain West is from the other G5 conferences. 
13 Boise State Broncos Consolation prize here.  Who knows how this game would have played out?  It's a damn shame that we will never know.  Instead of a reschedule, this game was outright cancelled.  Spending Christmas in Dallas with no family there should be a prison sentence.  Instead, that was my Christmas.  Fuck you Servpro and Fuck you Dallas.  
14 Boston College Eagles Boston College was looking good in the first half, but we will never know if they could have continued with that momentum or if they would have succumbed to Boise.  Fuck you ServPro and fuck you Dallas.  There needs to be a consolation bowl in place or something so this  never happens again.  As a fan, this was a waste of THOUSANDS of dollars for what amounted to nothing but disappointment.  Again, fuck this bowl.  I hope it gets removed from the docket entirely.  
15 Texas Longhorns Every single year, there is a lot of pre season love for Texas because they spend a shit load of money and people want them to be good.  They haven't been for over a decade.  I mean, this is a team that can lose to Maryland and still garner votes.  This is a team that can finish with a losing record one year, yet still get ranked HIGHLY in the next year's preseason votes.  Because of the bias, I have always disliked Texas.  Between the LHN, the heavy involvement with their boosters and the heavy news coverage of them all year (even when they aren't doing well) makes for an easy team to dislike.  But even I will give credit where it is due.  They won their bowl game and played hard all year.  Congrats on #13 and pre-congrats for next year when everyone will vote Texas in their pre season top 5 only to watch them lose their opener by 21 points.  !Remindme 1 year.  :)
16 Auburn Tigers I couldn't figure out how to place Auburn.  I mean, where was this team the whole year?  This game was a slaughter and I loved every minute of it.  I watched it while working out and enjoyed seeing a team completely dismantled like they did.  Nice work Auburn.  Now ride that wave into next year and dethrone 'Bama, k?  I don't think Georgia got that memo....
17 Troy Trojans Troy did something that most on this list didn't.  They beat a 10 win team in their bowl game.  Congrats to the Trojans. I wish they were always a team Boise played.  Their fans were superb both in Boise and in Alabama.  No respect all year when I thought they were playing better than most G5 teams.  (including the overhyped and clearly overrated AAC...LOL)
18 Texas A&M Aggies Another team that completely dismantled their bowl opponent.  Nice work Texas A&M!  I won't lie though, I was cheering for NC State here.  I miss our quarterback that you guys got.  Always liked him better than Rypien.  Always. 
19 Iowa Hawkeyes I should probably have Iowa higher on my list for the sole reason that they put Mississippi State in their place.  They had no business ever being ranked.  Their fans are delusional.  The media coverage of them was absurd and unreasonable for a team that barely could win games.  No idea why they ever held a rank outside of pollsters saying... well better vote another middle of the pack SEC team into the top 25 to perpetuate the myth that SEC is the best.  So, thanks Iowa.  
20 North Dakota State Bison How dominant have the Bison been?  So dominant, I have a feeling even with moving up to the FBS, they would still win 8+ games a year in any conference they join.  Yes, ANY conference.  P5, G5, doesn't matter.  
21 Virginia Cavaliers The Cavs shutout South Carolina, who I am shocked even made a bowl this year.  The fact that they actually beat the shit out of their opponent gives them the nod in this poll.  They didn't play a .500 team close and barely pull it out like a lot of teams previously seem on this list.  I might be wrong and I am not going to take the time to check, but I also think this might have been the only shutout in bowl season?  
22 Wisconsin Badgers Oh how the mighty have fallen.  I remember thinking at the beginning of the season "There is no way Wisconsin is worthy of a top 5 ranking.  no way."  They got exposed early and that took care of itself.  Their consolation for an underwhelming season was to play another over-ranked and over-hyped team in Miami. They won convincingly proving which of the two teams was more over-hyped.  
23 Oklahoma State Cowboys One of the few "unranked" teams to beat a "ranked" team.  Okie State was inconsistent this year, but showed they had heart.  Their win earned them this placement.  
24 Nevada Wolf Pack The last 3 spots are all kind of a wash.  Nevada earns the #23 spot simply by beating a team with a slightly better record than the other winners.  I chose to reward beating an 8-5 team more than beating a 6-6 team.  
25 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs It's not easy beating a team in their home bowl game.  Especially when that team looked unstoppable to start the year.  La Tech came out to play though and the Rainbow Warriors couldn't hang.

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