Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Aug. 20, 2019, 11:49 p.m.
Overall Rationale: As I did last season, I plan to start with a human ballot before transitioning to a hybrid one, with increasing weight on the computer component, as the season progresses. For my first poll, I elected to use only teams from my final 2018 ballot, but I also think I would rank all (or almost all) of these teams regardless, as the first poll of the season is always a nightmare and I (obviously) thought these teams all had solid 2018 campaigns. Regardless, I have a few notable absences, and I'll spend more time discussing those here than I usually do (in part because I'm usually submitting my ballot when I'm very sleep-deprived). First N Out/Notable Absences: Mississippi State --- Mississippi State just missed out on earning a spot on my last ballot last year, so it was certainly hard to make that decision here, but I ultimately decided I'd like to see something more from them before ranking them. Oregon --- Oregon is returning their star quarterback, and their offense as a whole looks strong, but their defense, which was savaged by the likes of Arizona, doesn't look good going into 2019 and will be a weak spot for this team. Wisconsin --- I wasn't overly impressed by Wisconsin last season and I'm not overly impressed by them now. Iowa State --- I was high on Iowa State for a decent portion of last season, but I'd like to see a bit more out of them before they crack my top 25. Army --- Ranking Army to avoid being called a coward seems like it'd be the cowardly thing to do here. Michigan State --- I think I'll wait a bit before I anoint a 7-6 team as a top 25 member for this season. Miami --- I think having a quarterback coach who's not utter garbage and some offensive ingenuity will lead to a better record than last season, but, with a freshman quarterback and a young offensive line, there's only so much you can do. Nebraska --- Yeah, no, I'm not ranking a team this preseason that went 4-8 last season
Rank | Team | Reason |
---|---|---|
1 | Clemson Tigers | Undefeated national champions maintain first-place position, shocking no one. |
2 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama had a great season and is back for more, returning at #2 here. |
3 | Georgia Bulldogs | The Bulldogs had a solid 2018 campaign and came very close to making the playoffs; they'll hope to improve on that this season. |
4 | Ohio State Buckeyes | The Buckeyes have some questions to answer with their new personnel, both on an off the field, but they look poised for another strong season. |
5 | Oklahoma Sooners | The Sooners lost Kyler Murray, leaving a big hole at...wait...they got who?!...oh...never mind. |
6 | LSU Tigers | LSU had a solid 2018 and, despite losing some talent to the NFL, looks poised for a strong 2019 as well. |
7 | Texas Longhorns | The Longhorns will look to hold their own in the Big 12 this season and pick up a top 10 preseason ranking. |
8 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Notre Dame had an inglorious exit from the playoffs last season, but they're still a solid team well-deserving of a top 10 spot. |
9 | Penn State Nittany Lions | I think Penn State looks a lot better than it seems a lot of people do; they return some really good players and actually had a pretty decent 2018 campaign, so it's not as though they're coming out of nowhere. |
10 | Washington Huskies | The Pac-12 is always kind of a nightmare, but Washington still seems to have a leg up on the competition. |
11 | Michigan Wolverines | "This will be the year for the Wolverines," says everyone every season. |
12 | Florida Gators | A rough off-season for the Gators, but they'll look to set the tone for the season with a Week 0 game against Miami. |
13 | Texas A&M Aggies | The Aggies looked strong in 2018 and will look to continue that in a tough SEC-West. |
14 | UCF Knights | Losing Milton is obviously a massive blow to this team, but I think they can still look forward to a good 2019 season. |
15 | Utah Utes | I liked Utah last season, and I like them again this year, but not as much other people seem to. |
16 | Iowa Hawkeyes | The Hawkeyes seem to be one of the best at churning out good seasons, and I don't see why there shouldn't be more of the same this year. |
17 | Auburn Tigers | The Tigers had a decent 2018, but I'm not sure how their 2019 will shape up, and I'm not convinced their Week 1 game will help us much with figuring that out. |
18 | Missouri Tigers | Look, I get that we're supposed to be mad at Missouri because UNC made up classes, but I just can't bring myself to do it, and I think they're going to be a good team, besides. |
19 | Syracuse Orange | I really like Syracuse this season; they've got a great coach and once again seem like they have the second-best chance to win the ACC. |
20 | Washington State Cougars | Washington State has some holes to fill following 2018, but they're a good team with a good coach, so they have a good ranking. |
21 | Northwestern Wildcats | Northwestern was certainly among the stranger 2018 teams, but I'm having a hard time understanding why they aren't getting more love. |
22 | Kentucky Wildcats | Kentucky lost a lot of important playmakers this off-season, but I have a really hard time dumping a top 10 team out of my rankings, so here we are. |
23 | Cincinnati Bearcats | Cincinnati looked good in the AAC last season and will hope to once again fight for a conference championship and a major bowl berth. |
24 | Stanford Cardinal | Stanford had a solid 2018 campaign and I can certainly envision them picking up where they left off. |
25 | Fresno State Bulldogs | Saving my hottest take for last; Fresno State loses a lot of players from their 2018 team, but I think they were horribly under-rated last season and will have the opportunity to show that against USC. |
Teams Ranked:
Rank | Team | Unusualness |
---|---|---|
1 | Clemson Tigers | 0.00 |
2 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 0.00 |
3 | Georgia Bulldogs | 0.00 |
4 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 0.00 |
5 | Oklahoma Sooners | 0.00 |
6 | LSU Tigers | 0.00 |
7 | Texas Longhorns | 0.25 |
8 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 0.00 |
9 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 0.92 |
10 | Washington Huskies | 0.00 |
11 | Michigan Wolverines | -0.32 |
12 | Florida Gators | 0.00 |
13 | Texas A&M Aggies | 0.00 |
14 | UCF Knights | 0.21 |
15 | Utah Utes | 0.00 |
16 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 0.82 |
17 | Auburn Tigers | 0.00 |
18 | Missouri Tigers | 4.49 |
19 | Syracuse Orange | 0.00 |
20 | Washington State Cougars | 0.00 |
21 | Northwestern Wildcats | 1.84 |
22 | Kentucky Wildcats | 2.02 |
23 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 0.23 |
24 | Stanford Cardinal | 0.00 |
25 | Fresno State Bulldogs | 0.00 |
Omissions:
Team | Unusualness |
---|---|
Oregon Ducks | 2.29 |
Wisconsin Badgers | 0.61 |
Iowa State Cyclones | 0.53 |
Michigan State Spartans | 0.41 |
Army West Point | 0.03 |
Total Score: 14.99