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GenialGiant Ballot for 2019 Preseason

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.

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