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steelcitygator Ballot for 2019 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 18, 2019, 8:02 p.m.

Overall Rationale: So for the preseason poll its mostly showing which teams I like the most heading into the year.  Slightly predictive of what level I expect teams to play.  Not really meant as predictive of where they will finish though and I will throw this out following the first week of the season. 

Rank Team Reason
1 Clemson Tigers Defending champs, so much back (including the best QB in the country), loaded recruiting classes, no real challengers in the conference, need I go on?
2 Alabama Crimson Tide They were a better team than what they showed in the title game and the Saban machine will continue to truck on as we expect.
3 Georgia Bulldogs Eventually they'll do it right?  Bama can't keep squeaking it out forever?  But prove you can actually do it before I can give you the benefit of the doubt.  That said they were the first team to upset Alabama's #1 class title and in my mind is one of 3 teams that are serious title contenders.
4 Utah Utes Not really super surprising as Utah has had a growing bandwagon for a few weeks now but I really do like them.  Serious playoff contenders if not as big challengers for actually winning the thing (going by history).  That said one day a sub 50% blue-chip team will win the title and getting to the playoffs is the first step.
5 Oklahoma Sooners O boy Oklahoma or Texas, thats basically the question in the Big 12 this year.  The main reason I give it to Oklahoma is because they are the defending Big 12 champs and have a better history of high level play recently ( I also like the coaching staff here more).  That said it is nice to see a battle in this conference again.
6 Ohio State Buckeyes Much like Oklahoma and Alabama, Ohio State is here because how do I trust Michigan to break the streak if they couldn't do it last year.  I actually think OSU could take a step back this year but I need Michigan to prove it first.
7 LSU Tigers I think they are a bit overhyped this year (I don't think they seriously challenge for the playoffs).  Especially tough because they're conference is gunna be tough this year with Alabama, Texas A&M, and an Mississippi State team I expect to take a step up.  That is a big thing limiting how high I'm willing to put them in preseason.
8 Florida Gators Man it feels like they are about 1 or 2 years away from serious playoff contention again.  I think they can win at the Cocktail Party, never rule out rivalry game weirdness, but a similar season to last year without a no show game (i.e. Missouri) would be a successful year 2 for Mullen & co.And they're ahead of Michigan because of how they stomped them in the bowl game last year.
9 Michigan Wolverines See my Ohio State reasoning for why they are lower but I expect Michigan to step up assuming Harbough doesn't try to step on the new offensive plans when it matters most.  The defense will be nasty again and the other side needs to be just slightly better.  Serious title contender.
10 Texas Longhorns I think Texas and Oklahoma split the regular season and (likely) rematch in the CCG.  Really it comes down to who wins the Big 12 and stays away from bad losses.  We know Oklahoma wins the games they should but Texas did not have that consistency last year.  Could make the playoffs but I don't think they're at winning it level yet.
11 Washington Huskies Peterson has a well oiled machine and despite all this Oregon talk running around I think Washington has the best chance at beating out Utah for the Pac-12 title.
12 Penn State Nittany Lions I think Penn State is being underlooked a bit this year.  Defense is on the level of the two Michigan schools (inside the Big 10).  Offense will see some fresh faces but thats not necessarily a bad thing and the talent level as a whole has really rose the past few years.  I'd consider them a strong contender for the conference if they can beat the other juggernauts in the division.
13 Michigan State Spartans Talk about one of the most loaded divisions in the country.  My biggest issue with Michigan State is on offense.  Yes we talk about that a lot but just rotating coaches who couldn't put together a coherent offense isn't exactly instilling confidence in me for any substantial improvement.  Defense is spicy though.
14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish I really am not high on Notre Dame.  Like if they didn't have an undefeated regular season last year I would have them at like 20.  This program just isn't at the championship level it once lived at no matter how many times they go undefeated during a super not difficult regular season.
15 UCF Knights Still should have made the playoffs at some point with 2 undefeated regular seasons.  I don't think they do it again but I won't drop them lower just cause I thought they would be slightly worse last year too (though the entire QB situation is unfortunate).
16 Virginia Cavaliers Bronco is a miracle worker and UVA SHOULD be the best team in that division.  We still have no idea how well Miami's offense will function and  VT will be better but I think Virginia has the most upside in the bad half of the ACC.
17 TCU Horned Frogs I think last season was unlucky more than anything and like them to get back towards good TCU.  I'm so high on TCU that they are the team most likely to win a Big 12 crown thats not Texas or Oklahoma in these next few years.
18 Oregon Ducks I'm just not sold on this team.  They weren't super impressive to me last year.  I'm not even sold on Herbert being the best QB in the draft this year.  I think this team is getting a lot of talk to early.  There is still growth needed to get back towards Chip Kelly Oregon heights.
19 Washington State Cougars Man I don't know about these guys.  But after last season I have trouble doubting Mike Leach.  I think he has the Cougars humming as a force in the Pac-12 title race yet again this year and therefore can't leave them off my top 25 (still need to beat Washington though).
20 Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M will be very good this year without a record to show for it because of how tough their schedule is.  Like I wouldn't be surprised to see them finish with 4 loses but win 2 of Clemson, Alabama, LSU, Georgia.  Like that schedule is just a bit stupid.
21 Boise State Broncos So my MWC prediction is it will have 1 team finish in the top 15 and 2 more fighting around the 20-25 level this year.  So I put Boise here because I trust them to be the best of that bunch.
22 Army West Point Easily the best Academy team and a super friendly schedule means they should reach double digit wins pretty easily (also just imagine undefeated Army, like boy o boy that would be something).
23 Stanford Cardinal I think Stanford will have a really good year this year.  That offense is good and the defense should step back up to Stanford levels this year.  I just don't know if that will be enough to win the Pac-12.
24 Auburn Tigers I don't know about Auburn.  Like its odd year Auburn but I also have so many questions about this team.  They were probably the team I was most tentative to put on here.
25 Appalachian State Mountaineers They're just so damn consistent.  I like to reserve my #25 spot in preseason polls for a G5 team that could make some noise/be really good and consistency is why I chose the Mountaineers.  Of course some worry about the coaching change but all the upsets (and near upsets) this team has compiled over the past decade as well as the great record since the jump to FBS makes this team a favorite of mine to make some noise every year (even though they are in C-USA).

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