Back to poll results >>

crimsonlaw Ballot for 2019 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 4, 2019, 7:28 a.m.

Overall Rationale: I re-rank teams each week based on their performance with some consideration as to what they have to face down the road.  Expect lots of bouncing around early on, except at the top.  I subscribe to the theory that the champ is the champ until they lose. 

Rank Team Reason
1 Clemson Tigers The Tigers didn't look as good as the score would suggest against Georgia Tech, but they are still a nightmare of a team to deal with. Facing Texas A&M this weekend will tell us a lot about how much of a nightmare this team will be in 2019.
2 Oklahoma Sooners I never trust a Big 12 defense, but Oklahoma looked dang good against Houston. Jalen Hurts look amazing in his Sooner debut, and I don't doubt Lincoln Riley's ability to keep the magic going. This team looked like a lock for the playoffs this week. We will see how the season unfolds.
3 Alabama Crimson Tide Duke put up a good fight early on, but Bama did what Bama does from the second quarter on. It will be hard to evaluate how good Alabama's lines are until they hit SEC competition, but they did what one would expect against Duke.
4 Ohio State Buckeyes FAU isn't exactly the perfect litmus test for a team, but from what I saw of the game, Ohio State looked really good. They have a few games upcoming that will show how good a team they really have, beginning with sneaky-good Cincinnati next week.
5 Georgia Bulldogs Come on, UGA! You have to do more against Vandy than 30 points and zero second-half touchdowns! I know this is a bad, bad team, but I want to see them unleash the full measure of their power. We probably won't see that until the Notre Dame game, however.
6 LSU Tigers Next week will say a lot about the quality of LSU's team as they face Texas on the road. For now, they look like a bunch of big and mean cajun boys ready to take on any foe. 
7 Texas Longhorns TEXAS IS BACK! Isn't that what we love to say every year? It may actually be true this time. They have to get by LSU at home to be a major player in the CFB play-off race, but if they do, the sky is the limit for this team.
8 Auburn Tigers I said it in the preseason poll and I'll say it again. Auburn is going to win 10 games this year, maybe more. The magic of the chaos gods was with them as they stumbled to a victory over Oregon. The Tigers had no good reason to win that game, but they did. I don't care that they play at Texas A&M, LSU, and Florida this year. I don't care that they host Georgia and Alabama. Nothing can upset the chaos gods' plans.
9 Utah Utes Utah looked pretty good in their rivalry game at BYU. I'd feel comfortable putting them against anyone else in the PAC-12. And I've hit a bit of a hole here where they are no teams left I want to rank in the top 10, but I kind of have too. So Utah gets the spot.
10 Michigan Wolverines I really didn't love what Michigan had to offer to start the season.  If they played Wisconsin this week, I'd be very worried about the Wolverines.  Facing Army this week actually helps them prepare for playing big boy football. Michigan will win, but Army will bruise and frustrate Michigan. Could be an interesting game to watch.
11 Florida Gators Okay, yes Florida won, but nothing about the win was impressive. Florida still needs a QB. Franks is a child inside a man's body and his immaturity will be a liability this season. I have soured very quickly on the Gators and would not be shocked if they dropped three games this year after seeing them against Miami.
12 Wisconsin Badgers Wow did I like what I saw from the Badgers this weekend. I thought going down to South Florida with all the humidity and heat and generally yuckiness that is Florida's weather may prove to be a challenge, but it did not seem to affect Wisconsin on bit. I can't wait to see them take on the Wolverines in two weeks!
13 Washington Huskies Washington did what they were expected to do against Eastern Washington. The bulk of their real games start next month, so the Huskies may tout an impressive record going into October. I'll let them hang around the lower teens for now.
14 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State faced a nobody and destroyed that nobody. Bravo, but we should expect such. Well, that's not fair. We should never expect anything over 50 points. So good job Penn State. We will check back in with you when you face a real team.
15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish I don't like Notre Dame this year. If Louisville held onto the damn ball Monday night, the Irish may not be sitting here undefeated this week. Destiny, in the form of Georgia, awaits. As of right now, I fully expect Georgia to dominate that game. But we are a few weeks away from that. I'll let Notre Dame hang around, though I don't like it.
16 UCF Knights I'm so excited we get to see UCF against Stanford in a few weeks because that will answer so many questions about this team in my mind. Right now, I rank them because they just don't lose. If they can keep that going against Stanford and Cincinnati, I'll give them a generous boost in my rankings.
17 Washington State Cougars I don't know what to do with Washington State. I want to think they are going to regress, but it's Capt. Mike MFN Leach. I'll put them here and let the season tell me if I am wrong or right.
18 Texas A&M Aggies I still think the Aggies are extremely overrated this season. But they looked good this week. I'll move them up a bit in advance of the reckoning they face this weekend.
19 Michigan State Spartans They won, which is good. They looked pretty solid, which is good. They are coming off a rough patch the last few season, but I do expect Michigan State to rebound this season. They won't be great, but the Spartans will be a tough team.
20 Oregon Ducks Oregon really disappointed me this weekend. I knew Auburn would win due to the magic of chaos, but I didn't think the Ducks would give the game away. A dropped TD, a missed FG, and some terrible time management near the end of the game all worked to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I still think they are a talented team, I just now worry about how well coached they are.
21 Boise State Broncos Let's get Boise in here to celebrate their big win on Saturday! This was a huge win for the Broncos because they don't have a lot of meat on their schedule. Winning in Tallahassee after expecting to play the game in Jacksonville is a pretty big deal, regardless of how good or bad Florida State ends up being this year.
22 Nebraska Cornhuskers I still think Nebraska could be the surprise team of 2019, but struggling with South Alabama didn't give me much confidence in my prediction. They still have plenty of time to prove me right (and wrong).
23 Iowa Hawkeyes I didn't have Iowa in my preseason rankings, which may have been a mistake. This appears to be a solid team that will win the games it should win and maybe not a whole lot more, but they may be enough for them to sniff 10 wins this year (after bowl season).
24 Stanford Cardinal Stanford won an ugly game in the Nerd Bowl, but ugly wins count as much as pretty wins. They faced some adversity and held strong, which is always a good sign to me. Let's see how they do in conference play.
25 Syracuse Orange I'll still give Syracuse some love even though they didn't handle Liberty the way I expected them too.  Of course, I also don't expect a Power 5 team to travel to Liberty, so who knows what is right and wrong in this topsy-turvy world!

Back to poll results >>