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_Brazenhead_ Ballot for 2019 Week 8

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 13, 2019, 5:22 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Binary Sort began with last week's top 25 teams plus fringe teams Wake Forest, Virginia, Appalachian State, Temple, Tulane, and Baylor. Appalachian State, Tulane, and Baylor earned spots. Had to manually change Oregon, Georgia, and Utah back because they came out a little too far up, each.

Rank Team Reason
1 Ohio State Buckeyes Bye. Teams directly behind them showed less-than-elite defenses against good opponents, so the Buckeyes still appear to be the most well balanced team in the top-tier.
2 LSU Tigers Joe Burrow and his offense again showed that they can score on anybody, even an elite defense. Easy pick for the two spot. Although their defense isn't quite as elite as we're used to seeing.
3 Oklahoma Sooners Very good win against a quality opponent. Offensively in the top-tier and defensively average.
4 Alabama Crimson Tide Elite offense but average defense. Not what we're used to seeing from the Crimson Tide. Still a great team and top-tier but not as dominant as teams in front of them.
5 Wisconsin Badgers The Badgers just continue to roll with a superb, albeit one-dimensional, offense. It's not hard to shut out weak offensive teams, however, and so still on the fringe of a playoff spot.
6 Clemson Tigers Dominant win against a bad opponent. Still a playoff contender but not as dominant on either side of the ball like we're used to seeing.
7 Texas Longhorns Another loss but again against a top-tier opponent. Texas still belongs in a playoff-contending position.
8 Florida Gators Backup quarterbacks look impressive, but their elite defense showed that it can't stop a top-tier offense so they sit behind those teams, but still in playoff-contention position.
9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Struggled at home with an average USC team. It was a rivalry so they get a little bit of a pass. Their Georgia loss looks less impressive, now. Still look pretty good on both sides of the ball. Fringe playoff-contender is where they belong.
10 Georgia Bulldogs Okay we know Georgia is good, once occupying a top-tier spot but South Carolina is very average and so just can't keep them up top. But dropping them out of the top ten seems inappropriate.
11 Auburn Tigers Bye week. Good team with some mid-ranked wins but doesn't seem like they can beat top-teams.
12 Oregon Ducks Blew out another average opponent. Binary Sort had them coming out at number 6 but couldn't justify considering how some teams in front of them have done against top-tier opponents.
13 Penn State Nittany Lions Struggled to maintain consistency against a now-unranked Iowa squad. Still able to win on the road against a good team but can't really justify them any higher than this.
14 Michigan Wolverines Blew out an inferior opponent. Not much else to say. Until they show well against a good opponent, big question marks still remain about Michigan's ability to compete for a top ten spot.
15 Arizona State Sun Devils A surprise team to be sure, but they've shown consistently that they can adapt to their opponent and execute a good game plan. They've shown they can both score when needed and play defense against good offenses. Still a bad loss holds them back from being ranked higher.
16 Utah Utes Blew out an inferior opponent. Not much else to say. They look to have gotten themselves back on track but time will tell. Mid ranking is appropriate.
17 Cincinnati Bearcats Solid win on the road against a decent opponent. They can play against most teams despite the blowout loss at the hands of top-ranked Ohio State.
18 Washington Huskies Blew out an inferior opponent. Showing they can still play well despite two bad losses.
19 Boise State Broncos Undefeated but against poor opponents. They'll have to show something against a good team or have teams in front of them falter.
20 SMU Mustangs Bye week. Not much to say. Undefeated but against bad opponents. Still, have showed consistency.
21 Minnesota Golden Gophers Undefeated but against bad opponents. Seem to be finding a stride offensively. Could end up 8-0 before a real challenge meets them.
22 Baylor Bears Undefeated and survived a decent Texas Tech team in 2 overtimes. Showed some wherewithal.
23 Appalachian State Mountaineers Undefeated but against bad opponents. Still, Appalachian State is showing consistency and have continued their climb and building their program.
24 Tulane Green Wave A surprise team for sure. With one loss against a good Auburn team, Tulane has shown they're worthy of a fringe ranking for now.
25 Oklahoma State Cowboys Bye week. Have showed well against good opponents but haven't beaten one and also have a bad loss to a decent Texas Tech team. Fringe rank for now.

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