Ballot Type: Hybrid
Submitted: Oct. 21, 2019, 7:20 p.m.
Overall Rationale: My poll is a hybrid. I take the results of a computer poll of my own creation and split the teams into tiers based on where it makes sense to break the values. I then look at just the teams within the tiers and re-rank within them based on my observations and feelings of the teams.Computer poll has a preseason component and a performance-based component. I phase the preseason component out as the season goes along. For this week, the preseason component is down to 10% of the overall calculation.
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
1/1 in Tier A: Separated enough from the rest of the pack according to my computer to be the only team in the top tier. |
| 2 |
LSU Tigers
|
1/4 in Tier B: At the top of this tier by virtue of having the best win of the 4 undefeated teams in this group (Florida by 14) |
| 3 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
2/4 in Tier B: Best win was only Texas A&M, but the 19 point win was also the closest any opponent came. |
| 4 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
3/4 in Tier B |
| 5 |
Clemson Tigers
|
4/4 in Tier B: Have been looking better, but close call against UNC is by far the closest any team in this group came to getting a loss. Puts them at the bottom. |
| 6 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
1/1 in Tier C: Only team in this tier. Have looked impressive and are on the precipice of including themselves as a contender. |
| 7 |
Wisconsin Badgers
|
1/4 in Tier D: Sit at the top of this tier despite the loss to Illinois. Helps that it was only by 1 point and they've looked dominant in pretty much every other game. |
| 8 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
2/4 in Tier D: Only loss came in 2OT to a decent South Carolina team. Big win over Notre Dame helps them as well. Combined it's enough to put them ahead of Auburn. |
| 9 |
Auburn Tigers
|
3/4 in Tier D: Double digit loss to Florida hurts them, as it's the worst loss of the teams in this group. Get the edge on Oregon though for beating them head to head. |
| 10 |
Oregon Ducks
|
4/4 in Tier D: Placed behind Auburn for head to head result. They've also looked shaky at times though. |
| 11 |
Baylor Bears
|
1/3 in Tier E: Baylor is at the top of this tier by virtue of being undefeated. |
| 12 |
Utah Utes
|
2/3 in Tier E: Behind Baylor for loss to USC, but ahead of Notre Dame for being more dominant in wins than Notre Dame against a schedule of generally equal difficulty. |
| 13 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
3/3 in Tier E: See Utah reasoning. Also hurt by only having played 6 games. |
| 14 |
Florida Gators
|
1/5 in Tier F: Easily tops of this group for only loss being to LSU. |
| 15 |
Iowa State Cyclones
|
2/5 in Tier F: Ahead of other teams with fewer losses due to both losses coming to teams I've ranked. Also much more dominant than SMU against a common opponent (Beat TCU by 25, while SMU only beat by 3) |
| 16 |
SMU Mustangs
|
3/5 in Tier F: Behind Iowa State for above stated reasons. Ahead of Memphis and Cincinnati by virtue of being undefeated. |
| 17 |
Memphis Tigers
|
4/5 in Tier F: Only loss came by 2 to a good Temple team. |
| 18 |
Cincinnati Bearcats
|
5/5 in Tier F: Despite only loss coming to #1 Ohio State, they lost by 42 points. That deficit was too much for me to put them ahead of Memphis. |
| 19 |
Minnesota Golden Gophers
|
1/2 in Tier G: Both teams in tier are undefeated, but are relatively unimpressive given opposition. Minnesota gets the edge for playing a more difficult schedule and having played more games. |
| 20 |
Appalachian State Mountaineers
|
2/2 in Tier G: As stated above, it really hurts them that they've only played 5 games. |
| 21 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
1/6 in Tier H: Only losses have come to highly ranked Wisconsin and Penn State. Have also beaten Iowa. |
| 22 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
2/6 in Tier H: Only losses have come to ranked teams and win over Iowa State puts them up high. Loss to Michigan head to head puts them behind them. |
| 23 |
Texas Longhorns
|
3/6 in Tier H: Losses are to highly ranked teams. Best win is Oklahoma State though, so they're behind Michigan and Iowa. |
| 24 |
Boise State Broncos
|
4/6 in Tier H: Bad loss to BYU, but still best in Mountain West. |
| 25 |
UCF Knights
|
5/6 in Tier H: Close losses to Pitt and Cincinnati and best win was only against Stanford. Sneaks into the rankings because only other team in tier was Michigan State who have 3 losses, 2 of which by at least 24 points. |
Teams Ranked:
| Rank | Team | Unusualness |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
0.33 |
| 2 |
LSU Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 3 |
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
0.00 |
| 4 |
Oklahoma Sooners
|
0.00 |
| 5 |
Clemson Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 6 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
|
0.00 |
| 7 |
Wisconsin Badgers
|
1.28 |
| 8 |
Georgia Bulldogs
|
0.25 |
| 9 |
Auburn Tigers
|
0.00 |
| 10 |
Oregon Ducks
|
0.00 |
| 11 |
Baylor Bears
|
0.00 |
| 12 |
Utah Utes
|
0.00 |
| 13 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
|
-0.13 |
| 14 |
Florida Gators
|
-1.18 |
| 15 |
Iowa State Cyclones
|
2.08 |
| 16 |
SMU Mustangs
|
0.00 |
| 17 |
Memphis Tigers
|
1.23 |
| 18 |
Cincinnati Bearcats
|
0.00 |
| 19 |
Minnesota Golden Gophers
|
-0.27 |
| 20 |
Appalachian State Mountaineers
|
0.00 |
| 21 |
Michigan Wolverines
|
0.00 |
| 22 |
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
0.00 |
| 23 |
Texas Longhorns
|
-0.71 |
| 24 |
Boise State Broncos
|
0.00 |
| 25 |
UCF Knights
|
0.14 |