Back to poll results >>

_Brazenhead_ Ballot for 2019 Week 10

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 28, 2019, 5:58 p.m.

Overall Rationale: This was a very difficult week due to the high-profile upsets as well as the otherwise-uncharacteristic exceptionally poor performances from good teams.Binary sort began with last week's top 25 plus fringe teams Wake Forest, Mizzou, Washington, Virginia, Boise State, Pitt, USC, Texas A&M, Kansas State, UCF, Louisiana Tech, San Diego State, and Louisville. Teams that made the cut from the fringe were Boise State, Texas A&M, and Kansas State. Had an absolute hell of a time with this one. Lots of iffy teams in the 20-25 range.

Rank Team Reason
1 Ohio State Buckeyes Still the most well-balanced team in the country after continuing to blow out opponents, this time a once-heralded Wisconsin team.
2 LSU Tigers Again took down a quality opponent, albeit a close one at home where their offense didn't put out the sort of scoring we've grown used to.
3 Alabama Crimson Tide Blew out an inferior opponent. Not enough to outrank either Ohio State or LSU.
4 Clemson Tigers Blew out an inferior opponent. Not enough to outrank the teams in front of them and have shown chinks in the armor offensively when compared to these other elite teams, despite the lopsided scores.
5 Penn State Nittany Lions Oklahoma being upset has opened the door for a top-five Penn State after handling a bad MSU team easily on the road. They continue to display good balance between offense and defense.
6 Florida Gators Only loss is to an elite LSU team on the road and have otherwise continued to take care of business. Offensive output has remained strong despite losing starting QB Franks. 
7 Auburn Tigers Yes they're now a two-loss team but they were competitive in those games against teams ranked in front of them.
8 Oregon Ducks The best hope for the Pac-12 conference to have a playoff participant. Good on offense and defense, though not elite. Only loss is to a good Auburn team early. Fending off a dangerous Washington State air-raid on the road is moderately impressive.
9 Utah Utes Their one banana peel loss to USC is somewhat forgivable for two reasons: 1) They have been killing everybody else and 2) USC is this bizzaro agent-of-chaos team in the Pac-12 this season. Sort of like Pitt is in the ACC.
10 Oklahoma Sooners They still obviously possess one of the best offensive attacks in the Country but their one quality win (Texas) continues to be diminished and they stepped on a considerable banana peel this week.
11 Georgia Bulldogs Bye week. Quality win (Notre Dame) has diminished this week and their banana peel loss isn't looking any less bad because Tennessee beat South Carolina this week.
12 Minnesota Golden Gophers I can hardly believe Minnesota to be ranked here, but they've taken care of their business, albeit against poor competition. Their offensive production continues to improve every week and with Wisconsin yeeting themselves into the sun in consecutive weeks, now control their own destiny in the Big Ten West and could legitimately play for a conference title.
13 Baylor Bears They don't have an impressive win yet, but have consistently taken care of business against at least three good/decent opponents. Oklahoma and Texas being upset has opened the door for Baylor to control their own destiny in the Big 12 conference.
14 Wisconsin Badgers We know Wisconsin is still a good team. They got caught looking ahead, resulting in their awful banana peel loss to Illinois and go their soul taken by top-ranked Ohio State. I expect they'll get back on track for the rest of the season and we'll be treated to a good Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe at the end of the season.
15 Michigan Wolverines Given the complete reversal of roles in their games versus Wisconsin and Notre Dame, I'm treating them a little bit like a maths problem where those games cancel each other out and Michigan therefore has a close loss on the road against a now-top-5 Penn State team. They still appear too one-dimensional, being carried by a good defense and lacking a truly threatening offensive attack. Ranked between Wisconsin and Iowa given their relative head-to-head results.
16 Iowa Hawkeyes Close games with two opponents ranked ahead of them and have otherwise taken care of business. Good team but not great. Ranked behind Michigan given their head-to-head result.
17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Georgia loss looking less excusable and a complete lack of competitiveness against Michigan means a low ranking for ND. Lack of other quality options prevented them from a lower ranking.
18 Cincinnati Bearcats Bye week. Outlook remains unchanged. Have taken care of business with the exception of being blown out by top-ranked Ohio State. When compared to SMU, they beat their common opponents slightly better, so they edge them out for a higher ranking.
19 SMU Mustangs Another example of the virtues of taking care of business. When compared to Cincinnati, they beat their common opponents slightly worse, so they were edged out for a higher ranking.
20 Appalachian State Mountaineers Haven't played nobody Pawwwl but even so, have taken care of business.
21 Oklahoma State Cowboys They still beat Kansas State head to head so ranked ahead of them. Decent win on the road in Ames as well against a team that had newfound life.
22 Kansas State Wildcats Beating a once-thought-to-be elite team like Oklahoma is a good way to get ranked.
23 Texas A&M Aggies Say what you will about them, their three losses are to three top ten teams, and they have taken care of business, albeit in shaky manner, otherwise.
24 Boise State Broncos BYU was a bad banana peel loss but have taken care of business otherwise. Lack of better options means the Broncos are in.
25 UCF Knights Cincinnati's continued success helps one of their two losses look "quality" and everybody down here has a banana peel loss so lack of better options has me scraping for teams to rank

Back to poll results >>