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_Brazenhead_ Ballot for 2019 Week 14

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 24, 2019, 6:54 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Binary sorting began with last week's top 25 plus fringe teams Virginia Tech, Navy, Air Force, Iowa State, Washington, USC, Arizona State, and Kansas State. The fringe teams that made the cut were Navy and Air Force. Indiana and Texas A&M dropped out from last week's top 25. The initial sort saw 23 teams in the initial GREATER group. This sort proved pretty effective with minimal manual smoothing being needed.

Rank Team Reason
1 Ohio State Buckeyes Three turnovers keeping things close late in an otherwise dominant performance against a quality ranked opponent. Still appears to be the most well-balanced team between offense and defense in the Country. Edges out LSU still as a result.
2 LSU Tigers Blew out an inferior opponent. Great team but not quite as well-balanced between offense and defense as Ohio State.
3 Clemson Tigers Bye week. Undefeated and has blown out all inferior opponents with the exception of North Carolina.
4 Alabama Crimson Tide Much like Clemson, has been dominant against all inferior opponents but lacks a quality win and has a loss in the only test they've thus-far faced, although they were very competitive in that game. Lack of Tua Tagoviloa definitely affects their capabilities offensively.
5 Georgia Bulldogs Good win against a team that has only been beaten by quality opponents this season. One bad win on the season but otherwise very good team with a dominant defense.
6 Minnesota Golden Gophers Got back on track by beating up a bad opponent on the road. 10 - 1 with only loss to good ranked opponent on the road and a good win against a ranked opponent at home.
7 Oklahoma Sooners Close win over an unranked TCU team. Lone loss was to an unranked Kansas State with a head-to-head win on the road at Baylor. Ranked ahead of Baylor for this reason.
8 Baylor Bears Pretty convincing win at home against an unranked opponent to get back on track. 10 - 1 with a host of close wins, but was also competitive in lone loss to Oklahoma.
9 Utah Utes Another dominant win over an inferior opponent. 10 - 1 with a bad loss to unranked USC so can't rank them any higher when compared to the one-loss teams they're ranked near.
10 Florida Gators Bye week. Solid team in a tough conference. 9 - 2 with losses to Georgia and LSU but a solid win over Auburn.
11 Auburn Tigers Blew out an inferior opponent. 8 - 3 with losses to LSU, Georgia, and Florida, all teams ranked ahead of them. Good win over Oregon and have taken care of business otherwise.
12 Penn State Nittany Lions Lost a close game to top-ranked Ohio State. 9 - 2 with losses to Ohio State and Minnesota, whom is ranked ahead of them. Two quality wins over mid-ranked teams Michigan and Iowa. No bad loss.
13 Oregon Ducks Lost a close game on the road at Arizona State. Bad loss to an unranked team. 9 - 2 with other loss being Auburn, which is ranked ahead of them. A couple of okay wins but nothing truly quality.
14 Wisconsin Badgers Beat an inferior opponent convincingly. 9 - 2 with an excusable loss to Ohio State and a very bad loss to Illinois, but good wins over ranked Michigan and Iowa teams.
15 Michigan Wolverines Good win over previously-ranked Indiana. 9 - 2 with losses to Wisconsin and Penn State, both of whom are ranked ahead of them. Quality win over ranked Notre Dame whom they're ranked ahead of.
16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Blew out an inferior opponent. 9 - 2 with losses to Georgia and Michigan, both of whom are ranked ahead of them.
17 Cincinnati Bearcats Close win over unranked Temple at home. 10 - 1 with only loss being on the road to top-ranked Ohio State. Have otherwise taken care of business in a competitive conference but no really quality wins.
18 Memphis Tigers Blew out an inferior opponent. 10 - 1 with a bad loss to Temple, which the team in front of them did beat. Good wins over ranked opponents Navy and SMU.
19 Boise State Broncos Convincing win over Utah State. 10 - 1 with a bad loss to BYU but a good win over ranked Air Force.
20 Navy Midshipmen Beat ranked SMU at home. 8 - 2 with losses to Memphis and Notre Dame, both of whom they're ranked behind. Quality win over ranked Air Force and SMU.
21 Air Force Falcons Beat an inferior opponent convincingly. 9 - 2 with losses to Boise State and Navy, both of whom they're ranked behind. No quality wins.
22 Iowa Hawkeyes Beat unranked but not terrible Illinois. 8 - 3 with losses to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State, all of whom they're ranked behind. Excellent upset win over sixth-ranked Minnesota. Very good defense but offense really struggles.
23 Appalachian State Mountaineers Convincing win over an inferior opponent. 10 - 1 with one bad loss to Georgia Southern. Have otherwise taken care of business in a weak conference. No quality wins.
24 SMU Mustangs Lost on road to Navy. 9 - 2 with losses to Memphis and Navy, both of whom they're ranked behind. No quality wins.
25 Oklahoma State Cowboys Beat a bad opponent on the road. 8 - 3 with loss to Baylor, and bad losses to Texas Tech and Texas. Good wins over Iowa State and Kansas State.

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