Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Jan. 16, 2020, 8:03 a.m.
Overall Rationale: As the "final poll" of the season, I considered both bowl games and the general season-long performance to determine overall and marginal placements. Therefore, while this poll is still based off of my last one, expect great and significant changes as a result. Certain placements will be further discussed down below.
Rank | Team | Reason |
---|---|---|
1 | LSU Tigers | Your national champions. and undeniably (and deservedly) so. |
2 | Clemson Tigers | Clemson earned this spot, as a very good runner-up. |
3 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Again, a rightful place for the Buckeyes, after such a close game against the Clemson Tigers. |
4 | Oregon Ducks | They struggled sometimes in the regular season, but regardless, I believe that the Ducks are still worthy of a place in the top five, especially with the arguably close Rose Bowl win |
5 | Georgia Bulldogs | |
6 | Florida Gators | A win's a win, but given that they kind of struggled with what should’ve been an easy blowout, Florida doesn’t get extra height with their jump. |
7 | Penn State Nittany Lions | |
8 | Alabama Crimson Tide | A weakened, even washed-up Bama is still a good team, and while they are starting to regress, they still put up a hell of a performance when they can. |
9 | Oklahoma Sooners | Ouch, that was rough for the Sooners. I am willing to cut them some slack though - there are others who fared far worse this bowl season. |
10 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | Hell of a bowl game, hell of a season for the Golden Gophers. Here’s hoping the success and clutchness carries ons to next season. |
11 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Probably ranking them a little *too* high here, but hey, if you managed to win your bowl game (and win it well) while everyone else couldn’t, you’re bound to go up and up.  |
12 | Wisconsin Badgers | Again, I believe I may be over ranking the Badgers, but again, I can find some merit in it - they did their best in that Rose Bowl, and thus you shouldn’t punish them too much for it. |
13 | Baylor Bears | |
14 | Utah Utes | It’s been a rough few weeks for these perennial what-ifs - maybe they can pull through one day; after all, Whittingham is still quite good. |
15 | Iowa Hawkeyes | USC wasn’t very very good, but regardless, a bowl win of pure domination to cap off a pretty alright season is what cements the Hawkeyes their comfortable place in the middle. |
16 | Auburn Tigers | |
17 | Memphis Tigers | The Cotton Bowl was pretty rough for the Tigers, but in their defense, they kept it as close as they could for those three quarters. |
18 | Appalachian State Mountaineers | An arguably weak conference and the slow start to the bowl hampered the Mountaineers from making significant movement, but in the end, they still did pretty good, and deserve their spot in the Top 25. |
19 | Navy Midshipmen | Great turnaround season for the Midshipmen, and the bowl game is just the cherry on top (even if the performance wasn’t fully dominant) |
20 | Cincinnati Bearcats | Not much to say, but great job for the Bearcats to bounce back after losing to Memphis twice in a row, especially in their performance. |
21 | Air Force Falcons | Long-term, short-term, it’s all about momentum in this game, and if the Falcons had shown throughout this latter half of the season, they got lots of it! |
22 | Michigan Wolverines | It’s quite a drop, yes, but still, being able to compete with a solid if weakened Crimson Tide team for a half game helps save face for these khaki-loving Wolverines. |
23 | Boise State Broncos | Goodness gracious, nobody expected such a disaster of a bowl game for the Broncos. Their regular season achievements help act as a safety net for them to avoid dropping further, though.  |
24 | UCF Knights | Dark horse that they are, the Knights managed to find the way back to the Top 25, even if it took them the whole season though. |
25 | Texas Longhorns | Texas may not be back fully, but to be able to win big in a huge upset (and being the one one in THE WHOLE CONFERENCE to win a bowl game at all) may bring solace and hope to many a Longhorn fan. |
Teams Ranked:
Rank | Team | Unusualness |
---|---|---|
1 | LSU Tigers | 0.00 |
2 | Clemson Tigers | 0.00 |
3 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 0.00 |
4 | Oregon Ducks | 0.22 |
5 | Georgia Bulldogs | 0.00 |
6 | Florida Gators | 0.02 |
7 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 0.17 |
8 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 0.00 |
9 | Oklahoma Sooners | -0.14 |
10 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | 0.00 |
11 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 0.00 |
12 | Wisconsin Badgers | 0.00 |
13 | Baylor Bears | 0.00 |
14 | Utah Utes | 0.15 |
15 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 0.00 |
16 | Auburn Tigers | 0.00 |
17 | Memphis Tigers | 0.00 |
18 | Appalachian State Mountaineers | 0.00 |
19 | Navy Midshipmen | 0.00 |
20 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 0.00 |
21 | Air Force Falcons | 0.00 |
22 | Michigan Wolverines | -0.47 |
23 | Boise State Broncos | 0.00 |
24 | UCF Knights | 0.00 |
25 | Texas Longhorns | 0.00 |
No major omissions.
Total Score: 1.16