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kamiller2020 Ballot for 2020 Week (d)

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 29, 2020, 8:57 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Well, what a very weird couple weeks of football. It's been quite some time watching all these plays, the good and the bad. I'm going to be using the B1G, PAC 12, and maybe even Boise in this poll. But mostly as placeholders to separate between tiers of teams. As for the rest, I'm going to try and use less of the preseason rankings and biases and more onto what I've seen from teams so far. Might lead to some odd rankings right now, but it'll work itself out in the end

Rank Team Reason
1 Clemson Tigers Of all the teams that have played so far, Clemson by far looks the most complete. Trevor Lawrence is just as good as normal, but Travis Etienne has really been the guy that stands out on the Clemson offense for me. I knew he was great, I didn't realize how explosive he really was until this year. The defense is great, but I want to see how they do against a team with some capability of consistently moving the ball. Still, by far the #1 team right now. 
2 Alabama Crimson Tide While the offense will be the story, and rightfully so. This Alabama defense looks so much better then the last few units Saban has put out. If this defense is healthy, Alabama will be playing for a national title. Missouri couldn't move the ball at all when the game actually mattered. Also, Ruggs looked amazing. Wait...that was Waddle?? Fuck off Bama and your elite tier WRs. Last note on Bama: Bryce Young will be really good, give him time to develop. I don't think thrusting him into the starting role this year will be best for him. I know most of you agree with me, but this is for the vocal minority. 
3 Florida Gators Kyle Pitts looks like a future all pro, Kyle Trask looks like he'll have an NFL future. All things considered, you have to be pleased how well the offense looked and how much you controlled this ball game. While the defense wasn't looking hot, I'm not going to say that the defense will be an issue throughout the entire year. I think Ole Miss schemed a great game. You have the defensive talent to win a title, but I do hope to see a better game from them next week. 
4 Ohio State Buckeyes I absolutely believe that Ohio State will struggle out of the gate like everybody else, but I see no other team on the level of the top 3. So I'm keeping Ohio State in my CFP right now.
5 Miami Hurricanes Really bold, but this Miami team looks different. And it isn't even a talent thing, it's an attitude thing. This is the most focused Miami team I've seen in a very long time, something that historically has been an issue. The offensive talent has been on full display, the defense looks stout. Of all the teams behind 1-3, Miami is the one who has impressed me the most. So I'm going to have the Canes at #5 right now. 
6 Auburn Tigers Auburn had a really strong showing on both sides of the ball against a decent Kentucky team. Bo Nix looked better, Seth Williams was great, and the defense was able to force turnovers. I'm excited to see what the team does against talent on a similar level to them. 
7 Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin will once again be good with Jack Coan and the offensive line, even if Jonathan Taylor may seem difficult to replace at first. Like Ohio State, it might take a few games but they'll be ready to roll. 
8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame did not look good at all against Duke for most of that game, which keeps them lower in my ranking than most. However, they were able to prove they can put a complete game together against USF. They have an easy game against in 2(?) weeks FSU before Pitt and Louisville back to back weeks. Let's talk more about the Irish then. 
9 Georgia Bulldogs Full disclosure: I do not think Georgia is the 9th most talented/best team. Also other disclosure: I'm a Georgia Tech fan. I hope I'm not being biased but just want anybody to know going in.Notes: That 1st half against Arkansas was BAD. And it wasn't even just horrid offense, they weren't looking elite on defense. Arkansas was able to move the ball, they just couldn't put it into points. When Bennett came in the team did a lot better, and as a whole, the 2nd half was much more of what we expected from UGA. I do think Georgia is a better team than that what they showed though, and without a chance like ND to show this was a fluke game, they are below a lot of teams they'd be favorites against. If they beat Auburn I'll have them in my top 4. Honestly, a consistent showing by the offense would move them up, even with a loss. 
10 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State will contend for the B1G this year, but this spot is mostly because I can not see myself putting Texas into the top 10 after that showing against Texas Tech. 
11 Texas Longhorns What the hell Texas? I get clunker games happen, but Texas Tech almost lost to Houston Baptist. And it took an act of god to beat them.  And early on Alan Bowman was giving you the football game, it took an epic comeback and OT. Yeah....the defense and special teams need work.  Fast. RRS is in 2 weeks
12 UCF Knights UCF is such a enigma. On one hand, they beat Georgia Tech by 21 points and ECU by 30+. On the other hand, they did it in the least convincing ways possible and looked rusty the entire way. The discipline on this team IMO is a question mark, and whether they have the focus to go unbeaten the entire way. Like Georgia, they have the ability to be higher on this list than they are. They just need to consistently show it the rest of the way. 
13 Cincinnati Bearcats It feels like such a cop-out to have two American teams back to back. But after Cincy's win against Army, here we are. The defense is an elite unit and will keep the Bearcats in every game they win if not win it outright for them. The offense needs help, fast. 
14 Oklahoma State Cowboys Multiple game bias, but this is really what it is. OSU has been a tale of multiple faces. On one hand, you see the explosive plays on offense and think they'll put up 50 on everybody. On the other, you see questionable play-calling and sloppy QB play. I'll excuse the QB play on Spencer Sander's injury, but this Oklahoma State team needs to fix some stuff if they don't want to lose to both Big 12 powers. 
15 Mississippi State Bulldogs LSU was basically playing high schools in the secondary, so it isn't entirely surprising the offense was able to move the ball. However.....600+ yards is still impressive. It wasn't a perfect game, and things need improvement on defense as well as KJ throwing a couple of risky balls. But enjoy the win for right now.   
16 North Carolina Tar Heels Off week, and at least Syracuse isn't Vanderbilt. 
17 Oklahoma Sooners OU will be fine. Seriously, they will be. It's not time to give up on the entire year, and I do think this team is going to beat Texas. But.....that 2nd half was rough. Spencer Rattler has the talent to be elite, he still is a guy with limited experience and it shows. We'll talk again after the RRS. 
18 Texas A&M Aggies What the hell was that Mond. I had A&M a near top 10 team, and was singing about Mond wasn't that bad. I have egg on my face, that was rough. Beyond rough, just bad. Yeah......hopefully that game was a fluke. Have fun with Bama. 
19 LSU Tigers You can tell the lack of experience in this game. It wasn't even just X's and O's, it was in emotion. The team looked dead, and went things got tough the pride wasn't there. Especially on defense. That's my real concern. Once people learn the system and chemistry happens, both sides of the ball will improve. But, the attitude might be what holds the Tigers back. 
20 Michigan Wolverines
21 Pittsburgh Panthers
22 BYU Cougars
23 Tennessee Volunteers
24 Virginia Tech Hokies
25 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

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