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crownebeach Ballot for 2020 Week 2^3

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 25, 2020, 9:08 p.m.

Overall Rationale: I tried to factor in style of play as a reason that certain teams (say, Cincinnati or Marshall) will perform better than I think their "book" talent levels indicate. I am not giving any particular credit for the quality of opponents beaten, except to the extent that it is a reflection of upside. It is not an attempt to show what I think the final poll would look like; think of a team's ranking as like its overall rating in a video game.

Rank Team Reason
1 Clemson Tigers I thought they were going to butcher Syracuse, but I'm not sweating it. This is, in my opinion, same old Clemson -- they have no motivation to give a damn because they know they'll cruise to the playoff whatever they do. Another reason the playoff isn't actually an upgrade over the BCS, if you ask me.
2 Wisconsin Badgers I just read that Mertz has Covid, which...great. This season keeps getting better. In any case, a healthy Wisconsin has been my Big Ten favorite since the offseason, and I'm keeping that optimism as long as I can get away with it.
3 Alabama Crimson Tide I really thought Tennessee was going to be good this year. Shame on me. Anyway, Bama is still really good, but losing Waddle stings -- I think he's their best skill player. 
4 Ohio State Buckeyes Offense is awesome. Defense played like absolute crap and got bailed out by Nebraska's complete inability to hang onto the football. They can't stop the outside run, and losing both starting corners to the draft is a concern for their ability to stop the pass against more prolific quarterbacks. Will have to win some shootouts.
5 Oklahoma State Cowboys This secondary has great fundamentals and reactions, but not elite speed. The DL gets pressure with just four, but if they have to blitz, their efficiency drops off dramatically. I compared them to 2019 Utah, and defensively I think the comparison holds, but offensively they stretch the field a lot better and they have more outlets at the skill positions.
6 Georgia Bulldogs
7 Oregon Ducks
8 BYU Cougars Blow out the teams you're supposed to.
9 Miami Hurricanes I still think Miami is good, if not great -- D'Eriq King will beat lesser teams largely on his own, and the defense looks pretty stern. This feels too high, but the other teams I would put here have much more embarrassing blemishes than the U's loss to Clemson.
10 Texas A&M Aggies
11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
12 Marshall Thundering Herd Marshall is heavily favored to win out, and with good reason. Their special teams are slightly worse than a year ago, but their defense is significantly better.
13 USC Trojans
14 Florida Gators wE NEeD To PaCk tHe sWAmP
15 Cincinnati Bearcats I still have my doubts -- SMU shot themselves in the feet, hands, and anything else you could shoot -- but this was a big step in proving you can win on the road, because two of your three remaining challenges (UCF and Tulsa) are road games as well.
16 Iowa State Cyclones Not really much movement on my ballot. I thought they'd go to Stillwater and lose, and they went to Stillwater and lost. Still pretty good.
17 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Now undefeated against Florida schools, and their only loss was on the road @ the AP No. 6. Based on their schedule, Tulsa is probably the conference favorite (remember, they get Cincinnati at home in the finale).
18 Michigan Wolverines I thought Minnesota was going to win the game going in, to be honest. Joe Milton isn't trash, which is the nicest thing I've said about a Michigan quarterback since Denard, and I think Josh Gattis has hit on something.
19 Oklahoma Sooners TCU's offense is not good, and Frogs fans will tell you they've been looking for an OC upgrade for what feels like forever, but you don't typically need to be "good" to move the ball on Oklahoma. So this was progress for the defense.
20 Kansas State Wildcats Of the teams I have ranked, KSU is the one that has the most downside risk -- I don't think home-field will push them past Oklahoma State, and although their other four games are winnable, three are on the road. On the flip side, they could virtually lock up a conference title berth by beating ISU.
21 Boise State Broncos Utah State wasn't supposed to be a contender, but it's still a nice upper-half conference win.
22 Northwestern Wildcats Mick McCall: Fired. Northwestern: Wired.
23 Penn State Nittany Lions Sean Clifford was a complete liability against Indiana. I think he's a good leader and PSU has a lot of upside, but as Iowa and Wisconsin will tell you, you can't win the Big Ten without the pass.
24 Washington Huskies
25 UCF Knights Got right against an admittedly incomplete Tulane. UCF has its worst defense in three or four years, but is still in the upper tier of the conference despite a hard-luck loss to Memphis.

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