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RheagarTargaryen Ballot for 2022 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 22, 2022, 12:14 p.m.

Overall Rationale: It’s a preseason poll. This will be based on how well teams finished last year and returning players.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia stays #1 until somebody dethrones them.
2 Alabama Crimson Tide Best team in the country.
3 Ohio State Buckeyes Returning a great QB/WR combo. Although they lost a couple WRs to the draft, they’re returning 13 starters and I have no doubts that the next man up will be just as competent as the one before him.
4 Utah Utes PAC12 champs returning 8 offensive starters including their QB from a team that put up 45 points on Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
5 Baylor Bears Big12 champs finishing last year with a 12-2 record, they’re returning 4 offensive linemen and a total of 7 starters on both sides of the ball. Beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
6 Oklahoma State Cowboys Big12 runner up, finished with a 12-2 record, beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Returning their starting QB. Oklahoma State has been a consistent team for the past decade.
7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Breaking in a new coach and starting QB but they finished the year on the cusp of the playoffs and they’re returning a lot of players everywhere else.
8 Michigan Wolverines Finished 3rd in the country last year, but I could see them falling off with having lost a lot of players on the defensive side of the ball. They still have Corum and McNamara, so the offense shouldn’t be too much different. If the defense reloads, then Michigan will be in position for another playoff appearance if they beat OSU. If the defense takes a large step back, then they could be looking at a 8-4 season.
9 NC State Wolfpack 17 returning starters on a team that finished 9-3. I think they win the Atlantic this year.
10 Clemson Tigers They are returning a lot of players and finished the season really strong last year. But they keep losing assistant coaches to other teams. We saw this with the offense last year and they’re having to replace the DC this year.
11 Oregon Ducks Lots of returning starters with a strong O-Line, but a new HC and QB could be an issue this year.
12 Michigan State Spartans Losing KW3 is a big loss, but he’ll be replaced with the former PAC12 player of the year and a 4* RB transfer from Wisconsin. If one of them doesn’t pan out, there’s 5 other RBs in the running back room. Returning starting QB and top WR from last year, along with several WRs with experience, a transfer TE from Illinois to go along with Hunt and Carr. The defense is returning 9 starters from last year and bringing in several transfers and a new pass rush specialist coach. Overall, the weaknesses of the team are the O-Line and pass defense, but those were issues last year too and the Spartans finished 11-2 with a win in the Peach Bowl.
13 Iowa Hawkeyes Returning 9 offensive starters and 8 defensive starters, coming off a season where they won the B1G West.
14 USC Trojans Oklahoma finished 10th in the country last year since that seems more relevant to USC this year than how USC finished last year.
15 Texas A&M Aggies Sure, Texas A&M finished 8-4 last year with a win over Alabama but that OOC schedule was abysmal and that 4-4 conference record was shoddy. Still a good team with a lot of potential, but that potential is a mystery with returning just 9 starters from last year.
16 Oklahoma Sooners Sorry Sooners, a new HC coming off an disappointing season and you lost both your QBs to the transfer portal. Finally a rebuilding year for OU after years of reloading.
17 Pittsburgh Panthers Losing Pickett is a huge blow for Pitt, but they’re still returning 15 starters (most in the coastal) and I expect the defense to be on par with last year.
18 Wisconsin Badgers Only returning 8 starters from last year. It’s hard to rank them any higher but Wisconsin has been one of the lost consistent teams in the past 15 years, it’s hard to say this year will be any different.
19 Ole Miss Rebels No more Ridder.
20 Penn State Nittany Lions Returning their Starting QB and a great defense. But they finished the season 7-5 last year and lost their first rd WR to the draft.
21 Kentucky Wildcats It’s a football school now.
22 Arkansas Razorbacks Finished 9-4 last year but only returning 9 starters. Not much to say except that Pittman seems like he’s taking them in the right direction.
23 Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Crawfence is back but I don’t believe there’s a defense.
24 Cincinnati Bearcats The NFL draft was exciting to watch for Cincinnati fans, but that’s a problem for this year. Just low expectation when 9 players get drafted.
25 Mississippi State Bulldogs Returning 17 players from a 7-6 season. Nothing this team did made sense last year except getting blown out by Alabama and blowing out Vanderbilt. Still 17 players is a lot of experience. It’s hard to ignore that.

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