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mcguffinman Ballot for 2022 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 23, 2022, 10:22 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Since no games have been played YET, this is just my initial interpretations of the teams based off what I've seen on training camps, injuries, returning players, and talking with (albeit mostly SEC) fans with more knowledge on their team than I posses. Once the games start being played my more statistical based rankings will come through.

Rank Team Reason
1 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama is Alabama.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State is Ohio State.
3 Georgia Bulldogs Outside of Alabama and Ohio State there is not a single team I believe has a greater than 40% chance at beating Georgia
4 Oklahoma Sooners I REALLY like the Brett Venables hire. He waited so long at Clemson and finally took the opportunity he'd been waiting for, even with losing Williams and Rattler, let's not act like Oklahoma is going to be starved for talent.
5 Utah Utes Utah would have made the playoffs last year if Cameron Rising was QB every game. They're going to be scary good this year.
6 Clemson Tigers Clemson is only this high for me based off 'what ifs' including 'what if DJ doesn't suck like he did at the beginning of last year (not counting UGA)' and 'what if the defense doesn't take a step back without Venables' that aren't too unreasonable.
7 Oklahoma State Cowboys Gundy is one of the most underrated coaches in all of college football. This team lost Chubba Hubbard but they did so well without him I don't think it's really gonna matter.
8 Arkansas Razorbacks This is my copium pick. I love Sam Pittman, I love everything he's done at Arkansas. Losing Burks to the draft is not ideal, but I have faith in the Pittboss to be one of the toughest teams to beat this year.
9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Marcus Freeman might've choked away his first game as the Irish HC, and week 1's opener is not what I'd call a cupcake, having to play in the 'shoe, and I don't like their chances in that game, but I believe the Irish will be incredibly well coached, well prepared, and that defense will be electric.
10 Michigan State Spartans What Mel Tucker has been able to do with Michigan in one year when we all thought MSU was going to go the way of the Seminole is nothing short of incredible. They don't have Walker anymore, but Tucker has proven that he's able to find gold from a pile of garbage.
11 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Dave Clawson and Sam Hartman are really really good man.
12 Baylor Bears Dave Aranda after having a god awful season in 2020 surprised everyone by winning the Big 12 Championship Game in 2021. While hopes are high I'm not willing to put them in the top ten until we see which season really was the fluke.
13 Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning is an incredible coordinator. I hate his guts cause THWG but his ability is remarkable. Bo Nix has a decent enough upside now that he's crawled out of the dumpster fire that is Auburn football. Week 1 in Atlanta will be an enormous challenge, but with Georgia's numerous losses on the defensive side, there's a chance the former 4x loser of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry gets revenge.
14 Kentucky Wildcats Mark Stoops is the second best coach in Kentucky Football history, second only to Bear Bryant himself. Mark Stoops has also made it clear that they are not just a basketball school now and damn does he play like it. However, with their star RB out for several weeks due to a DUI, will Will Levis and co be enough until reinforcements arrive? I believe so.
15 USC Trojans Lincoln Riley has in one offseason completely changed the trajectory of USC football. They've gone from maybe Pac 12 South contenders to playoff contenders in less than a year. Riley's offensive genius paired with Caleb William's talent has proven to be successful in the Big 12. Let's see how it translates out west.
16 Michigan Wolverines Michigan lost it's leader in Aiden Hutchinson but still has the most hated good coach in football in Jim Harbaugh. I wouldn't bet on them beating Ohio State this year but this will still be a decent season for the Wolverines.
17 NC State Wolfpack With Dabo, Dave C, and Dave D, the ACC Coastal has 3 damn good coaches that have first names that start with 'D'. Losing Ekwonu will hurt NC State, but it won't kill them. They have played great ball on both sides and will have another great season.
18 Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M's best season under Jiimbo was in 2020, ironically enough that's when Kellen Mond went from a meh QB to an above average QB. That's all Jimbo needs to win but I don't think Max Johnson is the answer. Jimbo recruited the best class in history last year but this years class won't be what takes them to the promised land of the CFP final 4. At least not this year.
19 Miami Hurricanes Miami has been recruiting well even under Manny Diaz, Diaz just sucked at coaching, King couldn't stay healthy, and well yeah Manny Diaz sucks. Under Cristobal, while he has a tendency to never have a full season at full capacity, I do believe Miami will be extremely forgiving to him with a weak Coastal and only having to play Clemson from the 3 D's of the Atlantic.
20 Cincinnati Bearcats I really don't know how to think of Cincinnati. They lost Sauce and Ridder, the core of both their offense and defense. But Luke Fickell is a witch. He brought Cincinnati to the playoffs when only a couple years prior the idea of a G5 team in the playoffs was seemingly ridiculous. I'll never count the man out I just don't know what he's gonna bring this year.
21 Florida Gators Dan Mullen is the single greatest offensive mind in the game. He's also one of the biggest jackasses. Billy Napier appears to be everything Dan Mullen as a person wasn't while still having a great offensive mind. He also prefers a 'year-round' approach to recruiting season. Starting out year 1 game 1 with Utah is a big ask of Napier, but the pieces appear to be all there. Anthony Richardson is my heisman sleeper (yes I'm a homer), Ricky Pearsall looks to take over WR1 and has done so earning the #1 jersey without even playing a snap, Gervon Dexter and Brenton Cox jr are due for a major breakout season this year, and we are finally deep at Linebacker. Gators are set for big things this year.
22 BYU Cougars Kalani Sitake has lead BYU to some incredible wins in the past few years, finally winning the Holy War again, at USC, and that incredible 2020 run just missing out on the undefeated status with Coastal Carolina narrowly winning. It's a new year for the cougars, and Jaren Hall seems ready to step up to the plate carrying on the BYU QB legacy.
23 UCF Knights It's a hire gus year. I have a feeling.
24 Minnesota Golden Gophers Mohammad Ibrahim is coming back and that dude is just a cannonball. PJ Fleck has had some interesting seasons while at the helm of the Gophers but Ibrahim returning makes the ceiling so much higher. Also Tanner Morgan will be the QB of Minnesota until 2037 when he finally decides to retire.
25 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern seems to go in cycles of being almost unbeatable to looking completely beatable. Last year, they were beatable alright, but this year I believe Pat Fitzgerald is gonna do wonderful things with the nerds in purple.

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