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PumpSmash Ballot for 2022 Week 5

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 25, 2022, 7:46 a.m.

Overall Rationale: WHO IS GOOD??!?!! I AM LOVING THIS SEASON SO FAR!! It's been a while since I've had reasonings, so I'm gonna put them in for this poll just so anyone who's curious can see where my head is at.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs UGA may have had a clunker against Kent State, but they're still phenomenal and it's not indicative of them as an overall unit. Be assured they'll show up to play against anyone who dare threaten the Dawg this season. They're still #1 until they lose, in my opinion.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes Took care of business against a lesser conference opponent. CJ Stroud is still that dood. Carry on.
3 Alabama Crimson Tide Took care of business against a lesser conference opponent. Will Anderson is still that dood. Carry on.
4 Michigan Wolverines Hey, Michigan has an easy schedule to start out with and they're taking care of it like they should. Sometimes that's just how schedules shake up. Can't fault the team itself for it. They might've struggled against Maryland, but Maryland was firing on all cylinders and the year is still young. 4-0 is 4-0.
5 Clemson Tigers A little rough scrub with a (quite) good Wake Forest team doesn't make me lose faith in Clemson. Actually, it kinda makes me a little more scared that Clemson has it put together. Last season, they might lose that game to Wake. It was an away game against what will probably end up being Wake's biggest game of the season. Good win for Clemson.
6 USC Trojans What the hyeck? This is what makes me ask: who the hell is good this season? After 5 placements, we're already getting into the questions. The reason I'm not worried about Georgia, who had a clunker against Kent State, versus USC, who had a clunker against Oregon State, is the difference in offensive production. THIS is Lincoln Riley? Held to 3 points in a half? Held to 17 points in a game? Against Oregon State? Very strange. Hopefully Oregon State didn't just give other teams the blueprint to knock Caleb Williams off. But that was a confusing one, for sure. USC should still be very good the rest of the season if they don't let that happen again.
7 Tennessee Volunteers Wow, what a win for UT!! You take a middling Florida team that has been a demon for your program for, what, 15 years? And you smack them. Florida didn't lay down and die, but the game was never really in doubt. Good job, Tennessee. That offense is scary. Defensively? Eh. Work on it.
8 Kentucky Wildcats Jeez, what the hell, Kentucky? I was singing your high praises as potentially a team that could challenge for the East. I still have you ranked 8th here because I think you have deserved it based on what you did this season, but that was a rough clunker. Still, though. You won.
9 Oklahoma State Cowboys Oklahoma State, congratulations on the BYE. You might get that upset that could've come next week against Baylor. They better be ready for the B12 rematch. I think it'll be a great game.
10 Ole Miss Rebels Yeesh. Gross game. Another SEC clunker. I still think Kiffin is a mastermind, but defensively he just isn't there yet. Ole Miss is still gonna be a contender in the West as long as Kiffin is there, and one game isn't going to define them this year. They'll be fine.
11 NC State Wolfpack NC State has yet to play a conference opponent, which is fine. They have a solid win against Texas Tech, and next week they'll go into their southern brother to try to knock off Clemson. I think they have it in them, but it'll take everything they have. Best of luck!
12 Florida State Seminoles Jesus. You blink and then you realize Florida State is undefeated. How good is that? I love when FSU is good. They're among the teams like Nebraska, Tennessee, Miami. It just gives me nostalgia to see some of those teams playing good ball again. FSU is making a bowl this year, and when Travis is playing well, everyone should be on notice.
13 Oklahoma Sooners Rough loss for OU. This game was never really in doubt, either. I don't think it's indicative of Oklahoma's overall season, and they're almost always due for a loss or two before they still contend to win the Big 12 anyway.
14 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State is quietly putting together a really solid 4-0 start. They've really only struggled against a good Purdue team, and every other game has been dominant. The win against Auburn, as bad as they are, is still really impressive. Penn State I think will only get better, too.
15 Texas A&M Aggies After the loss to App State, I was ready to bury the Aggies. But they've been improving each game since. Offensively, there are still a lot of questions, and I think Arkansas' defense is extremely suspect, but they still came back from down 14 to beat the Hogs. Good win, and they should remain undefeated in SEC play before they have to travel to Alabama.
16 Washington Huskies How about them Huskies!! Shades of 2016? Washington is playing really solid football right now. They're winning games they should. Next week they will have an undefeated matchup at the AWE INSPIRING HORRIFIC ATMOSPHERE OF... UCLA. They'll probably win that game barring any sloppy play.
17 Kansas Jayhawks This is my fourth year as part of the /r/cfb poll. I think this is my first time I've ever even thought about Kansas. They are the only 4-0 team in the Big 12! What the hell? I love it though. Kansas being good in football is exactly what the sport needs right now. I will say this: That Iowa State game could be really scary for them. I want them to be undefeated as long as possible, and not just for the memes. Keep it up Jayhawks!
18 Minnesota Golden Gophers Damn! We're on three teams in a row that I really am happy for. Minnesota is the favorite to win the B1G West this season. They seem to have it figured out up north, and I'd love to see them against OSU or Michigan at the Big 10 title game. For now, they're undefeated and have to defeat a solid Purdue team at home to keep it alive.
19 Pittsburgh Panthers Other than that rough week 2 loss to Tennessee, Pittsburgh has still been having a solid season. Kenny Pickett is definitely missed, but I would argue almost all of the rest of their games are winnable? They should still be the favorite to win the Coastal.
20 Baylor Bears Baylor's scrapping together a solid start, here. That loss to BYU is still looking rough, but it's not gonna define their entire season and if they keep moving forward they could potentially be in that upper echelon in the Big 12.
21 Oregon Ducks I'm still not sold on Oregon. I'm of the minority opinion that the week 1 loss to Georgia was bad. Like, I know Georgia is good. But you get beaten like that and it's hard to ignore. They had to scrape together a comeback win against WSU. I think Oregon is still a solid team. But I don't think they deserve to sniff the top 15 until they've proven themselves a lot more. Bo Nix is still bad.
22 Arkansas Razorbacks Wow, what a rough loss for Arkansas. That might've been the closest field goal miss I've ever seen. Arkansas is still scary on offense, though. But their defense has GOT to pull it together. They play Alabama next, and luckily they get them at home. I think Arkansas will be fired up for revenge and will definitely give Alabama trouble. If they can get pressure on Bryce Young defensively, then they could absolutely pull off a win.
23 Utah Utes After the loss to Florida, Utah has been playing fine. They are doing what they need to do. They have very winnable games up until USC. We'll see what they can do to potentially win the Pac 12.
24 Syracuse Orange Cuse barely defeated Virginia and Purdue by a combined total of 5 points. That's rough, but wins are wins. I'm not sold on them just yet in the ACC, but if you're a P5 4-0 team, you're doing something right.
25 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Man, this Wake team came to play. I knew as soon as I saw the matchup that Wake Forest would give Clemson a game, and boy did they ever. It's hard to lose in overtime, but Wake Forest still has lots to play for and can easily start moving their way back up the rankings. Great game by Wake, and I'm just glad to see them solid in football.

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