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Phoenix0114 Ballot for 2022 Week 8

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 18, 2022, 7:01 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Just a regular CFB fan trying to make sense of a crazy season.

Rank Team Reason
1 Tennessee Volunteers Best wins on the season. They may not be #1 at the end, but they deserve to be #1 right now.
2 Georgia Bulldogs Other than the speed bump against MIZZOU and part of the Kent State game, this team looks like it could repeat.
3 Michigan Wolverines Season defining win this week. Not only did they annihilate Penn State, Michigan defeated a top 10 run defense by rushing for more yards than the defense had given up through 5 games. The Michigan/Ohio State conundrum will sort itself out later in the season; right now this Michigan team has a better statement win.
4 Ohio State Buckeyes A complete team on offense and defense. Only thing tOSU is lacking is a big time W. That'll happen as the season continues.
5 Clemson Tigers Clemson will make the top 4 if they continue winning. I'd love for them to win a bit stronger against these tough opponents, but they're winning so it's tough to hate on them too much.
6 TCU Horned Frogs Big wins after big wins on an undefeated season is what has buoyed TCU up this poll. The huge win against Texas last week, the big come from behind win against OKST this week, the wins just keep on coming. The defense is suspect, but played much stronger in the second half against Oklahoma State. This is a dangerous team who will make for some tough decisions come playoff time if they keep winning.
7 Ole Miss Rebels Lane Kiffin is undefeated halfway through the regular season in the SEC. That is all.
8 Alabama Crimson Tide Tough last second loss against a dominant offense. Bryce Young did everything he could to keep the Tide alive, but sloppy play and penalties have shown this Alabama team to be more vulnerable then they have at almost any other point in Saban's tenure.
9 UCLA Bruins UCLA is legit in a frighteningly competitive PAC-12. Them going up against Oregon this week will solidify whether they're a top 15 team or a top 5 team. Until then, they're a top 10.
10 Syracuse Orange Never in a million years did I think that Syracuse would be here. But they have a chance for a huge statement win of their own against li'l ole Clemson. I am pleased with Syracuse's performance.
11 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Wake is a scary team. They're gonna make the Orange Bowl and be a real threat to win it.
12 Oregon Ducks Oregon has bounced back real nicely from an awful week one. If they beat UCLA this upcoming week, they'll be sitting in the drivers seat for a conference championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
13 Utah Utes Speaking of teams that want a Rose Bowl trip, Utah has put themselves in a good position with the crazy win over USC. Utah isn't the most consistent team from game to game, or even drive to drive, but the Utes are gritty. That kind of tenacity keeps Utah's preseason dreams of conference championship glory alive even after a couple of stumbles out the gate.
14 Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State's lone loss is to Tulane, which is starting to look a lot better than it did earlier this season. They won the bye week with sneaking up the rankings. The KSU-TCU game will determine who the best purple team in the Big 12 is. The best purple team may be the conference champ.
15 Oklahoma State Cowboys OSU is a solid team and this may be penalizing them a bit too much for a loss to a scrappy TCU team. But you can't have those kinds of leads in big games against good teams and then completely blow it. TCU did everything right, but OSU gave them the opportunity to come back. If the pokes kept up the gas all game, I'd be talking about them as glowingly as I did TCU. But they didn't and here we are. Enjoy the Alamo Bowl or the Cheez-It bowl.
16 Penn State Nittany Lions mAyBe pEnN sTaTe iSN't aS gOOd aS wE THouGht. Penn State got walloped by top flight Michigan team. They lost by their greatest strength not being anywhere near strong enough. PSU was never going to win the B1G, and this game proved it. I want to see PSU show some grit after the loss otherwise they'll spiral out of the top 25 entirely.
17 USC Trojans The Pac-12 is dangerous. It eats exciting teams alive. USC was the victim this week to a very good Utah team. USC needs to do more with all the talent they have on the roster.
18 Illinois Fighting Illini Illinois has been such a fun story this year. I hope they win the B1G West. They have a legit chance to.
19 North Carolina Tar Heels Drake Maye is a football god. If this team doesn't lose to Notre Dame, they're up the rankings next to Syracuse and Wake. Must watch football every week.
20 Texas Longhorns Quinn Ewers is not Tate Martell. This Texas team has shown a tenacity that hasn't been there in approximately a decade. Hopefully it keeps up the rest of the season and carries into next year.
21 Cincinnati Bearcats They're not the darlings of the CFB world anymore, but Cincinnati is showing they will very much belong in the Big 12.
22 Purdue Boilermakers I ranked Purdue so they lose to Wisconsin this week muahahahahha. No, I ranked Purdue because they're a top 25 team.
23 Kentucky Wildcats I still believe in Kentucky even though I shouldn't. It's wrong, I know I'm wrong, but here they are.
24 Tulane Green Wave Tulane is showing the AAC is going to still be a Power 5 adjacent conference even after being raided... again. Go Wave, party like it's 1998.
25 UCF Knights UCF steals the last spot that had belonged to James Madison. They're both one loss teams, but UCF's strength of schedule gives them the edge this week.

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