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Due_Connection179 Ballot for 2022 Week 9

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 24, 2022, 11:49 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Now that were past the mid-point of the season, it's strictly game film, opponents, and articles written for the games I either chose to miss or couldn't watch.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs Last Week was a Bye Week. This Week vs Florida.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes Last Week vs Iowa won 54-10. Ohio State's defense absolutely dominated the worst QB group in the B1G (maybe the FBS) and C.J. Stroud (280 yards with 4 TD) capitalized on that in the 1st half. This Week at #16 Penn State. (Ohio State is my lock of the week to win).
3 Tennessee Volunteers Last Week vs UT Martin won 65-24. Basically a Bye Week. This Week vs #19 Kentucky. Tennessee might overlook a good Kentucky team with the Volunteers going to Georgia the week after, so watch for this game to be close going into halftime.
4 Clemson Tigers Last Week #4 vs #14 Syracuse won 27-21. After benching D.J. during the 3rd quarter (while down 21-10), Clemson did what they should've done all year and ran the ball. The backup who came in only threw 4 passes (while down 11pts), yet with that elite run game & elite defense Clemson came back for the narrow win at home. This Week is a Bye Week.
5 Michigan Wolverines Last Week #5 had a Bye Week. This Week vs Michigan State. Anything can happen in a rivalry game.
6 TCU Horned Frogs Last Week #6 vs #21 Kansas State won 38-28. I guess TCU is in that tier of teams this season where no matter how far they get down, I'm not going to panic about them potentially losing. I was watching this game with some friends and even when Kansas State went up 28-10 in the mid-2nd quarter, I remember telling them that this is going to look like a great comeback when all is said and done. This Week at West Virginia.
7 Alabama Crimson Tide Last Week #9 vs #24 Mississippi State won 30-6. Blew out Mississippi State in the first half, then just set the cruise control in the 2nd. This Week is a Bye Week.
8 Oklahoma State Cowboys Last Week #10 vs #20 Texas won 41-34. I'm not really liking that Oklahoma State's games keep coming down to OT or the last drive every single week (it feels like), but at least it makes for an exciting game every time. I believe my top 7 is firmly locked at this point with just waiting on teams to play each other and lose, but Oklahoma State stays atop the 2nd tier for me right now. This Week at #23 Kansas State.
9 Oregon Ducks Last Week #12 vs #8 UCLA won 45-30. Absolutely exploded during the 2nd quarter where they outscored UCLA 28-10 and outgained them 288-123 yards during those 4 straight TD drives. They continued the dominance by scoring on their first two drives in the 2nd half, the first of which took half of the 3rd quarter to complete. Fantastic turn around for the Ducks since week 1. This Week at California.
10 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Last Week #13 vs Boston College won 43-15. I fully believed that Wake Forest was better than both Ole Miss & UCLA going into last week, but wanted to give my respect for both of them still being undefeated with ranked wins on their schedules. Wake Forest is the highest ranked team with no real shot at making the CFP with the ACC being considered the weakest of the P5 conferences and with them already losing to Clemson this season (needs two Clemson conferences losses to pass them). This Week at Louisville.
11 Ole Miss Rebels Last Week #7 at LSU lost 20-45. I thought they have been playing above their weight class all season, and their Cinderella run finally came to an end at LSU. To put it short, they were dominated at the line on both sides of the ball and couldn't get passed that. They still have a clear, yet very difficult, path to make the CFP, but that includes having to beat both #7 Alabama and #1 Georgia to win out. This Week at Texas A&M.
12 UCLA Bruins Last Week #8 at #12 Oregon lost 30-45. Another Cinderella run stopped last week. UCLA's defense not being able to stop Oregon's offense on 6-straight possessions is concerning going forward, but I guess the good thing about being in the PAC 12 is that the Bruins really only have one more test on their schedule in their last five games, and that comes on 11/19 vs #13 USC. This Week vs Stanford.
13 USC Trojans Last Week #11 had a Bye Week. The more I think about USC, the more I realize how unimpressed I have been by them. That's why they dropped two rankings to the Bye Week. This Week at Arizona.
14 Syracuse Orange Last Week #14 at #4 Clemson lost 21-27. Syracuse looked amazing in the 1st half at Clemson going into halftime with a 21-10 lead, however (and unforunate for the Orange) football is played in two halves. Syracuse this looks like a solid team, but they learned this week that they have to play great for all 60 minutes to beat the top teams, and they didn't do that. This Week vs Notre Dame.
15 Illinois Fighting Illini Last Week #15 had a Bye Week. This Week at Nebraska.
16 Penn State Nittany Lions Last Week #16 vs Minnesota. Had another slow start (8 plays for 14 yards and 1 INT on first three drives) that the Nittany Lions were lucky Minnesota couldn't turn into more than 3 pts. Dominated the 2nd & 3rd quarter, then cruised in the 4th. Currently have Penn State as my worst 1-loss P5 school, and don't really see that changing any time soon. This Week vs #2 Ohio State.
17 Utah Utes Last Week #17 had a Bye Week. This Week at Washington State. (I have Utah has my pick to be upset this week)
18 Kentucky Wildcats Last Week #18 had a Bye Week. This Week at #3 Tennessee.
19 Tulane Green Wave Last Week #20 vs Memphis won 38-28. Started out blazing hot going into halftime up 35-0, then stalled in the 2nd half to the tune of 26 plays for 96 yards (13 plays for 67 yards was on their lone scoring drive that led to a FG). Both sides of the ball collapsed, and if Memphis' coach realized he could've went for a FG then onside kick with 1:17 left in the game, then we might be talking about a different outcome this morning. Still the best G5 school in the nation, but that's not really something to brag about this year. This Week is a Bye Week.
20 LSU Tigers Last Week NR vs #7 Ole Miss won 45-20. Completely dominated this game and if it wasn't for the slip-up against Florida State week 1, then we might be talking about LSU as a top 15 team going into their game vs Alabama. This Week is a Bye Week.
21 North Carolina Tar Heels Last Week NR had a Bye Week. Texas, Kansas State, Kansas, Mississippi State, and Purdue all lost (while Cincinnati probably should've of) so that's how the Tar Heels jump up 6 spots while on a bye week. This Week vs Pitt.
22 Cincinnati Bearcats Last Week #23 at SMU won 29-27. Very close game, and I personally thought SMU was the better team, but Cincinnati leaves with a narrow victory. It looks like we are getting set up for a double-header between the Bearcats & Tulane to end the season and to determine the top G5 team this season. This Week at UCF.
23 Kansas State Wildcats Last Week #21 at #6 TCU lost 28-38. Took a commanding lead (28-10) mid-2nd quarter, but couldn't do anything after that. Didn't want to drop them too much for that performance and honestly regret a little bit putting them under LSU, UNC, and Cincinnati. This Week vs #8 Oklahoma State.
24 Oregon State Beavers Last Week NR vs Colorado won 42-9. Happy to announce that the Beavers are back in my top 25 and they look to stay this time. Next Week is a Bye Week.
25 Maryland Terrapins Last Week NR vs Northwestern 31-24. The next 8 outside that top 25 are NC State, South Carolina, Washington, Liberty, Texas, Mississippi State, Troy, and UTSA. Maryland (to me) is the best two-loss team remaining in that group and they played Michigan better than anyone this season and they did so on the road. Next Week is a Bye Week.

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