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oghawks18 Ballot for 2023 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 20, 2023, 11:31 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Projection of where teams will END the regular season at

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs Easy schedule by Georgia standards, should cruise to 12-0.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes QB and OL will gel by November, they beat Michigan and make the CCG
3 Clemson Tigers OC change, QB improvement, and still have tons of talent. Should be 11 or 12 wins
4 Alabama Crimson Tide QB and WR won’t be a strength, but a more physical defense and the combo of RB/OL in the run game can win them most games
5 LSU Tigers A lot of talent, will have to stay healthy in some areas where depth isn’t a strength but I like both sides of the ball. Will have to try and beat Bama a second year in a row and avoid another loss to A&M
6 Penn State Nittany Lions Great team with great young talent. Will be tough to go 2-0 against OSU and Michigan, and ILL and Iowa also could be tough. Still a firm NY6 team
7 Michigan Wolverines Three years of sustained success is hard for any team to do. The loss of Biff Poggi, Matt Weiss, and a few key OL and defensive guys will be more impactful than expected. Still a great team but a small step down
8 Oregon Ducks Pac 12 is a crapshoot, but Oregon has the talent and experience at QB. I *think* Lanning is a great coach as well
9 Kansas State Wildcats Big KSU believer this year, and believer in Klieman and Klein too. Tons of seniors, a top 5 OL, and offensive weapons make them my Big 12 frontrunner
10 Oregon State Beavers Love their run game and what DJU can do as their QB. Will be a tough schedule but I trust in Johnathan Smith
11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Got some good talent in most position groups, especially QB RB and OL. That’s enough to win a lot of games with a solid defense, and I think they steal a big win
12 Florida State Seminoles I’m not sold on the hype yet, the transfers and the experience is nice but I’d like to see them take the next step up and beat some Top 20 teams
13 Iowa Hawkeyes The defense and ST alone should carry Iowa and their easy schedule to at least 9-3, some offensive success could get them to 10-2.
14 Oklahoma Sooners Not a huge Oklahoma believer but the schedule and level of recruiting means they should get 9 or 10 wins
15 Utah Utes Kyle Whittingham is a winner and they have some dudes.
16 USC Trojans I like Lincoln Riley and where the team is headed but the schedule is just brutal. Probably a top 10 team but they could lose a few late season games
17 Tennessee Volunteers Might see some small regression, still a great team and the offense is still loaded. Defense is still a question mark.
18 Washington Huskies Love DeBoer and what he did with UDub last year, just think it might be hard to sustain the in the Pac 12 bloodbath. Penix has to stay healthy and the defense has to be better. Might be more of a 9-3 season, maybe 8-4 with some bad luck
19 Texas A&M Aggies There’s no way a team with this much talent can be bad again right? It seems like everything went wrong last year. They have offensive weapons, albeit Achane is a huge loss, but Weigman seems like a dude and the defense is littered with high-end recruits. I’d be more surprised with 6-6 than 10-2 and think they end up in the middle of that around 8-4
20 Wisconsin Badgers Fickell will be great in Madison, but might be a few bumps in year 1 and some tough games on the schedule. The home game against Iowa probably decides the West.
21 Texas Longhorns Sark hasn’t proved he can win more than 9 games in a year yet. For all the hype and reasons for optimism, there are still a lot of “if’s” and question marks. Until proven otherwise, I’m going to assume 8-4.
22 SMU Mustangs SMU has brought in a lot of P5 transfers, Rhett Lashlee is a great young coach, and Preston Stone might be their QB of the future. Count me in for a win over TCU and an AAC championship
23 South Alabama Jaguars USA brings back almost everybody and they had a great year last year. They might be my pick to win the SBC, but Wommack still has some things to prove as a HC. I believe they have an early game against Tulane (who I’m lukewarm on this year), which could put them on the national radar if they pull out a win
24 Pittsburgh Panthers Pitt and Narduzzi don’t get enough credit for their consistency. They always reload with dudes on D, and they upgraded at QB along with a steady run game. I think they pull off a big upset or two and hit at least 8 wins
25 UTSA Roadrunners Although they’ll be in a tougher conference, UTSA brings back a lot of guys with a lot of experience, which is big in the G5. Traylor is also that dude. I’m a little hesitant because I have no clue how some of those OOC games will go, but I think they’ll be great in most of their conference games. Other teams strongly considered - UCLA, NC State, TCU, Missouri, Boise State, Illinois, Ole Miss, Marshall, Kentucky, Arkansas, Ohio, Louisville

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