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kamiller2020 Ballot for 2023 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 6, 2023, 12:26 a.m.

Overall Rationale: I didn't rank TCU preseason, so I'm not ranking Colorado. I was impressed by the Buffaloes but I don't think that's a top 25 team yet. Miami and Oklahoma, I want to see them play a team who can fight back before I rank them. Had to cut off my long breakdowns because of time constraints, will find better way to do this next week.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs Well, offensively it wasn't a dream. Carson Beck wasn't bad, but didn't play well enough for people to not clamor for Brock to be the starter this year. Mike Bobo is getting berated by Georgia fans for the slow start on offense. The running game wasn't up to snuff and Bowers went long stretches without the ball in his hand. They still won 48-7. If your offense can look so anemic and still control the game, I feel pretty good about your chances. The offense will have plenty of time to figure itself out, as I don't think South Carolina will pose much of a threat.
2 Michigan Wolverines The passing game did really well, that should be the takeaway after today. J.J. McCarthy showed progress as a thrower and Roman Wilson was a big factor in today's game. Michigan's running game should rebound later in the season, so I'm not too concerned yet. The defense played a great game against an ECU team that could have a pretty solid offense. Yes the lack of pressure can be a concern, but I think that was more an ECU getting the ball out of their hands quick scenario more than Michigan can't generate a pass rush.
3 Ohio State Buckeyes So......not scoring a passing touchdown is concerning. The passing game just never got into sync and I honestly don't understand why. The offensive line could've been better, especially at the tackle position. Miyan Williams had a great game at RB, as did Cade Stover at TE. But offensively you wanted more. The defense played phenomenally though. Yes, Indiana isn't the highest-caliber offense. But the positives of today can be carried over to future games. Tackling was fantastic. On a Week 1 where so many teams struggled in open-field tackling and first-contact hits the Buckeyes excelled. I don't recall any whiffs in the open field and the very few broken tackles in this game there were two or three silver helmets to the football. Tackling carries no matter the opponent and if you can tackle like that all season this defense is going to keep itself in ball games. The secondary wasn't tested much at all, so we'll wait til Western Kentucky in order to pass any judgment on them. But I'm going to trust that Ohio State figures out the offense, while the defense looks like they've made real improvements as a unit.
4 Florida State Seminoles Talk your talk FSU fans. That was about as good of an opening weekend as you could've asked for. The wide receiver room for Florida State is loaded, and they showed up big time. Keon Coleman was the difference maker the Noles have been waiting for, Johnny Wilson had big plays, and Jahiem Bell showed up. Jordan Travis battled a tough start to finish very strong. The defense gave up some plays, but when it mattered they showed up big. Jared Verse was a factor all night, including a sack. All the things you heard in the offseason about the Noles came up on Sunday Now here's the true test, Can you battle out the rest of the ACC? I know Clemson doesn't look like a threat after Monday, but their defense and Death Valley gives them a fighting chance especially when Dabo is fighting for his program. Duke is going to give you problems, especially if your offensive line plays like it did against LSU. Miami actually looks competent. This is a national title-caliber team, and I firmly expect the Seminoles to be a top-ten team wire-to-wire. You just need to actually get in the dance to show how good you are.
5 Alabama Crimson Tide That performance is what you think of when you think of Saban Alabama. 200+ yards passing and rushing, is it 2015 again? If it is I don't see how Alabama doesn't go and dominate to a national title. But this roster isn't 2016 Bama's roster, at least not yet. Jalen Milroe had a good game, and if he plays as calmly as he did on Saturday that would be a massive improvement over last year. We had an Isiah Bond sighting! Wide receivers making plays that they weren't making last year is exactly what Tide fans asked for. The offensive line looked improved, that's a positive sign. The defensive backs looked improved, that's a positive sign. It was against Middle Tennessee State though. Texas is going to be a massive test, and I can not wait for that game.
6 Washington Huskies No team impressed me more last week than Washington. I was skeptical about the improvements on the defensive side of the ball, I was mostly wrong. Jabbar Muhammad was pretty damn good, and a lot of the depth played solid. Taylen Green was a nonfactor for most of the game. And frankly, the game was uncompetitive after the 1st quarter against a Boise team I thought was pretty right heading into this season. Good teams win this game, title threats dominate this game. This isn't to say Washington can win the national title, but you really couldn't have drawn up a better start for the Huskies. Oh yeah, the offense was pretty good too.
7 USC Trojans The defense wasn't a turnstile, but Nevada isn't good. Caleb Williams is still the best player in CFB.
8 Penn State Nittany Lions Drew Allar played a good game, but WVU hung in longer than you would've liked. Do not sleep on Illinois in 2 weeks.
9 Oregon Ducks Complete annihilation of Portland State. Let's see how they look against Texas Tech.
10 LSU Tigers I'm not off the LSU wagon, though the path to 9 wins looks treacherous after week 1. Root hard for Tulane and Miami this week.
11 Texas Longhorns Quinn's deep ball makes or breaks the season.
12 Duke Blue Devils Duke didn't play their best football game and they beat Clemson by 21. Let me say that again, Duke didn't play their best football game and beat CLEMSON by 21. If you walk away from that game clowning Clemson more than praising Duke, you didn't watch closely enough. Duke ran basic coverage in the secondary and gave Klubnik nowhere to throw the ball. Duke got pushed around on the line of scrimmage but made enough plays in the back end to not let Clemson's RBs torch them. They forced timely turnovers and played great team defense(look at the plugged holes on key downs and the contain on the edges). Riley Leonard played the best defense he'll face all season and looked mostly poised. Sure there were some inaccurate throws, but there were also some great plays. Duke is a great football team that's balanced enough to match up with anybody. I don't know if they'll make the ACC title game or a NY6. The schedule has some landmines. But Duke can walk into Tallahassee and play with Florida State. Notre Dame is going to be in for a long game with the Blue Devils. I don't see a single team on Duke's schedule they are incapable of beating, and that tells you a lot about this team under Elko.
13 Utah Utes Florida is bad, Baylor is bad. Win both convincingly, and get Rising healthy for a PAC 12 gauntlet.
14 Tennessee Volunteers Covered the spread and am still not impressed, let's revisit Rocky Top in October.
15 Clemson Tigers Clemson is still going to be a factor in the playoff race. This is my bold claim a couple of hours after the shocking 28-7 loss to Duke. Clemson did not look as bad as the score indicates. Clemson outgained Duke. They got into the red zone 5 times. They mostly made Duke's passing and run game inefficient(save for one big Leonard touchdown run). They turned the ball over three times and had one field goal blocked(maybe two?) and that was the game. This is not to say Clemson is without flaws. The wide receiver room in Clemson is pathetic. They made Klubnik's job borderline impossible. No separation, little fight at the top of routes, dropped balls, no participating in the scramble drill and no blocking. It was one of the worst games from a single unit of a team I've frankly ever seen and that kind of performance all season will sabotage the Tigers. That isn't to say Klubnik had a good game either, it was a fairly pedestrian outing from him. He threw two interceptable balls, didn't really help his WRs gain separation with his eyes, and the situation awareness was concerning. The running backs didn't really convert in the red zone, but they mostly held up their end of the bargain. The defense had a good game but the tackling could be much better. Also, where was the pass rush? Where was Peter Woods? Clemson can still make the playoffs, I think this team matches up well with Florida State and Notre Dame. Getting those games in Death Valley is a huge benefit as well. I would still pick Clemson to win the ACC after today, despite what I just saw. But not having any threat of a passing game kills their title hopes and Dabo is going to have to seriously evaluate how he constructs his wide receiver room and his program if they want to win a national title. Having any of Zakhari Franklin, Jamari Thrash, Keon Coleman, Dominic Lovett, AD Mitchell, Dorian Singer Jimmy Horn Jr., etc. would be massive for this team this season. An Evan Stewart Zachariah Branch or Jacorey Brooks would've been really helpful on Monday. It's very telling that the only WR who was even a net neutral in this game was Antonio Williams, the only WR Clemson has who was top ten in his recruiting class. Clemson is a ten-win team, do not overreact about them being bad this season. But the future of Clemson's title chances is predicated on their recruiting and development, and some areas of it need massive improvement.
16 North Carolina Tar Heels Very impressed with the defensive improvements. South Carolina's offensive line isn't good so they won't get 9 sacks every game, but the fact North Carolina keeps showing improvements defensively is a positive sign. Tez Walker's NCAA decision looms large over the team.
17 Tulane Green Wave Very impressed against South Alabama, looks to be clear front runners for G5 NY6 spot. Let's see how the defense looks against Ole Miss.
18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish N.C. State is a massive test for this squad. Win big and we can talk more in depth about playoffs. Lose and it's time to talk about Marcus Freeman. Win close, punt discussion on Irish til Ohio State.
19 Kansas State Wildcats The path to the Big 12 title game looks a lot less difficult. Troy and Missouri games are very difficult, losing either does not derail the season.
20 Oregon State Beavers You might've got a good QB because of Clemson's wide receivers. Be glad.
21 Ole Miss Rebels Do not sleep on Tulane.
22 UCLA Bruins Dante Moore is your QB, don't overthink it.
23 Maryland Terrapins There is zero excuse to not be 5-0 heading into Columbus, please don't prove me wrong.
24 Texas A&M Aggies Winner of Miami/TAMU gets this spot, and since I'm picking TAMU they're in the poll.
25 Troy Trojans Best chance to prove defensive strength all season long, K-State is good but not unbeatable.

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