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ScaratheBear Ballot for 2023 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 5, 2023, 10:40 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Human

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs The result: 48-7 vs UT Martin (0-1). Carson beck went 21/31 in his first collegiate start, throwing 1 TD to Mekhi Mews. The defense allowed just over 250 yards, most in late 3rd and 4th quarters against backups. It was a dominant display for the Dawgs, despite some early game jitters on the offense. The reasoning: No reason to really move them down. The Dawgs, pretty or not, handled their business against an overmatched team. There are perhaps some concerns on the offensive line and in the beat to hell RB room, but the Dawgs usually have a quiet first game or two before really getting into the swing of the season. Next up: Ball State (0-1) comes to town for a noon game this Saturday, followed by the SEC opener at home against South Carolina (0-1).
2 Michigan Wolverines The result: 30-3 vs ECU. JJ McCarthy was excellent, going 26/30 for 280 yards and 3 TD. The defense, similarly, was excellent, allowing less than 250 yards and only a late, cheesy field goal to blow up the shutout. Superstar RB duo Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum were very quiet on the day, however, combining for just over 100 yards with roughly half coming on 2 plays. Keep an eye on Corum, especially, as he continues to come back from a knee injury last season. The reasoning: Like the Dawgs above them, not really a reason to move them. Michigan played a conservative game against an overmatched team and got the result they expected. When you include that Michigan is playing without their head coach as well, it's a solid result. Next up: UNLV (1-0) comes to the Big House next. Expect a similar result.
3 Florida State Seminoles The result: FSU started their season off with a bang, comfortably beating last years SEC West champs 45-24. The Noles, after being down 14-17 at half, put up 31 unanswered points while the defense pitched a near shutout. Jordan Travis started his Heisman case off well, going 23/31 with 4 TDs, 3 going to stud transfer Keon Coleman. Moment of the game for me? FSU's defense, backed up to their endzone, holding the LSU offense out on 6 consecutive downs, forcing a turnover. A phenomenal start for the Noles. The reasoning: As of now, the Noles have the best win in the country and looked to have played like one of the best teams in the country. Jordan Travis may be the best QB in the ACC, the defense looked and played extremely stout, Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson are a terrifying pair of WRs to have... what's not to like? Next up: Southern Miss (1-0) comes to town for an evening home opener, but the Noles eyes will be glued to a 9/23 date heading to Death Valley.
4 Alabama Crimson Tide The result: Alabama joylessly murderballed all over the MTSU Blue Raiders. The Tide have another stud QB at their disposal (stunner), with Jalen Milroe leading the team in rushing and passing, combining for just under 250 yards of total offense and 5 TDs. New DC Kevin Steele also has a plethora of new toys to play with, as the defense looks just as imposing as ever. Joyless murderball is back on the schedule. Oh yeah, joyless murderball was said about 600 times on the broadcast. Lets not have that be a thing again, okay? The reasoning: I have the Tide staying put at 4. FSU jumps them after a dominant win over LSU, and Ohio State falls below them for reasons I will discuss later. I think 4 is a fair spot, and given that they'll play several of the also ranked teams on this list, everything will work itself out. Next up: Big bad #12 Texas (1-0) comes to town in a huge matchup of conference favorites. We'll see if the Tide can keep the joyless murderball going against a much more evenly matched team.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes The result: It was a somewhat ugly game for the Buckeyes, as they beat Indiana 23-3. The good news is that the defense looks excellent. They allowed only 8 first downs the entire game and held the Hoosiers to a whopping 153 yards of total offense. The bad news is that there may be significant concerns all over the offense. OL play was poor, Marvin Harrison Jr. was held to only 2 catches, and Kyle McCord looked overwhelmingly... bleh. It was a weird result for the Buckeyes, as the game was never really in question, but the offense could never get anything going. The reasoning: A poor result against Indiana isn't the end of the world, but for the talent advantage Ohio State has on Indiana you'd hope for a more dominant result. The game was 13-3 until late into the 3rd quarter and Ohio State allowed the Hoosiers to hang around for far, far too long. Dropping them two spots is fair, I think, as they have plenty of opportunities to get right and prove themselves in the coming weeks. Next up: The Penguins come to town, but Buckeyes (get it?) will be glued to a 9/23 date @Notre Dame. It will be a massive test for both teams, and a playoff impacting game.
6 Penn State Nittany Lions The result: Drew Allar had about as good of a game as you could have for a first year starter, as he went 21/29 for 325 yards and 3 TD. It wasn't a perfect day for Penn State, WVU hung around for a little longer than expected, but the ultimate result wasn't ever really in question and Penn State pulled away in the 2nd half for a big win. The reasoning: Penn State looks good, and I considered swapping them and Ohio State. Both teams allowed a less talented but feisty team to hang around for a little longer than expected, but Ohio State's defensive effort gets the nod. Next up: Delaware comes to Happy Valley for a noon game. Don't be super surprised if the Blue Hens stick around for a little longer than most expect, too. They're a solid FCS team.
7 USC Trojans The result(s): USC has played 2 games, winning 56-28 over SJSU in week 0 and 66-14 in week 1. Caleb Williams has been phenomenal, with a statline of 36/49 for 597 yards and 9 TD. His reigning Heisman campaign has started with a bang. The rest of the offense has been phenomenal as well, with about a dozen players of note (Branch, Lloyd, Joyner, Williams, Robinson, Washington...). As of now, I think the defensive concerns are being overplayed, but it's something to watch out for. The reasoning: No reason really to move them. The Trojans took on 2 overmatched teams and handled both of them. Sure, SJSU stuck around for a little longer than most would have hoped, but with so many teams having slow, conservative starts to the season I think I can ignore it. They looked much more composed against Nevada, and of course if things get shaky I wouldn't ever count out Caleb Williams and that offense to come storming back into a game. Next up: The last Pac-12 opener for USC against Stanford (1-0).
8 Washington Huskies The result: Washington welcomed an upset minded Boise State team to town and handled business accordingly. The Broncos kept the game somewhat competitive, but the Husky passing attack was relentless, with Michael Penix Jr kickstarting his own Heisman campaign with a bang. The defense was relentless and really suffocated the life out of Boise State. Overall a very complete, confidence inspiring game for the Huskies. The reasoning: Washington moves up 2 by virtue of LSU and Clemson falling out. I think Washington and USC are very similar teams, and I'll wait for more differences to show up before I decide to throw the Huskies over the Trojans. As it stands, however, I think the Huskies are comfortable favorites for the Pac-12 North. Next up: Tulsa (1-0) rides into town for another upset bid before a trip to East Lansing against Mel Tucker and the Spartans.
9 Tennessee Volunteers The result: 49-13 against Virginia. Well, mostly Virginia's punter, seriously that dude kept the Cavs in the game for most of the first half. Joe Milton didn't necessarily shine, he did airmail a few balls, but he looked composed and in control for the game. The real threat of the game was the running attack, as Tennessee rushed for nearly 300 yards and 5 TDs. A solid first showing for Vols. The reasoning: Another 2 spot mover due to LSU and Clemson dropping. I think Penn State through LSU are all fairly close to each other, wrapped up in my "tier 2" of contenders. ] Next up: A tune up game against Austin Peay, before a trip to Gainesville for some Gator nuggets.
10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish The result(s): 42-3 against Navy, and 56-3 against Tennessee State. Lets be honest, nobody is really surprised by these results, but the way the Irish absolutely dominated these two games really sparks a lot of hope. Sam Hartman has scored on every drive he's lead, and the defense has allowed a whopping 6 points. Playing with a vengeance. The reasoning: Notre Dame jumps 5 spots for their overall level of play. They've really looked the part of a playoff contender handling business against overmatched teams. Sam Hartman looks like the truth at QB, and the rest of the team has elevated their game to match. Next up: The schedule gets a touch harder as the Irish take on a team not totally outmatched talentwise. NCSU welcomes the Irish in for a noon game this saturday, in what will be the first significant test of the new-breed Irish.
11 Utah Utes The result: 24-11 at home against Florida. While the score might indicate a somewhat more competitive game, the result was never in doubt. Utah jumped out to an early lead and put the brakes one when they realized that Florida had no possible response. The defense was excellent, forcing Florida into several errors, and this was all done while EIGHT of Utah's starters were out, meaning this team should only be getting better as they get healthy. The reasoning: The 2 time defending Pac-12 champs should have some level of poll momentum coming into the season, and I see no reason to move them around. They're an experienced, well coached team that is going to hang tough with everyone they play. Would I favor them over any of the teams above them? Probably not. But I think if they played 100 games each, Utah is certainly winning a few of them. Next up: The Utes head to Baylor (0-1) to take on the battered Bears, who just lost to Texas State. The schedule gets significantly tougher after the following week, including a trip to USC in mid October.
12 Texas Longhorns The result: 37-10 vs Rice. A bit of a slow start for the Texas offense, but the defense looks in midseason form already. Perhaps some of the offensive woes are due to it being something like 165 (not an exaggeration) on the field for gameday. Stat for ya? Quinn Ewers was near perfect on throws inside of 15 yards, and 0-7 on throws longer than 15 yards. Expect a quick, short throwing offense against Alabama. The reasoning: I'll admit, Texas's ranking is more an idea of what they could be rather than what they've shown themselves to be. They are phenomenally talented, talented enough to compete with anyone in the division and more truly in the country. They've struggled to put all that talent into a cohesive unit, but if they can, this is a team that could compete for a title. Next up: Who's ready for some joyless murderball?
13 Kansas State Wildcats I know I've been doing this "result, reasoning, next up" thing, but it's kinda tiring so I think I'll just keep it to teams that played someone significant. KSU beat the hell out of SEMO, as one would expect a top 15 team to do. They play Troy next, which should actually be a somewhat competitive game with how good Troy was last year.
14 LSU Tigers See the FSU blurb... LSU came out competitive for the first half, but got totally shut down in the 2nd. It's a big hit to the Tigers hopes for the season, and really from the looks of things they've got a lot to work on. I still think that LSU can be a solid competitor in the SEC West, but my pick for them to win the division is looking like a bit of a longer shot now.
15 Oregon Ducks Alright, Oregon, very funny, you scored over 80 points in a game. Go easy on those poor dudes.
16 Duke Blue Devils The result: A 28-7 upset over Clemson at home to start the season off with a bang. Riley Leonard, unknown QB before the game, went off and was basically the entirety of Dukes offense. Mike Elko's defense was phenomenal, and despite a big talent advantage in favor of Clemson, the Duke D looked as though it was easily keeping pace. Really a coming out party for the Blue Devils, and potentially a kickstart to a championship contending season. Just wanna say, told ya so. The reasoning: I had Duke 22nd in the preseason poll, and feel that a solid jump is right enough for them. I think that the defense is gonna carry Duke through a lot of these games, but Riley Leonard is the truth at QB and could pull the team through games as well. Duke runs the gamut of good ACC teams this year, playing Notre Dame, Florida State, and North Carolina, so we'll see how good they really are through the season. Next up: Duke gets a trio of winnable games against Lafayette, Northwestern, and @UConn before another top 10 game against Notre Dame. Expect Wallace Wade to be bumping for that one if Duke is undefeated.
17 North Carolina Tar Heels Drake Maye, but only sorta. How does 9 sacks and 16 TFL sound?
18 Ole Miss Rebels Okay guys, what's up with teams scoring 70+ huh? Y'all know that those teams gotta go watch that tape now right? Imagine having to watch yourself get burnt on the same play like 8 times. Can't be fun, can it?
19 Wisconsin Badgers The Dairy raid got off.... wait, they didn't get off to a hot start? It was a 14-10 game at half? They won right? Okay... work still to be done.
20 Tulane Green Wave A competitive game against a solid team in South Alabama. Ole Miss comes to town this Saturday in the season defining game for Tulane.
21 Clemson Tigers The result: A 7-28 loss against Duke. Clemson started slow and never got the gears going. The offensive overhaul expected by Garret Riley didn't come, and the defense, though they played, tough, eventually broke down. Clemson didn't do themselves any favors either, as they missed 2 field goals and fumbled in the red zone twice. Costly mistakes in a tight game. The reasoning: I know plenty will drop Clemson entirely out of their polls, but I think such a dramatic drop is unwarranted. I had Duke ranked #22 heading into this season, and expected Clemson to have a tough fight on their hands. A loss was certainly a possibility. Clemson will have to clean up mistakes, notably the special teams and red zone errors, for them to begin a climb back up the ranking. Next up: A get right game against Charleston Southern, where the Tigers will hope to begin their "next 14 games".
22 Oklahoma Sooners EIGHTY????
23 Texas A&M Aggies
24 Oregon State Beavers
25 Fresno State Bulldogs The result: The Bulldogs took on Purdue in West Lafayette, winning 39-35. Fresno, coming off a MWC title, beat last years B1G West champs in their house behind a strong performance from Mikey Keene and WR Erik Brooks. They dominated TOP, 36:30 to 23:30, and picked off Purdue QB Hudson Card to ice the game late in the 4th. The reasoning: Fresno has the 3rd longest active win streak in the FBS, is coming off a ranked finish last year and just beat one half of the Big 10s title game. They're a fun team to watch, Mikey Keene is quietly one of the best QBs in the G5, and Tedford has been a phenomenal G5 coach since he started at Fresno in 2017 (break notwithstanding). Look out for them to be a quiet dark horse for the G5 bowl rep. Next up: Eastern Washington, followed by another P5 trip to Arizona State.

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