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Tornadohunter24 Ballot for 2023 Week 2

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 6, 2023, 6:31 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Intro: College football is back baby! And what a Week 0/Week 1 it was. We had some great games, some incredible "upsets" (though again it's Week 1), and a lot of boring FBS vs FCS or P5 vs low-end G5 stomps. Though, they didn't all end in the favor of the higher-division/conference team (thanks, Purdue and Boston College!). I’m very much in favor of poll fluidity, and that will be reflected in these rankings, at least until we have more than a few games and some preseason expectations to go off of. Let’s talk football! Teams Dropping Out: Anyway, let's start with the teams that dropped out from last week, all of which lost their games. #7 LSU and last season’s SEC West Champion goes unranked after getting taken behind the woodworks by a very good FSU team Sunday night. They’ll have the chance to rebound against FCS Grambling State next week. #16 TCU and last season’s runners-up also drops out after losing a nailbiter to a surprisingly good Colorado team and Coach Prime, though they’ve got FCS Nicholls to return to form with. We might see both of these teams back soon if they can get back to winning ways. One team whose path back into this poll may be tough is last week’s #20 Texas Tech, a team I had as a dark horse for the Big XII title. While their game against Wyoming was a classic, their loss in 2OT knocks them out of the poll and has very much dampened my expectations for them this year. A tough test for them next week is coming to Lubbock next week - #14 Oregon (ranking from last week). Another team dropping out is #22 Boise State, who ran into a buzzsaw known as the #10 Washington Huskies, losing 56-19. And finally, in perhaps the biggest shock of the weekend, perennial ACC power #6 Clemson looked hopeless in their 28-7 defeat at the hands of Duke. Multiple field goal attempts blocked, several fumbles within the red zone, and a totally uninspired offense leads me to dropping them completely out of the rankings. FCS Charleston Southern provides an opportunity for Dabo to right the ship in Week 2, with their clash vs #8 FSU in Week 4 looming dangerously. Honorable Mentions: Before hopping into this week’s top 25 list, I wanted to give a shoutout to a few teams who I didn’t rank but feel like they could easily knock someone off if they have a strong performance in Week 2. Louisville - their comeback victory against Georgia Tech in Atlanta was impressive, and their regular-season schedule in the ACC avoids Clemson, FSU, and UNC. Though their slate is not exactly easy (with Notre Dame, Pitt, and Duke in back-to-back-to-back weeks), it’s much more manageable than other possible contenders. Their game next week is against FCS Murray State. Texas A&M - After a disastrous 5-7 campaign last season, Jimbo Fisher has apparently managed to revitalize the Aggie faithful and their team, with new OC Bobby Petrino working wonders so far (albeit against FBS bottom-feeder New Mexico). Their game against Miami (who won the Confusion Bowl against Miami (OH) 38-3 in Week 1) in Week 2 will be quite telling for the trajectory of both programs this season. Washington State - While they haven’t received nearly the attention in the media as compared to the 5 possible contenders (and UCLA, whose favorable schedule encourages a strong record and perhaps a top 25 finish) in the PAC-12, their impressive beatdown of Colorado State shows the potential of this team to play spoiler to more than one CFP hopeful’s dreams. They play at home against #24 Wisconsin in Week 2 in what looks to be a thrilling game. Maryland - Returning QB Taulia Tagovailoa and the rest of the Maryland Terrapins are 1-0 after dismantling FCS Towson, and while they have to run into the Big 3 of the B1G East division in Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State, this team has enough talent to play spoiler to any of them, especially with their otherwise-lackluster schedule. They play Charlotte this weekend. Oklahoma State - On paper, this team has one of the easiest schedules in the Big XII this year, and have one of the most capable and longest-lasting coaches in all of FBS at the helm in Mike Gundy. Their 27-13 win over FCS Central Arkansas did not inspire any confidence in their performance, however, and trap games against Arizona State and South Alabama come back-to-back in Weeks 2 and 3. This Week’s Top 25: With that all out of the way, we can now move on to the top 25 I decided upon this week! Obviously, since this is only after 1 or 2 games have been played, there’s a significant amount of variance in placement and weight given to each. Some teams will be buoyed by my results last week despite not playing meaningful opposition, while other teams may be unfavorably boosted because I got pre-season rankings wrong. Regardless, I can go further into depth onto why I placed each team where I did, and I’ll do my best to keep this short (though I’ve clearly failed already). We’ll be going from #25 to #1. With that all squared away, let’s discuss! #25 - Colorado Buffaloes (NEW) Welp, I look quite silly for doubting them (at least for now). Between QB Shadeur Sanders looking like a million bucks against a paltry TCU defense and Travis Hunter putting in a masterclass against both sides of the ball, I’ve gone ahead and moved Colorado into the top 25. For now, Coach Prime’s off-the-wall strategy of cleaning house and recruiting heavily out of the transfer portal appears to be working. They host rival Nebraska Week 2 in what’s sure to be a chippy, emotional, and hard-fought game. #24 - Wisconsin Badgers (-) My pick to come out of the yearly scrappy knife fight in the B1G West division, Wisconsin took care of business in a 38-17 victory against MAC’s Buffalo. Questions still remain over how quickly new HC Luke Fickell can get the ball rolling, and there were aspects about the team that leave questions about their chances to make it to Indianapolis and beyond. In Week 2, they travel out west to Pullman to play what could be a critical game against Washington State in non-conference play, as the Badgers look to smooth out the rough edges shown in last week’s win. #23 - Troy Trojans (-) A dark horse for the coveted NY6 Group of Five spot, Troy did pick up a 48-30 win against FCS Stephen F. Austin, though it wasn’t at all convincing. Part of me actually wanted to drop Troy out of the top 25 for it, but considering their main rival in the West division (South Alabama) were less than stellar against Tulane last week, Troy should still see themselves as favorites to win the conference, even with a brutal 3-week slog of #14 Kansas State, East co-champ JMU, and perennial CUSA power WKU for the next 3 weekends. Survive that and do their best not get tripped up by South Alabama or another Sun Belt team, and these Trojans could be playing on New Year’s. #22 - Iowa Hawkeyes (-1) As always, B1G West stalwart Iowa proved that they’re still a formidable team to go up against, with a stout defense that held a meh Utah State to just 14 points in their opener. Problem is, Brain Ferentz is still leading the offense, and the Hawkeyes couldn’t even manage to start ahead of the 25-points-per-game requirement in his contract, winning 24-14. It’s clear there is still an allergy to offense in Iowa City, and their rivalry game against Iowa State looks to be another weird one, in true El Assico fashion. Kirk Ferentz has to help turn things around quickly, with #3 Penn State waiting in the wings for Week 4. #21 - Oklahoma Sooners (NEW) After a 6-7 campaign in 2022, HC Brent Vernables had a lot of questions to answer in the off-season, especially after several crushing defeats in Big XII play (including 49-0 in the RRS). A 73-0 shellacking of Butch Jones’s Arkansas State of the Sun Belt has done wonders to answer at least some of them. So far, this year’s team is looking much better than last year’s team ever did, though this weekend’s game against new ACC team SMU (gosh that’s weird to type) should provide a good test for this year’s Sooners. Can Oklahoma run the Big XII table one last time? #20 - Ole Miss Rebels (NEW) I’m still not fully sold on this year’s Rebels, especially with how badly they collapsed after a strong start last year. However, it’s clear that with Lane Kiffin at the helm, Ole Miss remains as potent as ever on offense, as they brutalized FCS Mercer 73-7 to kick off the season, jumping into the top 25 by doing so. In one of the few ranked matchups this upcoming week, Ole Miss travels to Louisiana to take on last season’s Cotton Bowl Champs: #15 Tulane. The weeks after that include a game at home against a Georgia Tech team that doesn’t look terrible, a possible rude awakening in Tuscaloosa against the Crimson Tide, and a bout against a talented but reeling LSU. Did I also mention they play against A&M, in Athens vs Georgia, and at hated rival Mississippi State in the final 4 weeks of the season? Good luck, Ole Miss. #19 - Duke Blue Devils (NEW) Apparently not satisfied with their recent basketball performances after the retirement of legendary Coach K, the Blue Devils have decided that they want to be a football school too. Coming off of a 9-win season, Coach Elko and his team played host to Clemson this past Monday, and oh boy! What a game that was. An impressive performance by the defense and special teams combined with a complete Clemson offensive collapse has the traditional basketball power flying high, with their first win against an at-the-time AP top 10 team since 1989 (ironically also Clemson) and their first win against an AP top 10 team since 2014. They have a slight breather next week against Lafayette before a tough conference slate featuring FSU, UNC, Pitt, and NC State, and a non-conference game against Notre Dame heads their way. Coach Elko cannot afford to rest upon his laurels in Durham. #18 - North Carolina Tar Heels (NEW) After a 9-1 start resulted in a 9-5 finish, Coach Mack Brown had a lot of work to do in order to work out a lot of the problems that cropped up in UNC’s late-season slide out of the top 25. A dominant performance, where UNC pulled off 9 sacks against South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler is a great sign of progress, especially on pass rushing, where the Tar Heels struggled mightily last year. Drake Maye continues looking like he’s on a collision course for a first-round pick, and a lot of pieces have apparently come together over the off-season to make a conference contender out of last year’s pretender. A decently challenging out-of-conference slate of App State and Minnesota await Chapel Hill, even with a slightly weaker in-conference schedule (avoiding FSU). Can Coach Mack Brown keep the Tar Heels rolling, or will the wheels come off for the second year in a row? #17 - Fresno State Bulldogs (+8) Could this year be the year that the Bulldogs not only win the conference, but also snag an invite to a NY6 Bowl? Though the scoreline was close, Fresno State managing to make the trip to Purdue and leaving with the win over last season’s B1G West champions is a significant step in that direction. I’m very much bullish on the Bulldogs, as their main competition for the title in Boise State (who they host this year) was beaten handily by a talented Washington team, and will need time to bounce back. Arizona State in the non-conference game slate is also a winnable proposition, and other teams like San Diego State and Wyoming need to prove their consistency before being taken seriously as MWC title threats. Look for Fresno State to continue proving themselves, especially against FCS Eastern Washington in Week 2. #16 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+3) Another week, another victory for Notre Dame against lesser competition. After crowning themselves national champions of Ireland with a 42-3 domination over Navy, Notre Dame proved themselves far and above anything that FCS and HBCU Tennessee State could’ve mustered in a 56-3 win. Perhaps it’s best that the Irish score as much as they can for now; the rest of their schedule is quite daunting. A trap game away at NC State in Week 2, massive games in South Bend against the Ohio State Buckeyes and the USC Trojans, and a formidable ACC slate of games home (Pitt, Wake Forest) and away (Duke, Louisville, Clemson) should all each prove to be tough opposition for Sam Hartman and the rest of the Fighting Irish to prove themselves against. Can Coach Freeman guide his team back to the CFP? #15 - Tulane Green Wave (+3) Desperate to prove that last year’s 12-win season was not just a flash in the pan, New Orleans’s university returned a lot of their best players and proved it with a 37-17 comfortable win against a South Alabama that finished last year 10-3. Impressive as that is, if Tulane can’t go out and bring the fight to a rejuvenated Ole Miss team coming down south to the mouth of the Mississippi, we could see their hopes and dreams for a return to New Year’s go up in smoke. Coach Fritz needs to prepare his team for a dynamic Kiffin-led offense in one of the best games that Week 2 may have to offer this season. #14 - Kansas State Wildcats (-1) After a bit of a disappointing end to a thrilling season for last year’s Big XII champions, Kansas State brings back a significant portion of their production from last year and have purportedly made upgrades in key positions. While a 45-0 shutout of FCS Southeast Missouri State was nice, there’s still a few questions that linger over this year’s roster as they prepare to welcome #23 Troy to Manhattan this weekend. Time for Coach Klieman to prove that he can learn from last year’s mishaps and close it out against a top-tier G5 opponent and not get lured into a trap by focusing too much on their matchup against Missouri on the 16th. #13 - Texas Longhorns (-2) On a very hot and very sunny day in Austin, the Longhorns handled longtime opponents, Rice University’s Owls, without too much trouble. Despite the 37-10 scoreline, there were and are still concerns about the effectiveness of Texas’s offense and the chemistry between Ewers and his WRs/TEs, as well as some lingering issues with the defense. With this weekend’s trip to Tuscaloosa and College Gameday coming to turn, a combination even the greatest of teams would find daunting, can Quinn Ewers and Coach Sark Sarkesian find a way to break themselves free of the slump Texas has found itself in since the injury of QB Colt McCoy in the 2009 BCS Title game? #12 - Utah Utes (+3) After a fantastic but unfortunate opener for the Utes last year in the Florida Swamp, last Thursday provided the perfect opportunity for them to gain revenge on that same school at home in their lil ah’ stadium. Even without star QB Cam Rising, Utah dispatched a disjointed and seemingly-unprepared Florida squad with ease, winning 24-11 in front of a passionate home crowd. This weekend, they make the trip down to Waco, Texas against a Baylor squad reeling from a stunning defeat against FBS bottom-feeder Texas State. Can Utah keep momentum rolling before heading into the gauntlet that is PAC-12 play this year? And can Utah leave the PAC-12 as back-to-back-to-back champions? #11 - USC Trojans (-2) If you haven’t heard, the PAC-12 is both stacked with talent at QB and with respect to the number of quality teams it has to offer in its last year (in its current iteration, at least). SoCal’s blue blood, with Heisman Trophy-winning Caleb Williams can count itself among the number in both categories. Dominant victories over MWC opponents San Jose State (56-28) and Nevada (66-14) prove that the offense that catapulted USC back into the national title picture last year are still around, but worries over the defense hang in the air around Lincoln Riley’s squad like whatever blackmail Alex Grinch has over the brisket-maker to keep himself employed. Is there enough firepower in USC’s arsenal to punch through their brutal conference schedule, starting next week vs Stanford? That’s the question that they failed to answer last year. #10 - Tennessee Volunteers (+7) I’m going to be honest - I didn’t know exactly where to put the Vols to start this year off. An impressive 11-win season and a victory in the Orange Bowl over 2022 ACC Champion Clemson brought with it a pretty decent overhaul in the players wearing Tennessee Orange this year, and concerns over Joe Milton and his Bazooka arm admittedly clouded my judgment. Even though it was just ACC’s basement dweller in Virginia, Tennessee’s 49-13 victory has proven to me that they’re a legit team once again, to the horror of every SEC fan on Twitter. They play FCS Austin Peay this weekend and will likely be looking ahead towards next week’s game against divisional rival Florida, who always seem to play the Vols close regardless of season record. Coach Heupel is clearly rolling in Knoxville, but they have to be better if they want to go a step further than last year by knocking off both resident dynasties - Saban’s Alabama and Smart’s Georgia. #9 - Oregon Ducks (+5) I’m not sure if I’m legally allowed to rank this team after their 81-7 slaughter of Portland State they performed last weekend (and consequently on their poor pushup-making mascot). Yet another PAC-12 team returning a lot of talent steered by a Heisman candidate in the backfield (Bo Nix, who’s focused, having fun, and is a dark horse-), Oregon was left a bit adrift by their loss in the Civil War against Oregon State last year, though they rebounded well to take down UNC in the Holiday Bowl. This year, they’ve made it clear that it’s the PAC-12 Championship Game or bust before heading off to the B1G alongside Washington, USC, and UCLA. They travel to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech this weekend in a game that looked a lot more scary prior to last week, but could still stop national title ambitions in the cradle if they’re not careful. #8 - Oregon State Beavers (+4) If Oregon State had a reliable quarterback last year, there’s a great chance Coach Smith would’ve led his team not only to the PAC-12 title game but perhaps a berth in the 4-team CFP as well. This year, they’ve got former Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei, who was an absolute stud in their win at San Jose State this past weekend. A 42-17 scoreline was more dominant than the numbers would suggest, and a weak non-con slate and favorable home conference schedule should mean that Oregon State is favored for another strong year, if not a realistic shot at a CFP slot. Talent and depth across the board should mean that the Beavers are a threat on every aspect of the game, and will prove to be a Herculean challenge for any prospective PAC-12 team on their own paths to the title. #7 - Ohio State Buckeyes (-4) Yes, I’m aware that Ohio State won by 3 touchdowns against a conference opponent. Yes, I’m aware that this is Week 1, and Ohio State’s first real test is against Notre Dame in Week 4. Yes, I’m aware that the WR room is still the best in college football. No, I don’t regret knocking the Buckeyes out of the top 5 for that lackluster 23-3 win against Indiana, especially with how shaky their offense looked. If Ohio State wants to stop Michigan and Penn State, fight their way back into the 4-team CFP one last time, and reassert themselves as the best team in the B1G prior to the new arrivals, they have to be better than what they showed last weekend. Day still needs to solve the QB question, though thankfully a cupcake against FCS Youngstown State provides the perfect opportunity to do so. The clock is ticking for Day to get it all sorted before they find themselves spoilermakered. #6 - Alabama Crimson Tide (-1) This past weekend, Alabama proceeded to demonstrate that despite recent weaknesses, the Saban Empire will continue marching onwards towards a date with destiny - or at least, a date with Texas this weekend. A 56-7 scoreline was more illustrative of QB Jalen Milroe’s talent as a dual-threat than any particular aspect of offensive innovation, with Saban seemingly rolling back the years to early 10s murderball Bama. Despite preseason concerns and turmoil with coordinators and the QB room, it seems that the Crimson Tide have found their answer this season to all of those lingering doubts… if they can manage to continue suffocating teams like they’re all Middle Tennessee. Regardless, if a Saban-led team is looking dangerous, the rest of CFB better watch closely and prepare themselves to engage the oft-dreaded Tuscaloosa Death Star once again. #5 - Michigan Wolverines (-3) Cringy tribute to their normal head coach Jim Harbaugh aside (who, just to clarify, is serving a 3-game self-imposed ban, but I digress), Michigan had one job last weekend; go out and shut down last year’s 8-5 ECU to show their continued excellence and make sure everything is still running smoothly in the Big House. A 30-3 victory (that probably should’ve been 30-10, but alas) over the Pirates did so, even if it was somewhat uninspired. Michigan’s out-of-conference slate is also lackluster, with the MWC’s UNLV Rebels this weekend and MAC’s Bowling Green Falcons the next. Partnered with snagging a rebuilding Nebraska, a tepid Purdue, and a seemingly-permanent okay Minnesota out of the B1G West, it’s clear that the Wolverines need to go out and knock off Penn State, avoid falling into a trap game against Maryland (both of which are away games for Michigan), and then knock off the Buckeyes for the third year in a row at the Big House. Anything less will be considered a failure. #4 - Georgia Bulldogs (-3) … I promise that this isn’t my Georgia Tech bias coming through (well, maybe a little). Yes, it’s absolutely asinine to take the 2-time defending national champions out of the top spot. But, it’s important to note that a large portion of those teams are now in the NFL (namely on the Philadelphia Eagles because why not), and there’s a lot of uncertainty on the offensive side of the ball, as proven by how shaky Georgia looked in their Week 1 game (well, as shaky as one can look in a 48-7 win against FCS UT-Martin). It doesn’t help that since the SEC forced the cancellation of the Oklahoma series, the Bulldogs don’t face a particularly challenging schedule, especially with the only decent team out of the East appearing to be Tennessee this season. Georgia hosts MAC’s Ball State this weekend in what should be another victory on the path towards conference play, and presumably on towards the SEC title game if all goes to plan. They may be shaky now but by the time we get to their most challenging stretch of the schedule (Ole Miss, @Tennessee, @Georgia Tech), Coach Kirby Smart will likely have the Bulldogs rolling. #3 - Penn State Nittany Lions (+1) This past weekend, Game 1 of the Drew Allar era in State College was played. The question on everyone’s minds (aside from the fans of both teams, who were probably delighting in the opportunity to discuss in the dietary preferences of mutual rival Pitt and their fans) was if he could actually step up into the gap left by long-time QB Sean Clifford and help push Penn State finally into national title contention. If the 38-15 victory over West Virginia and standout performance from the man in the pocket was any indication, then the answer was a resounding “YES.” Coach Franklin appears to have the team firing on all cylinders, and even if he didn’t, this weekend’s game against FCS Delaware is more than suitable as an opportunity to do so. While it’s extremely difficult to discount either Ohio State or Michigan, and a tougher West opponent in Iowa is certainly noteworthy (though the Buckeyes have Wisconsin), Penn State’s performance puts them as the tentative favorite so far for making it to Indianapolis. #2 - Washington Huskies (+8) If you want to talk about impressive opening weekend wins, look no further than the Pacific Northwest’s Huskies, who absolutely manhandled a Boise State team expected to once again challenge for the Mountain West crown. Michael Penix Jr. (yet another Heisman candidate from a PAC-12 team, tell me if you’ve heard this one before…) was sensational once again, continuing last season’s form, and the team as a whole looks more complete and with greater depth compared to last year’s 11-win team. While their in-conference slate is anything but forgiving (yet another trip to the Arizona desert, home of where Pacific Northwest title ambitions go to die; the rivalry game against Oregon the week after; away at USC to kick off the start of November, before welcoming Utah to Seattle the week after; having to travel to Corvallis to face off against a dangerous Oregon State, before finally having to host their in-state rival at home to end the season, and that’s not even mentioning the PAC-12 title game if they qualify the week after. This isn’t even mentioning a trip to East Lansing against a rebounding Michigan State team in Week 3 after their game at home vs Tulsa in Week 2. Suffice to say, the schedule is wicked tough, but if the Huskies can escape undefeated or with only a single loss, expect to see the Huskies return to the CFP for the first time since 2016. #1 - Florida State Seminoles (+7) Sunday Night. Primetime TV on ABC. Two top 10 teams in FSU and LSU squaring off after resurgent 2022 seasons that saw an early-season nailbiter end 24-23 last year. The stage was set for a fantastic back-and-forth game between an FSU looking to reclaim the ACC throne under rebuilding mastermind Mike Norvell and an LSU looking to maintain their impressive growth under second-year coach Brian Kelly. And then, the Seminoles proceeded to absolutely crush the Tigers from the Bayou 45-24 after trailing 14-17 at half. Though obviously this game’s impact on the season is dependent on how good both teams actually are at the end, the eye test was incredibly favorable towards FSU, and I personally consider them the best team in the country at this very moment. If you’re looking to watch a game featuring the best college football team this season, the best argument so far is watching FSU come out after halftime and absolutely shut down a team returning a lot from their SEC West division triumph last year. This weekend, they take on Sun Belt power Southern Miss, which should allow them to spot any kinks in the armor before they start the march through ACC in-conference play. Games like @Clemson, home vs Duke, away at Wake and Pitt, and of course their rivalry games against Miami (home) and Florida (away) will all be crucial to the Seminoles in case they want to continue their reign atop the clearly important Tornadohunter24 CFB Poll. Hopefully that covered mostly everything. This was a lot of fun, though I probably shouldn’t have spent this much time typing this all out. Looking forward to continuing this exercise in obsessing over college football next week!

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