Back to poll results >>

Due_Connection179 Ballot for 2023 Week 3

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 10, 2023, 11:22 a.m.

Overall Rationale: For the first four weeks of the season (basically the non-conference portion), I go by gut, transfers, and returning starters/coaches. Starting week 5, I strictly go by film from the current season for all of my ballots.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs Last Week #1 vs Ball State : Won 45 - 3. Georgia is still in cruise control playing against lower G5 schools. Next Week vs South Carolina (Prediction : Wins by 3+ TDs)
2 Michigan Wolverines Last Week #2 vs UNLV : Won 35 - 7. Same thing as Georgia; still in cruise control. Next Week vs Bowling Green (Prediction : Cruise Control)
3 Washington Huskies Last Week #3 vs Tulsa : Won 43 - 10. After a strong showing against Boise State, Washington cruises vs Tulsa. Penix Jr Heisman Watch stats: 859 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT (probably needs to add some rushing in there to win Heisman, but he's the best passer in college football, imo). Next Week at Michigan State (Prediction : Wouldn't be surprised with a blowout amid Mel Tucker investigation)
4 Florida State Seminoles Last Week #4 vs Southern Miss : Won 66 - 13. Cruise Control week after dismantling LSU. Next Week at Boston College (Prediction : Cruise Control)
5 Texas Longhorns Last Week #12 at #5 Alabama : Won 34 - 24. Besides a small part of the end of the 3rd/start of the 4th, Texas was in control of this entire game. Strong showing from this Texas squad one season before SEC play begins. I went back-and-forth on whether they should be top 4, and realized that we had 12 weeks of football left to decide, so I threw them in at #5. Next Week vs Wyoming (Prediction : Cruise Control)
6 USC Trojans Last Week #7 vs Stanford : Won 56 - 10. Cruise Control vs a bad Stanford team. Next Week is a Bye Week
7 Utah Utes Last Week #6 at Baylor : Won 20 - 13. I thought Utah's disappointments on offense last week were due to the good Florida defense, but I'm starting to think that Utah's offense is just bad. Next Week vs Weber State (Prediction : Cruise Control)
8 Kansas State Wildcats Last Week #9 vs Troy : Won 42 - 13. Cruise Control. Only reason they moved up is because of how concerning Ohio State's offense is currently looking vs G5 programs. Next Week at Missouri (Prediction : Wins by 17)
9 Ohio State Buckeyes Last Week #8 vs Youngstown State : Won 35 - 7. The only thing that I can give them is that they scored 28 first half pts and the first-team offense only played 1 drive (3 plays + punt) in the second half. Still, even Ohio State back ups should drop 50+ on Youngstown State. Next Week vs Western Kentucky (Prediction : Sneaky upset alert if Ohio State's offense keeps struggling, but should be cruise control at home.)
10 Penn State Nittany Lions Last Week #10 vs Delaware : Won 63 - 7. Cruise Control. Next Week at Illinois (Prediction : Illinois seems to have a sneaky good defense the last few years, but still think the Nittany Lions win by 20+)
11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Last Week #16 at NC State : Won 45 - 24. Turned it on in the 4th quarter after NC State cut it to 7 to end the 3rd. Another strong offensive showing jumps the Irish up 5 spots this week. Next Week vs Central Michigan (Prediction : Cruise Control)
12 Alabama Crimson Tide Last Week #5 vs #12 Texas : Lost 24 - 34. Like I said earlier, score is a little closer than how they played. Texas was easily the better team this game, which should be concerning for Alabama going forward. Next Week *at* USF (Prediction : Might struggle with mobile QB at first then cruise control)
13 Oregon Ducks Last Week #13 at Texas Tech : Won 38 - 30. They came into the 4th quarter down 9, then won the final quarter 20 - 3 to pull off the win. A little concerning for the Ducks, and probably would've fell a little if the teams right behind them didn't struggle as well. Next Week vs Hawai'i (Prediction : Cruise Control)
14 Colorado Buffaloes Last Week #17 vs Nebraska : Won 36 - 14. Another good showing from Coach Prime's team has them making another decent jump. I'm liking a lot of these PAC-12 schools early in their final season together. Next Week vs Colorado State (Prediction : Cruise Control)
15 North Carolina Tar Heels Last Week #14 vs Appalachian State : Won 40 - 34 in 2OT. I think I'm chalking this down to a combination of : coming off of a high beating a rival on the road + Appalachian State being sneaky good this season. Either way, something to look at moving forward. Next Week vs Minnesota (Prediction : Defensive game that UNC puts away in the 2nd half to win by 14+)
16 Tennessee Volunteers Last Week #11 vs Austin Peay : Won 30 - 13. Just like Ohio State, I'm starting to get concerned about this team's offense. Only putting up 30 pts against a team like Austin Peay is not really something a top-25 program should do. Luckily for the Vols, they play in the SEC and have 10 regular season game left. Next Week at Florida (Prediction : Florida pulls off the upset as Tennessee's offensive problems continue)
17 LSU Tigers Last Week #15 vs Grambling State : Won 72 - 10. Cruise Control. Only moved down because I'm more impressed with Colorado + Notre Dame at the moment. Next Week at #25 Mississippi State (Prediction : Shoot out. Mississippi State's defense is struggling and should be a fun, high scoring game)
18 Oklahoma Sooners Last Week #22 vs SMU : Won 28 - 11. The Sooners didn't do too many things that impressed me this week; just the teams above them either struggled against worse competition or lost last week. Next Week at Tulsa (Prediction : Cruise Control)
19 Ole Miss Rebels Last Week NR at #21 Tulane : Won 37 - 20. I was very impressed with the Rebels this week, and had Tulane winning this game by 10. Next Week vs Georgia Tech (Prediction : Rebels win by 17+)
20 Kansas Jayhawks Last Week #23 vs Illinois : Won 34 - 23. Jumped out to a 28 - 7 lead at half, then almost put it in cruise control a little too early. A good showing from this Kansas team against an underrated Illinois defense. Next Week at Nevada (Prediction : Jayhawks win by 20+)
21 Oregon State Beavers Last Week #24 vs UC Davis : Won 55 - 7. Cruise Control. Next Week vs San Diego State (Prediction : Beavers win by 14+)
22 Duke Blue Devils Last Week #25 vs Lafayette : Won 42 - 7. Cruise Control. Next Week vs Northwestern (Prediction : Cruise Control)
23 Washington State Cougars Last Week NR vs #18 Wisconsin : Won 31 - 22. A strong 1st half showing from Washington State to jump out to a 24 - 9 lead at half, then finished them off with a TD + good defense in the 4th. Next Week vs North Colorado (Prediction : Cruise Control)
24 Miami Hurricanes Last Week NR vs Texas A&M : Won 48 - 33. We rallied to outscore A&M 41 - 16 in the last 43 minutes of the game. Great showing from all phases of the team (besides the defense in the 1st quarter) and shout out to Tyler Van Dyke for tossing 374 yards + 5 TDs on a defense that I was told "would allow 0 TDs to Miami". Next Week vs Bethune Cookman (Prediction : Cruise Control)
25 Mississippi State Bulldogs Last Week #20 vs Arizona : Won 31 - 24 in OT. I was actually at this game, and the game flow was pretty crazy. State's defense either allowed a TD or forced a turnover on Arizona's first 8 drives. That "home run or strikeout" defense needs to be fixed going into their game against LSU. Next Week vs #17 LSU (Prediction : See LSU)

Back to poll results >>