Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Sept. 25, 2023, 8:49 p.m.
Overall Rationale: Wins and losses matter above all. Not that that truly applies as a decider when there's more undefeated teams than spots in the top 25. I said it last week, if Georgia and Michigan had another slow start and Washington blew yet another team out, Washington was going to #1. Well, here they are. In some ways it feels difficult to justify my choices this week, not because I put something truly egregious, but because I think arguments could be made for shifting at least the top 9 in any order and it would be valid. The whole area from ~15 and lower is an equally confusing mess of comparable teams. I still think Wyoming is the top G5 team, as I've said numerous times, as they notch yet another impressive win vs App State. Fresno State is undoubtedly the best undefeated G5 team, but there are several more teams waiting just outside the top 25. After watching that clinic in ball control, I was very confident Air Force would find their way into my rankings, but I felt like 30 teams were top-25 worthy and so had to make some tough cuts. Oregon State ALMOST fell out of my top 25, as their game vs Washington State was controlled by Wazzu, but their dominant showings in their other 3 games got them just above the cut. Notre Dame didn't drop much on account of their close loss to Ohio State, while USC dropped 5 spots in my rankings for their poor showing vs an atrocious Arizona State team. I hate to say it as an FSU fan, but Miami has been very impressive week after week, and they are slowly but surely moving up. Syracuse had somewhat of a hiccup vs Army in the first half, but that can happen vs service academies, and they pulled away in the end. 27 undefeated teams is a ton for this time of year, and soon that number will dwindle more, giving (hopefully) some more clarity. Right outside the top 25: Kansas, Kansas State, Air Force, UCLA
Teams Ranked:
Rank | Team | Unusualness |
---|---|---|
1 | Washington Huskies | 0.74 |
2 | Georgia Bulldogs | 0.00 |
3 | Michigan Wolverines | 0.00 |
4 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 0.00 |
5 | Texas Longhorns | 0.00 |
6 | Florida State Seminoles | 0.00 |
7 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 0.00 |
8 | Utah Utes | 0.00 |
9 | Oregon Ducks | 0.00 |
10 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 0.23 |
11 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 0.23 |
12 | Oklahoma Sooners | 0.00 |
13 | USC Trojans | 0.00 |
14 | Miami Hurricanes | 0.00 |
15 | LSU Tigers | 0.00 |
16 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 0.00 |
17 | Washington State Cougars | 0.00 |
18 | Wyoming Cowboys | 7.15 |
19 | Duke Blue Devils | -0.40 |
20 | Fresno State Bulldogs | 0.40 |
21 | Ole Miss Rebels | 0.00 |
22 | Tulane Green Wave | 3.05 |
23 | Missouri Tigers | 0.00 |
24 | Syracuse Orange | 0.00 |
25 | Oregon State Beavers | -0.34 |
Omissions:
Team | Unusualness |
---|---|
Kansas Jayhawks | 0.47 |
Louisville Cardinals | 0.01 |
Maryland Terrapins | 0.07 |
Total Score: 13.09