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throwaway_6786 Ballot for 2023 Week 7

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 8, 2023, 11:30 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Same as last week, it's all about the games on the field so far in 2023.

Rank Team Reason
1 Oklahoma Sooners What a thrilling win for the Sooners, who catapult over all to the #1 spot. They've faced a slew of 3-3 teams and 3-2 SMU, but that win over Texas, close as it was, is just enough to get them the top spot. Now let's see what they do with it.
2 Michigan Wolverines I wrestled with Oklahoma and Michigan for #1 for a while. Had Rutgers beaten Wisconsin, I would've put Michigan #1, but that Rutgers loss is just enough to hold the Wolverines at #2. I'm still waiting for Michigan to come up with a marquee win, which they may not have an opportunity to get for about a month still.
3 Georgia Bulldogs Finally, some indication that these Bulldogs are for real after crushing Kentucky easily. I'm still not ready to return them to the top 2 because I haven't forgotten their struggles against South Carolina and Auburn, but that was a great step in the right direction after slipping down the rankings over the last few weeks.
4 Florida State Seminoles A ho-hum win over VT, but what moves them up is the LSU win looking more impressive (and the Clemson win still looks good too). The BC win still looks pretty shaky, but BC is .500 for what that's worth. Their showdown with Duke approaches quickly.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes The ND win took a serious hit, but their win over Maryland looks pretty good (though they were struggling for about 35 minutes). It's just enough to stay in the top 5, but the Buckeyes will need some better wins (or a perfect record) to rise up much further than this. Penn State comes to Columbus in a couple weeks.
6 Washington Huskies On bye, they dropped below FSU because the LSU win looks better and they dropped below Georgia because the Kentucky win is better than anything Washington has right now. They stay above Texas only because Arizona gave USC a serious fight. They have a chance to break into the top 3 with a win over Oregon this week.
7 Texas Longhorns Honestly, I came away pretty impressed with the Longhorns even with the loss. They played very well and lost at the very end against their main rival. They also have three ranked wins (Alabama, Wyoming, and Kansas) to fall back on, so they don't fall far.
8 Oregon Ducks On bye, Oregon's schedule looks alright, but right now they're only above PSU because of how badly they crushed Colorado. It's not much of a problem for the Ducks though, because they head to Seattle, where they could score a gigantic win over the Huskies.
9 Penn State Nittany Lions On bye, the Lions still have very nice wins over 5-1 Iowa and 4-1 WVU, but struggling a little bit with Northwestern still leaves questions regarding this team. They play a gimme against UMass this week, so they're unlikely to move up even if they dominate. However, they follow that with a trip to the Horseshoe against the Buckeyes in a massive top 10 showdown.
10 North Carolina Tar Heels That was a really impressive win over 4-2 Syracuse and considering that they've dominated everyone except App State so far, I'm willing to put UNC at #10 (though it is a very shaky #10). An interesting test against the Hurricanes awaits.
11 Louisville Cardinals Louisville and ND essentially switch spots from last week. Louisville has still had their struggles this year at times, but they looked like an ACC contender taking down ND. We'll see how the Cardinals handle the increased weight of expectations.
12 USC Trojans Well, they're 6-0 and their offense is still top-notch by any and all metrics. That being said, they've looked the least impressive of the undefeated P5 teams, and the only reason they stay at #12 after that performance against Arizona is because they're still undefeated. Now the schedule ramps up with a trip to South Bend to face ND. For their sakes, the Trojan defense better come to play.
13 Oregon State Beavers We have a square of suck: Oregon State beat Utah, who beat UCLA, who beat Wazzu, who beat Oregon State. All four teams are 4-1 with no other particularly notable wins, so I decided to look at how the games between the teams went, and Oregon State's 14-point win over Utah was the clear best of the bunch. Therefore, they top the four teams in question at #13.
14 Alabama Crimson Tide The only reason why Alabama didn't rise higher is because Ole Miss didn't look too impressive in their narrow win over Arkansas and the Tide's loss to Texas looks a little worse. They do rise, however, due to a nice win over TA&M + chaos surrounding them.
15 Washington State Cougars Not a great loss, but they still played alright. They don't fall as far because they still have that win over 4-1 Wisconsin in their back pocket. The schedule doesn't get any easier though, as a home game against a plucky Arizona team is followed by a trip to Autzen to face the Ducks.
16 Utah Utes Utah does still have wins over UCLA and Florida, though the win over the Gators lost some of its luster. Also, they're dealing with QB injuries, which does have a serious effect on their offense. They rise like they do because they benefit from chaos around them.
17 Ole Miss Rebels The LSU win looks better and the Alabama loss looks better, so they move up on that, but that was too close for comfort at home against a 2-4 Arkansas team. Ole Miss is still in the hunt, but that game @Georgia looms large for their SEC hopes.
18 UCLA Bruins Not quite ready to put UCLA ahead of Utah, but that was a nice win over Wazzu. Let's see what UCLA can do now that they're back in the mix for the Pac-12 title.
19 Wyoming Cowboys The loss against Texas lost some luster, but they made that up and more by stunning a 5-1 Fresno State team and establishing themselves at the top of the MW. Time to see what this Cowboy team can do, as a trip to play 5-0 Air Force is closely followed by a matchup with a surprisingly good UNLV.
20 Duke Blue Devils The ND loss took a noticeable hit, but the Clemson win still looks good and they've looked dominant otherwise, so for now, Duke stays at #20.
21 Kansas Jayhawks That was a very impressive bounceback win for Kansas. What helps them to get back in the Top 25 is their win over 4-1 BYU, which helps greatly given that Texas lost a close one.
22 Air Force Falcons Oh hello Air Force, nice to meet you. It's the first time I can remember ranking the Falcons, who haven't played any great opponents, but have looked pretty dominant in their wins. They were on bye, but they benefitted from chaos ahead of them to move into the rankings. A massive Mountain West matchup awaits as Wyoming comes to town.
23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish The only reason they're still ranked is because they have the win over Duke. That wasn't a good showing from the Irish, and they'll need to do better to stay in the rankings because USC is coming to South Bend and they're not about to give up their undefeated record without a fight.
24 LSU Tigers Nice win for the Tigers, but I still have serious questions regarding their defense; Jayden Daniels can't do everything himself (though he certainly is trying). I'm gonna have to see something soon from this LSU defense to seriously consider moving them up any further.
25 Missouri Tigers The only reason why they're still ranked is because they kept it close and still had a good chance to win until the final minute. The K-State win took a massive hit, however, so they drop 11 spots for the loss. I considered JMU, Iowa, Tulane, WVU, Clemson, Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee, Miami, and a few others for the last few spots, but they all ended up just outside the Top 25.

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