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hurricaneatx Ballot for 2023 Week 7

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 8, 2023, 10:39 a.m.

Overall Rationale: "Once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern." Like most human rankings, this is a blend of both a power ranking (reasoning whether higher ranked teams would beat lower ranked teams a majority of the time on a neutral field) and resume ranking (reasoning whether higher ranked teams have proven themselves against competition). The most recent head-to-head results are important, but lose influence the further removed they are from the present. Results against common competition are a useful gauge, but are often not reliable tools to gauge the gap between teams. I don't put much importance in the specific ranking of a team, so teams of similar strengths can be bit "liquid" and move around the poll a bit. Admittedly, I am quite busy, so I don't watch many individual games. I am a Texas Longhorns fan, which could influence my perception. I think analytics like ESPN's FPI efficiencies and strength of record can be useful aids to identify fringe teams whose records don't jump of the page, but have demonstrated success and deserve a shout in a top 25 poll. [Teams in the ranking suburbs (no particular order): Air Force, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Miami FL, Maryland] (Teams in the ranking exurbs (no particular order): JMU, Tennessee, Memphis, Tulane, Syracuse, West Virginia, Kansas, Rutgers, Iowa, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Toledo, Miami OH, Ohio)

Rank Team Reason
1 Michigan Wolverines (6-0) A great convincing blowout on the road against Minnesota. Given their consistent blowout performances each week, I think Michigan deserves the #1 ranking, though we must wait until November to more accurately gauge the Wolverines against significantly more stout competition.
2 Washington Huskies (5-0)
3 Georgia Bulldogs (6-0)
4 Oklahoma Sooners (6-0) Oklahoma won a tough matchup against Texas on the backs of an aggressive defense and strength at the line in what may be the strongest win of the season in FBS so far. Oklahoma are a legitimate contender and deserve a high spot in the top 10.
5 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)
6 Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0)
7 Florida State Seminoles (5-0)
8 Oregon Ducks (5-0)
9 Texas Longhorns (5-1)
10 Alabama Crimson Tide (5-1)
11 USC Trojans (6-0) After multiple performances of highly questionable, near losses against mid-tier competition, I don't think I can really justify USC being in the top 10.
12 North Carolina Tar Heels (5-0)
13 Duke Blue Devils (4-1)
14 Ole Miss Rebels (5-1)
15 Louisville Cardinals (6-0) After a double-digit victory against Notre Dame, I'm not too sure where to put undefeated Louisville, but I think #15 sounds about right.
16 Oregon State Beavers (5-1)
17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2) With close consecutive to-the-whistle games against Duke and Ohio State, I'm not penalizing Notre Dame too much for losing to a good undefeated Louisville team on the road.
18 Utah Utes (4-1)
19 UCLA Bruins (4-1)
20 Clemson Tigers (4-2) Lots of movement in the 20-30 range thanks to losses from the bottom of the top 25. I think Clemson got punished early for losing to what turns out to be a good Duke team, but they've displayed strong performances. I think the starting loss to Duke is the only reason why LSU's gotten so much attention being the top 25 while Clemson has been left out.
21 LSU Tigers (4-2)
22 Iowa Hawkeyes (5-1) Sickos offense mixed with an absolute bruiser of the a defense: despite a pretty terrible viewing experience for the casual, Iowa has been taking care of business outside of a bad loss to a top-10 Penn State team.
23 Kansas Jayhawks (5-1)
24 Wyoming Cowboys (5-1) A fantastic win against Fresno State propels Wyoming into the top 25.
25 Washington State Cougars (4-1) Wazzou rounds out the top 25 following a one-score loss to a decent UCLA team that I've now ranked within the top 20.

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