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jthomas694 Ballot for 2023 Week 7

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 8, 2023, 7:58 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Rankings should primarily be reflective of resume, what the team has accomplished on the field, and secondarily be a power ranking of what to expect from the future. This week is particularly difficult as there are a lot of teams that to me are very close in terms of resume

Rank Team Reason
1 Oklahoma Sooners Huge win over Texas and the last few weeks have shown they are legit. Number one overall SOR and third in game control per FPI. I think there's a strong argument for a few teams in this spot, but a strong win over Texas puts them here for now.
2 Michigan Wolverines Michigan is thoroughly dismantling everyone up front and is controlling games from start to finish. That said, they have the 13th strength of record and won't be tested until November and while I think they are better than some of the other teams around them, there starts to be a point where they can't stay this high until they prove it against one of the teams that are in the ballpark of CFP contention
3 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia finally did what their fans were waiting on and fully dismantled an SEC opponent, and they did it at home at night against a ranked Kentucky. It hasn't been consistent enough to move higher at this point, but this week was a showing that shows they still should be considered for the top spot
4 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State is one of the best defensive teams in the country. McCord is better than he's getting credit for and it's not entirely fair to criticize Ohio State for how they played a good Maryland team, but they are 61st nationally in yards per carry. They can't run the ball on good teams, and quite frankly McCord doesn't seem like the QB you want to rely on to win games for you
5 Washington Huskies I think Oregon and Washington are very similar and I'm not sure who should be in which spot at this point. Good thing they play next week
6 Oregon Ducks I think Oregon and Washington are very similar and I'm not sure who should be in which spot at this point. Good thing they play next week
7 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State is elite defensively, but similarly to Ohio State, they can't run the ball. They're 72nd in yards per carry
8 Florida State Seminoles LSU and Clemson's other games have not helped the resume, and them getting outgained against BC and Clemson by over 100 yards in each keeps them at the bottom of the top 8
9 Texas Longhorns Texas is one of the best teams in the country and despite the loss have a stronger resume than the teams behind them. Oklahoma just happens to also be a top team
10 USC Trojans This defense is going to cost them a chance to compete for a national championship
11 North Carolina Tar Heels They are starting to look like a legit team and now are adding a top WR in Walker. I don't know what the ceiling is but they're winning P5 games solidly
12 Louisville Cardinals They're 6-0 with 5 P5 wins and beat Notre Dame solidly. They're not too far off from being 3-3 either, and I still don't buy them as ACC contenders
13 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama put themselves in the drivers seat for the SEC West this past week
14 Washington State Cougars I had to go with my gut on the order for the one loss PAC12 teams, Duke, Ole Miss and Tennessee. These spots are fairly interchangeable
15 Duke Blue Devils Hope Riley Leonard is healthy quickly
16 Oregon State Beavers Balanced good team
17 Utah Utes Is better than this spot with a healthy Rising, is lower if he doesn't get back soon
18 Ole Miss Rebels At some point I have to buy them, but I don't think they're as good as their strength of record
19 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee is a great run team and has an elite pass rush. Is the Florida game an outlier? Can Joe Milton and the receiving corps do enough against their upcoming stretch?
20 UCLA Bruins Good team that beat a good WSU team
21 Kentucky Wildcats The next two spots had four teams under consideration - Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and West Virginia. There's a few other one loss P5 teams behind this Miami (FL) is probably a team that should be but you can't rank a team that lost a game that they would have won if they used the victory formation
22 Iowa Hawkeyes I think the resumes are similar so I picked the two who I would expect to win if they played - Kentucky and Iowa
23 James Madison Dukes Undefeated, strong strength of record. It feels criminal that they are postseason ineligible
24 Air Force Falcons They are ranked because I think at this point, all undefeated teams should be
25 Liberty Flames They are below Air Force because they do not play a P5 team all year long (neither does AF) and the MWC is stronger than the CUSA

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