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nw____ Ballot for 2023 Week 9

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 22, 2023, 10:14 a.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Florida State Seminoles Solid win, if a little bit stressful through the first half. Their resume is hard to match--wins against LSU, Clemson, Duke. Gave them the nod over Ohio State because I trust Travis more than McCord.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes Also have a great resume with wins against ND and Penn State. People are starting to realize what folks in the Big 12 learned a few years back: Jim Knowles' halftime adjustments are darn near unbeatable. I think people are still sleeping on their defense, and the defense may be what pushes them to #1 in my poll soon.
3 Washington Huskies Weird things happen in the desert at night, I guess. Ugly showing. Only stayed above Michigan because I believe they have a better resume. They'll have to avoid more games like this to stay up here, though.
4 Michigan Wolverines Say what you will about their schedule, they haven't played in a close game all season. If I had to pick a #1 based purely on performance and ceiling rather than resume, Michigan would be a *clear* #1-- it would be 1) Michigan, 2) [empty], 3) [empty], ...
5 Georgia Bulldogs Bye.
6 Oklahoma Sooners I would love to move this team down a few spots, but it is hard since they're undefeated. That was not a #6 performance against UCF. However, I do think folks are sleeping on UCF's offense with Plumlee's return. Still, the real problem for OU in this one was the offense, especially the running game (or lack thereof) and questionable play of the offensive line. It just wasn't good enough. A win is a win, but I don't have to be impressed.
7 Texas Longhorns Survived against a Houston team that was always going to swing for the fences in this one. Wondering if Ewers will miss any significant time... but also sort of think Texas' ceiling might be higher with Murphy at QB, tbh. Ewers is very, very good and has played well, though, so the floor is likely quite a bit lower without him, too.
8 Oregon Ducks I thought Wazzu would put up a good fight, and they sort of did. Oregon was just too much, though. Impressive win.
9 Penn State Nittany Lions Tough, close loss. Again, the rest of the country is starting to realize the power of the Jim Knowles' halftime adjustment. I was reasonably impressed with the defense, even in a losing effort, and James Franklin said Penn State might still be one of the best two teams in the country. On a more serious note, though, I wonder if losing Chop Robinson winds up being the difference in another game later this season. He is a true difference maker and game changer.
10 Alabama Crimson Tide Kind of a whirlwind game-- a tail of two halves. Left with no doubt that Alabama was the better team, though. Somehow, they just keep winning. It is really something that they've kind of been written off and disregarded. They're 7-1. Watch out, folks. I don't want to see it, but it might just happen.
11 Oregon State Beavers Bye
12 Utah Utes I love the Utah Utes. They're like what Iowa would be if Iowa had an above average high school quarterback on their roster and let AskMadden call plays instead of Brian Ferentz. Even with all of the serious injuries to key players, they keep winning. This is one tough team.
13 Ole Miss Rebels I never thought Ole Miss would do so well this season. With their questionable history playing at Auburn, I thought they might slip up here. Instead, they found an unexpected way to win. Not quite sure what to make of this team, really, but their record is undeniable.
14 LSU Tigers It was hard to put a two-loss team this high, but I think the H2H win against Mizzou matters--and that they'll always have a shot with Daniels and Nabers. It's a shame they had to dismantle our men in uniform like they did, though. Yeesh.
15 Missouri Tigers One of the most surprising teams of the year. Handled business against South Carolina.
16 James Madison Dukes Very impressive defensive performance against Marshall. That was a wild game for about three quarters.
17 Air Force Falcons Even with injuries, they got by Navy pretty comfortably.
18 Louisville Cardinals Bye
19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Bye
20 North Carolina Tar Heels By... Wait, what?? Virginia? Really? No idea what to say about this one-- I didn't watch and didn't even realize Virginia was in the game until it was over and they'd already won. College football is something.
21 Tulane Green Wave I thought UNT would be a tougher test than some realized, but in the end Tulane still managed a pretty convincing win. Feels like they're quietly putting together another incredible season. They're only loss is to a better-than-expected Ole Miss team. Look out.
22 Duke Blue Devils Tough loss but I still think this is a really, really good football team. They'll be even more dangerous with a healthy Leonard (assuming his ankle isn't a lot worse after last night's reinjury, which seems to be the case). I'm kind of giving them the benefit of the doubt here-- I am willing to let the rankings work themselves out as the season progresses.
23 Toledo Rockets Frankly, I'm not actually convinced that this team is very good, but at some point the record speaks for itself. I thought they'd lose to Miami-OH and they didn't. I might just be wrong about the Rockets, who honestly are only a play or two against Illinois away from being undefeated (but also a play or two away from losing against San Jose State, Northern Illinois, and Miami-OH). I've put them here because I think they've earned it, regardless of my impression of them. If they don't deserve it, the ranking will work itself out.
24 Wyoming Cowboys Bye, and I am willing to keep banging the drum about them being very good. If I'm wrong, I'll let the ranking work itself out as I often do (mostly because I am, as it turns out, often wrong).
25 Oklahoma State Cowboys I kind of wanted to rank K-State, but I couldn't really do that given how Oklahoma State has been playing. This is one of the most confusing seasons of Oklahoma State football that I can remember. Just when everyone (including myself) had not just written them off, but started to wonder if Mike Gundy still had it, they somehow seem to have turned it around and are right in line for a top 2-3 finish in the Big 12. I can't stand the guy, but it is hard for me to imagine there are 10 better coaches in college football than Mike Gundy. If the Cowboys continue on their current trajectory, this may wind up being the most impressive season of his career. People wanted Mike Gundy to adapt. They said he wasn't using the transfer portal enough. They said he needed to embrace NIL. What if, as he's so often done before, Mike Gundy proves us wrong? The man is college football's most successful chameleon--he has adapted and changed to the times over and over and over again, and won while doing it. As an OU fan, it is really hard to give OSU credit for anything. They're not giving me a choice right now, though.

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