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big_thunder_man Ballot for 2023 Week 9

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Oct. 23, 2023, 6:15 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Perceived SOS, margin of victory, perceived dominance, head to head above all.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs 7-0. Bye. Champs are #1 until defeated.
2 Florida State Seminoles 7-0. Beat a very good 5-1 Duke team 38-20. Has a marquee win over LSU as well. Probably the best resume of the season?
3 Michigan Wolverines 8-0, Beat a 2-5 Michigan State. Issue: no marquee win. Offense was slow earlier in the season, but seems to have hit a rhythm.
4 Washington Huskies 7-0. Beat a struggling 1-6 Arizona State. Looked terrible while doing it. Oregon remains the marquee win, the OOC slate are all losing teams (although Mich State is P5).
5 Ohio State Buckeyes 7-0. Beat Penn State in a very close, 20-12 game. Marquee win after a weak schedule.
6 Oklahoma Sooners 7-0. Hung on to comeback against UCF. Win versus Texas remains their highlight.
7 Texas Longhorns 6-1, beat a 3-4 Houston in a gritty slugfest. Win vs Alabama remains their marque win.
8 Alabama Crimson Tide 7-1, beat Tennessee after being down by 13. Marquee win, along with beating Ole Miss.
9 Oregon State Beavers 6-1, BYE. Best wins are Utah and UCLA, with a 3pt loss to Washington State.
10 North Carolina Tar Heels 6-1. LOST to a hapless Virginia. Still has wins over South Carolina, Minnesota, and Miami. Really inexplicable.
11 Utah Utes 6-1. Beat USC 6-1. Their record now includes wins over 3 ranked teams, and OOC wins over Florida and Baylor.
12 Oregon Ducks 6-1. Beat an underwhelming Washington State (4-3) by two touchdowns. Game didn't feel as close as the score indicated. Problem: they've played one very good team (Washington). They did not win. Two middling teams (Colorado and Texas Tech) took them to the wire.
13 Penn State Nittany Lions 6-1. Lost to a 7-0 Ohio State. Game was close, but it never felt like they were threatening.
14 Missouri Tigers 7-1, Stomped South Carolina. Would be perfect without the close loss to LSU.
15 Ole Miss Rebels 6-1. Beat a hapless Auburn. Was tied at half. Looked better than the score indicated.
16 Duke Blue Devils 5-2. Lost to Florida State in a game that Florida State didn't pull away from until late. Other loss is to a very good Notre Dame.
17 Louisville Cardinals 6-1, BYE. Lost to Pitt (2-4), but beat Notre Dame.
18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-2. BYE. Losses to Louisville and Ohio State, W over USC. Not consistently elit.
19 LSU Tigers 6-2. Absolutely stomped Army. Lost to Florida St and Ole Miss, but beat a rolling Missouri. Game vs Alabama will determine alot.
20 USC Trojans 6-2. Lost to Utah, following their loss to Notre Dame. End of the season gets tougher; Washington, Oregon, and UCLA loom.
21 Tennessee Volunteers 5-2. Lost to Alabama (7-1), after having a 13 point lead. Disappeared at halftime.
22 UCLA Bruins 5-2. Beat a 2-5 Stanford by 35. Quietly very good. Lost to Utah and Oregon State (both excellent).
23 Air Force Falcons 7-0, beat (3-4) Navy in an ugly 17-6 game. Ranked because they're undefeated, but....
24 James Madison Dukes 7-0 with a win over Virginia.
25 Tulane Green Wave 6-1 with their only lose being a competitive game against Ole Miss.

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