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Effective-Lead-6657 Ballot for 2023 Week 12

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 12, 2023, 7:46 p.m.

Overall Rationale: I’m just doing my best.

Rank Team Reason
1 Michigan Wolverines The Wolverines are the only team that has not played down against inferior competition. I know that they don’t have the toughest schedule, but their consistency makes them number one.
2 Washington Huskies Washington came through against Utah with a one score win. They now have two wins against ranked teams and to my eyes look like true contenders.
3 Ohio State Buckeyes The Buckeyes blew out a very bad MSU team on Saturday. I’m still worried about their slow starts, and that’s why they’re behind Washington. 2-5 are very close.
4 Florida State Seminoles The Seminoles beat their rivals in a hard-fought game and are now undefeated in ACC play. The ACC is pretty bad this year, but the win against LSU is still impressive.
5 Georgia Bulldogs I agonized about putting the Bulldogs above the Noles in this poll. I know that they just blew out a ranked team, but their cumulative resume is still not great.
6 Texas Longhorns The Longhorns are here by virtue of their win in Tuscaloosa. The Big 12 is starting to look pretty bad, and it should be Texas’s to lose.
7 Alabama Crimson Tide The Tide have been rolling as of late and clinched their spot against Georgia in the SEC title game. The loss to Texas May hold them out of the playoffs, but they are virtually a lock for NY6 at this point.
8 Oregon Ducks The Ducks are the last team in my rankings with a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. They played a solid game against USC and are set up nicely for ASU next.
9 Penn State Nittany Lions This team will finish 10-2 and play in the Peach Bowl. I don’t think it was ever realistic to expect more.
10 James Madison Dukes People are underrating the SBC, and no matter the conference, being undefeated is impressive. JMU is barred from the bowls but has looked excellent this year.
11 Oklahoma Sooners I’m rating the Sooners higher than most people right now. I think other people are too focused on how bad the Sooners look right now and are forgetting that this team has the best win in the country. With their resume over the full course of the season, the Sooners deserve to be here.
12 Louisville Cardinals The ACC is bad, but the Cardinals only have 1 loss. They are coming off of a bye, and if they can win the conference they will be firmly in a NY6 bowl.
13 Liberty Flames Liberty is undefeated with possibly the worst schedule in the country. Regardless, being 10-0 is impressive.
14 Ole Miss Rebels That loss to Georgia was rough and killed the Rebels’ playoff hopes. However, this team still ranks here because of the quality of their two losses and the quality of their two wins against LSU and Tulane.
15 Missouri Tigers The Tigers came through with a blowout win against Tennessee. This is firmly the second-best team in the SEC East.
16 Iowa Hawkeyes Some might say this is too high for the Hawkeyes, but I don’t think it is. Their defensive display this past weekend was incredible. They have the West all but locked up and will likely play OSU or Michigan in the title game.
17 LSU Tigers The Tigers are my highest-ranked three-loss team, but I think it’s important to note that all of their losses are to top 15 teams. This is one of the best offenses in the country, and it showed against Florida.
18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Irish are coming off of a much needed bye into a game against Sam Hartman’s old team. Notre Dame may have three losses, but two of them are to top 12 teams.
19 Kansas State Wildcats Unsurprisingly, the Wildcats destroyed Baylor this past weekend. Kansas State has had a lot of blow out wins but is only 1-3 against teams with winning records.
20 Troy Trojans This may seem high for Troy but just wait. Troy has two losses. Both of them are to ranked teams. The Sun Belt is also surprisingly good. Troy’s wins aren’t super impressive, but their losses aren’t embarrassing and at this point that’s good enough.
21 Oregon State Beavers The Washington State loss becomes more and more embarrassing every week, and the UCLA win becomes less and less impressive. Washington and Oregon are the remaining games for the Beavers. They’ll be looking to play spoiler and maybe even steal the PAC-12 crown.
22 Tulane Green Wave The American is horrendous, but Tulane’s only loss is to a good Ole Miss team. They really struggled against Tulsa this past weekend but still deserve to be weekend.
23 Toledo Rockets Toledo rocketed by Eastern Michigan in their last game. The MAC is bad, but 9-1 is 9-1.
24 North Carolina Tar Heels The Tar Heels finally got back on track with a win against a solid Duke team. They’ve fallen too far to even challenge for the ACC title, but UNC can at least aim for a 10-2 season.
25 Utah Utes Utah is very clearly in tier 2 of the PAC-12 after losing to Washington. Utah doesn’t have any embarrassing losses or exciting wins. Next week against Arizona will be a very good game, and the winner will probably be ranked.

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