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70stang Ballot for 2023 Week 15 & Bowls

Ballot Type: Hybrid

Submitted: Dec. 5, 2023, 12:39 a.m.

Overall Rationale: THIS IS A REPORT CARD. This poll is based on results and resume, and does not look at team talent, prior seasons, or anything like that. This poll is designed to combat poll inertia and human bias. The only human adjustments I use at this point in the season are between consecutively ranked teams with head-to-head matchups. Update: The final changes to my poll are here. Conference championship wins will carry extra weight for a team, while losses in the conference championship aren't counted as severely as other losses.

Rank Team Reason
1 Michigan Wolverines Tier 1, the Playoff Deserving Tier, is composed of undefeated teams who are conference champions, with more than 1 Ranked win. Michigan sits atop this tier with 3 Ranked wins over Penn State, Ohio State, and Iowa, as well as being the B1G Champs and 13-0. They take top position due to strength of record over Washington and FSU.
2 Washington Huskies Washington takes 2nd in Tier 1, with 3 Ranked wins over Arizona, and Oregon 2x, as well as being the PAC-12 Champs and 13-0. Washington has the 2nd highest Strength of Record in this category.
3 Florida State Seminoles FSU rounds out Tier 1 with 3 Ranked wins over LSU, Clemson, and Louisville, as well as being the ACC Champs and 13-0.
4 Texas Longhorns Tier 2 is the "First In Rest Out" Tier made up of teams with multiple P5 wins, at least 1 Ranked win, and only 1 Loss. Texas takes the top spot with the BIG XII Title, 3 Ranked wins over Alabama, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State, and 1 Ranked loss to Oklahoma to be 12-1. Texas takes the 4th CFP spot and the top spot in this Tier due to a head-to-head win over Alabama.
5 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama takes 2nd in Tier 2 with the SEC Title, 3 Ranked wins over Ole Miss, LSU, and Georgia, and 1 Ranked loss to Texas to be 12-1.
6 Georgia Bulldogs UGA takes 3rd in Tier 2 with 2 Ranked wins over Mizzou and Ole Miss, as well as 1 Loss to Alabama in the SECCG to be 12-1. Texas > Alabama > Georgia in head to heads in this tier.
7 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State rounds out Tier 2 with 2 Ranked wins over Notre Dame and Penn State, as well as 1 Ranked loss to Michigan to be 11-1.
8 Oregon Ducks Tier 3 is comprised of teams with multiple P5 wins and 2 losses, including a conference championship loss. Oregon is the only team in this tier, with no ranked wins, 9 P5 wins, 1 G5 win, 1 FCS win, as well as 2 Ranked losses, both to Washington, including once in the PAC 12 title game, to be 11-2. This is the strangest part of my poll this week, as Oregon ends up with no ranked wins, but also a higher winning percentage than the Tier 4 teams, even though they lost a conference championship to the only team to have already beaten them, which should really not count hugely against them, etc. Therefore, their single-team tier takes precedence over the other 2 loss teams with arguably stronger resumes.
9 Ole Miss Rebels Tier 4 is teams with multiple P5 wins, at least 1 Ranked win, and 2 Losses, but no conference championship appearances. Ole Miss heads up this tier with 2 Ranked wins over Tulane and LSU, as well as 2 Ranked losses to Alabama and Georgia to be 10-2.
10 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State takes 2nd in Tier 4 with 1 Ranked win over Iowa, as well as 2 Ranked losses to Michigan and Ohio State to be 10-2.
11 Missouri Tigers Mizzou is 3rd in Tier 4 with 1 Ranked win over Kansas State, as well as 2 Ranked losses to LSU and UGA to be 10-2.
12 Oklahoma Sooners OU is 4th in Tier 4, with 1 Ranked win over Texas, as well as 2 losses, 1 Ranked to Oklahoma State and 1 Unranked to Kansas to be 10-2.
13 Louisville Cardinals Tier 5 is comprised of the teams with 10 wins including multiple P5 wins, and 3 losses, including 1 loss in their conference championship game. Louisville takes the top spot in Tier 5 with 2 Ranked wins over NC State and Notre Dame, as well as 3 Losses, 2 Unranked and 1 Ranked to FSU in the ACCCG in order to be 10-3.
14 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa rounds out Tier 5 with no ranked wins, 3 losses including 1 Unranked, and 2 Ranked including 1 to Michigan in the B1GCG to be 10-3.
15 LSU Tigers Tier 6 is teams that have multiple P5 wins, and 3 losses. LSU tops this Tier with 1 Ranked win over Mizzou, as well as 3 Ranked losses to FSU, Ole Miss, and Bama to be 9-3. Strength of record over Irish etc.
16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish ND takes 2nd in Tier 6 with 1 Ranked win over NC State, as well as 3 Ranked losses to Ohio State, Louisville, and Clemson to be 9-3.
17 NC State Wolfpack NC State takes 3rd in Tier 6 with 1 Ranked win over Clemson, as well as 3 losses, 2 Ranked and 1 Unranked, to be 9-3. Below ND due to head-to-head.
18 Arizona Wildcats Arizona rounds out Tier 6 with no Ranked wins, as well as 3 losses, 1 Ranked and 2 Unranked to be 9-3.
19 Liberty Flames Tier 7, the G5 Contender Tier. Liberty is undefeated with no ranked wins and no P5 wins as well as the CUSA Championship to be 13-0.
20 SMU Mustangs SMU has 1 Ranked win over Tulane, the AAC Championship, as well as 2 losses (both P5, 1 Ranked and 1 Unranked) to be 11-2.
21 Oklahoma State Cowboys Tier 8 is comprised of teams with multiple P5 wins, and 4 losses. Oklahoma State has 1 Ranked win over Kansas State, and 4 losses including 1 loss in the BIG XII title game in order to be 9-4. They are the only 9 win team in this tier.
22 Clemson Tigers Clemson takes 2nd in Tier 8, with 1 Ranked win over Notre Dame and 4 losses to be 8-4.
23 Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State takes 3rd in Tier 8, with no ranked wins and 4 losses to be 8-4. They take the spot over Kansas due to head-to-head.
24 Kansas Jayhawks Kansas takes 4th in Tier 8, with 1 Ranked win over Oklahoma and 4 losses to be 8-4. Despite having a better record, they sit below KSU due to head-to-head.
25 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee rounds out the poll with no ranked wins and 4 losses (3 Ranked and 1 unranked) to be 8-4. Strength of record has them in over teams like Utah or WVU.

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