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bretticus33 Ballot for 2023 Final

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Jan. 9, 2024, 6:15 p.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Michigan Wolverines I don't think there's any argument against Michigan as #1. Undefeated and beat 5 ranked teams (even though I hate having to count Iowa as a ranked team) in their last 6 games, with most of them being in the top 10. Congrats to the Wolverines. Now comes the interesting offseason surrounding the investigations into potential offenses and the drama surrounding the HC spot as Harbaugh again flirts with the NFL.
2 Washington Huskies I was one of the few that was extremely high on Washington in the preseason, and this season validated my belief in the Huskies. Their offense was as good as advertised for most of the season and Penix had a Heisman-worthy season. It'll always sting to lose in the title game, but it doesn't diminish the season Washington had. Next season could be a tough one with Washington now going to the Big 10 and losing a lot of key players.
3 Florida State Seminoles This is where things get more controversial. For me, the final rankings are a reflection of the teams' seasons. With teams having a ton of bowl opt-outs, I find it harsh to negatively judge a team for their bowl performance if they're missing so many key players. In Florida State's case, I don't care that they lost by 60 when it was the 3rd and 4th string guys who rode the bench all season and being played out of position against a really good Georgia team that still had most of their key players going. Florida State should have been in the playoff over Alabama.
4 Texas Longhorns Texas finally got it together. The talent has been there for years but they haven't been able to shake mediocre coaching and inconsistencies. This season, Sark and crew ironed out a lot of the issues and won the Big 12 on their way out of the conference. The recruiting has been insane and Texas should be well equipped for the SEC next season. From the outside looking in, it'll be interesting if Quinn Ewers forgoes the draft and returns to Texas, where I'm sure there'll be a lot of external pressure for Arch Manning to start.
5 Alabama Crimson Tide In the preseason, I wrote about concerns I had about Alabama's offense surrounding an uncertain QB situation, lackluster skill players, and an OC that didn't have a stellar history prior to coming to Tuscaloosa. I wasn't exactly proven wrong. While Milroe ended up in the Heisman conversations, that Alabama offense had a lot of down games and the great defense had to save the day, as well as miracle plays like that against Auburn. Ultimately it's what led to their demise against Michigan, but they still won the SEC title so there's that.
6 Georgia Bulldogs It may not have been as good as a season as Georgia was hoping for with the dreams of a 3-peat getting squashed at the SEC championship game, but the Bulldogs were still one of the best teams in the country this season and should be a favorite for the national title next season. Georgia is firmly in the "elite top tier" program list.
7 Missouri Tigers Well how about that season from Missouri. The Tigers went from projected to finish at near the bottom of the SEC East to finishing finishing top 10 and winning the Cotton Bowl. Eli Drinkwitz went from on the hot seat to getting an extension and Kirby Moore will be a hot HC candidate soon. Missouri is losing some key guys in the offseason so it'll be interesting to see if Missouri can carry the momentum into next season or if they'll heavily regress.
8 Oregon Ducks The season has to be somewhat bittersweet for Oregon. The Ducks were clearly one of the nation's best teams and on the cusp of the CFP but lost twice to their rival to keep them out. At least a Fiesta Bowl win helped end the season on a good note. Oregon is in a really good spot heading into the Big 10 and Dan Lanning is proving to be a top coach in the country.
9 Ohio State Buckeyes All in all, this has to be considered a disappointing season for Ohio State. Going 11-2 and making a NY6 bowl is a great year for most programs, but few have the talent that Ohio State has. Winning the games against the likes of Minnesota and Indiana is the bare minimum, but the games against the top programs and biggest stages is what makes or breaks Ohio State's season. Going 1-2 in those games and a 3rd straight season of underwhelming is why some Ohio State fans want Day gone.
10 Arizona Wildcats Jedd Fisch put together a Coach of the Year worthy season and brought Arizona back to relevancy. Noah Fifita was a revelation at QB for the Wildcats and they capped off a great season by beating Oklahoma in the bowl game. Arizona has to be considered a favorite for the Big 12 next season and well in contention for the expanded CFP.
11 Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss is firmly in that place where they're a damn good team and capable of winning some big games, but not quite in the place where they can hang with Georgia and Alabama in the SEC. They've killed it in the portal, even though losing Judkins will hurt a lot, and the expanded playoff should be the expectation for Ole Miss.
12 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State is one of the most overrated programs in the country. That's not to say they aren't a great team, but their MO is to beat the clealry inferior teams but fall apart when it comes to the ones that James Franklin is getting paid to beat, it's the same story of an incompetent offense and a defense that can't handle the added pressure. The 12 team playoff will be the minimum expectation for Penn State, but don't expect them to put up much of a run unless things drastically change.
13 Oklahoma Sooners Brent Venables saved his job this season, but the back half of the season wasn't inspiring. Following the RRR, Oklahoma survived some close calls and scares and lost a few games. Things won't get easier in the SEC, so don't be surprised this time next season if Oklahoma is looking for a new HC.
14 LSU Tigers Ultimately, this has to be considered a "what-if" season for LSU. They had arguably the nation's best offense spearheaded by a Heisman winning QB, but major defensive issues put LSU out of the CFP conversation early on. LSU will be a bit of a wild-card program next season with Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers going pro, Mike Denbrock at Notre Dame, and the defensive staff overhauled.
15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish It's fair to say that Notre Dame took a step back with Marcus Freeman. Even with a star QB, the offense was inconsistent and the coaching let them down at times. Notre Dame is one of those teams that should benefit from the expanded CFP, but that isn't stopping them from making moves to improve that offense. Denbrock could be one of the best non-HC hires of the offseason.
16 Liberty Flames Another controversial one here. I don't like Liberty the school, but they were deserving G5 representatives. The SOS argument is something people use to punish teams for circumstances that are out of the team's control. People want to bring up having more resources than the rest of CUSA, but that led to Liberty being.... 7th in the conference in talent composite. Going undefeated is fucking hard, especially when you don't have future NFL players all over the field. Liberty was a top 25 team this season.
17 James Madison Dukes Maybe another controversial one, and JMU falls into the FSU category for me. They didn't have as many losses as FSU and a lot of key guys still played, but going into a game with the HC away from the team is a really tough situation to go into. James Madison was a top 25 team this season.
18 Clemson Tigers Tyler from Spartanburg saved Clemson's season. Clemson has way too much talent to be as disappointing as they are, but Clemson is suffering from poor player development and a refusal to adapt to the modern landscape. Until Clemson, and more improtantly Dabo, adapt the disappointment will continue.
19 SMU Mustangs A lot of people will be putting SMU as their top G5 team, but I can't do it. The AAC was a lot weaker this season (mainly top heavy) and losing to not good TCU and Boston College teams hurts that viewpoint. The biggest reason why I still have SMU ranked is so many other teams around the bottom of the top 25 also lost.
20 Oregon State Beavers Another team killed by opt-outs in bowl season. The Beavers lost not just their HC but so many important players that the team that played Notre Dame wasn't the same team we saw all season. I'm not holding the bowl game against the Beavers.
21 Kansas State Wildcats Congrats to KSU for winning the most important non NY6 bowl game over NC State, and getting to eat the world's largest Pop Tart. Realistically, KSU is a well run program with a good HC at the helm, so I don't expect KSU to go anywhere. However, the QB situation next season will be interesting with so many guys leaving the program.
22 NC State Wolfpack NC State's season flew under the radar and ended disappointingly, but NC State is showing to be a pretty solid program. They may only occasionally compete for an expanded playoff spot, but Doeren has NC State firmly in "gonna win 8 or 9 games every season" territory.
23 Louisville Cardinals What a sour end to the season for Louisville. What was shaping up as one of the best stories of the season ended with Louisville unable to take advantage of FSU playing QB3 because their own offense couldn't get it done, then let a very vulnerable USC destroy them. The big question surrounding Louisville is if the run is over or if they can find a way to improve upon this season.
24 Troy Trojans Troy falls into the same pot as James Madison for me where it's hard to judge them based on a game where the HC left shortly before and players sat out. Honestly, Troy was an excluded player from the NY6 conversations when they won the best G5 conference. I love what Jon Sumrall built there, but it'll be interesting to see how Troy moves on from here.
25 Tulane Green Wave Similar to Troy and JMU, I'm not faulting Tulane too much for having opt-outs and a HC that left for a different job. Tulane lost the NY6 bid at the buzzer against SMU but the growth of their program in the last few years has been impressive. Tulane isn't going away.

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