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Due_Connection179 Ballot for 2023 Final

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Jan. 10, 2024, 10:39 p.m.

Overall Rationale: I watch games all day Saturday then for the games I don't watch I go through the games play-by-play (plus read articles; listen to podcasts) to see what happened instead of just looking at the box score. Every 4 weeks I also do a "reset of my polls to make sure I'm looking at everything from film to SOS to key wins.

Rank Team Reason
1 Michigan Wolverines Congrats to Michigan, also just really glad that it wasn't another SEC team.
2 Washington Huskies Pre-season Champion pick, but finished just short. Amazing season, good luck in the NFL to Penix and the trio of WRs.
3 Texas Longhorns "WE'RE BAAAACK!" Kind of because Alabama is about to steal our HC.
4 Alabama Crimson Tide Congrats on retirement Saban. Sorry to Bama fans who will now see Bama back to a mid-top 25 team for a while.
5 Georgia Bulldogs Murdered the FSU practice squad like they were TCU.
6 Oregon Ducks Only other team to be undefeated against non-CFP teams (other being Georgia). Should be another fun Duck squad next season for the 12-team CFP.
7 Florida State Seminoles Honestly sad how they were left out of the CFP and even more sad that they played 3rd & 4th string players because everyone else opted out (but still was at the game on the sideline for some reason).
8 Ole Miss Rebels Another team scared to see any ESPN breaking news for the new Bama coach. If he and Dart stay, they should be in the 12-team CFP next season.
9 Missouri Tigers Really happy to see Mizzou finish top 10 and beat Ohio State in a NY6. Best Mizzou team this century.
10 Ohio State Buckeyes Ryan Day on the hot seat with (something like) a 58 - 8 record as the HC? Mainly because everyone knows that the Big Ten schedule beyond Michigan and Penn State has been an absolute joke since the mid-2010s. I wonder how Buckeye fans feel knowing they would've had the 4th-best B1G team this season if the PAC schools joined early.
11 Arizona Wildcats I went to the Mississippi State game early in the season (when they almost came back after 6 turnovers). Never would've guessed they would finish with 10 wins and a bowl win vs Oklahoma. Amazing season (and early 2024 Big 12 champion favorites...maybe?).
12 LSU Tigers Lost their QB. Lost their OC. Will lose a few more starters to the NFL. But hey, maybe they can scrap their way to a top 12 finish and CFP berth next season (but more than likely a 6 - 6 or 7 - 5 season is upon them).
13 Oklahoma Sooners Nice final Big XII season. Finished 10 - 3 and just missed the Big XII Championship Game. They also seem to have a brighter future than Lincoln Riley and USC, so that's a huge plus.
14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Yet another school that could lose their HC to Bama (even though I think this is all smoke and no fire). Solid season, but nothing really to write home about if you are an Irish fan.
15 Penn State Nittany Lions Has there been a team more overrated in the CFP era? Ohio State is at it's worst and it still can't get a win against them. James Franklin has been linked to Bama as well, but I don't think Bama wants a HC that is like 0 - 9 in big games (vs top 10 teams; that stat might actually be top 15 teams).
16 Oklahoma State Cowboys I only ranked them this high because they made the Big XII Championship Game and finished with double digit wins, but honestly, these guys probably deserve to be down in the mid-20s with how low their floor is (see the UCF game).
17 Kansas State Wildcats My pre-season pick to win the Big XII, but hit more than a few bumps along the road. Lost their QB to Ohio State, but at least the Big XII is now super wide open where they will have a chance to win (with decent recruiting) every season going forward.
18 Tennessee Volunteers Above average team in the SEC that just dropped two spots down (with the addition of Oklahoma & Texas) and by accepting those two they probably sealed their fate of never making the CFP.
19 Louisville Cardinals I didn't want to hurt their ranking to much for (one of the) meaningless bowl games, but losing to FSU and USC's third string QBs back-to-back really hurts the complete season for Louisville.
20 Clemson Tigers Not great, not bad, but maybe Dabo needs to finally realize he needs to use NIL and the transfer portal to compete for CFP bids.
21 NC State Wolfpack Honestly, every time I've watched this team it hasn't looked like a top 25 team, but here we are.
22 Kansas Jayhawks A top 25 finish for Kansas in football might be more celebrated than Kansas basketball winning the Big XII again.
23 SMU Mustangs Best G5 team this season, although they couldn't finish against a 6 - 6 Boston College team using a RB at QB.
24 West Virginia Mountaineers I believe West Virginia was picked to finish last in the Big XII in the pre-season, so a top 25 finish is quite amazing for this team.
25 Liberty Flames Wanted to give the only regular season undefeated G5 program is props. Plus, it was between them and the Iowa (I need my defense to cause a turnover to get even a FG) Hawkeyes.

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