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Tornadohunter24 Ballot for 2024 Week 3

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Sept. 10, 2024, 9:59 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Somehow, despite a 12-team Playoff, where in theory, you can afford a loss or two in the regular season, we might’ve just seen some playoff hopes die. While not completely bonkers, there were several upsets, absurd comebacks, and bizarre games that simply boggled the mind. They also meant I had to shake up my top 25 quite significantly. As a reminder, my methodology is pretty simple; I reward teams who win and drop teams who lose. I’m a big fan of teams who prove themselves against more elite competition and don’t care much for cupcake games, except when there’s something that the cupcake-eater does that merits additional attention. Pretty standard stuff. I’m also a really big fan of poll fluidity and of non-P5 teams, and so my poll may represent overreactions to a given Week’s results, especially early on. Pre-season rankings are nothing but guesswork and failed expectations, anyway. I also try to account for how well teams are doing before and after they play one another, and if there’s anything that’s changed about a team. A lot of it does come down to the dreaded eye test and grinding out wins vs domination, but again, nothing unique. This does mean that I tend to rank pretty harshly by record early on; you’ve seen what I mean. As always, I’m unfortunately subject to the same sort of biases that plague every other pollster may end up with, so that could dramatically alter how I rank one team compared to certain sites, stats, or other polls. I do my best to balance out conference strength, opponent strength, strength of schedule, performance, and so on, but I’m not perfect. I also try my best to avoid poll inertia, but that’s somewhat inevitable unfortunately. Feel free to yell at me if I’m way off on a team. Anyway, continuing on to our rankings… Speaking of G5 teams… you’re likely going to see 5 of them in the top 25 per week at a minimum. Why? The guaranteed Playoff spot, of course! I’m ranking the top 5 G5 squads, starting off with one in each conference. They’ll be from 21-25 unless they merit higher, but they likely won’t drop out. This does mean the bottom 5 of my poll are going to be weird, at least initially, but better to have something that’s worth watching over which mediocre P5 school deserves #23 over #24. Plus, did you really want another ballot where I have to pretend that one of those schools isn’t about to get bullied by a true contender in the coming weeks? Or even worse, has already been pushed around? Nah, easier and more convenient to have my vote set up like this. I was, once again, unfortunately busy this week, so no long personalized write-ups for each team as I have done in ballots past, but I will endeavor to do so for future weeks, time permitting (though, I will have some brief snippets of funny comments as applicable). Worst-case scenario, I’ll just do my little results-based blurbs that populated last year’s ballots. But more importantly… time to see what my crappy vote has in store! | Teams Dropping Out: #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish [1-1], #13 Michigan Wolverines [1-1], #17 Iowa Hawkeyes [1-1], #19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets [2-1] (pain), #22 Boise State Broncos [1-1], #23 Appalachian State Mountaineers [1-1], #24 Toledo Rockets [2-0], #25 Sam Houston Bearkats [1-1] | Honorable Mentions: Toledo Rockets [2-0], California Golden Bears [2-0], Washington Huskies [2-0], Kansas State Wildcats [2-0], Nebraska Cornhuskers [2-0], Arizona Wildcats [2-0], Clemson Tigers [1-1], Boise State Broncos [1-1], Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns [2-0], San Jose State Spartans [2-0], South Carolina Gamecocks [2-0] LINK TO FULL EXPLANATIONS AND PREVIOUS RANKINGS: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12hrSkt8O3xI3DLURD-kJ7eDSzzipjA97_UZ_NzAjpYk/edit?usp=sharing

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs [NO CHANGE (-)] [2-0] After reminding everyone of who the next heir apparent to the CFB throne that Nick Saban so recently abdicated is last week, a typical tune-up game was started and finished in a flash, like one of their players in a 45. They start off conference play with a matchup (and probably a one-sided affair at that) at Kentucky this weekend.
2 Texas Longhorns [+1] [2-0] If it wasn't obvious last year, Texas is BACK. On the stage of both College GameDay and Big Noon Kickoff, the Longhorns skewered the Wolverines in the Big House 34-12, a scoreline which arguably flattered the hosts. Two more tune-up games await them in the next 2 weeks in UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe.
3 Ohio State Buckeyes [-1] [2-0] For some reason, I don't think the Buckeyes will mind the spot lost... too much, at least. They got to watch their biggest rival get demolished while the Buckeyes put 56 on Western Michigan in a shutout. Not a bad Saturday in Columbus. Just don't overlook Marshall too much this weekend.
4 Tennessee Volunteers [+14] [2-0] For the first (and probably not last) time, I am having to eat crow about a team. The Vols rolled past the NC State Wolfpack in a blowout in Charlotte, completely nullifying any prior doubts I had about them (for now, at least). They'll have another tune-up game against FCS-game loser Kent State this weekend.
5 Ole Miss Rebels [+1] [2-0] If Lane Kiffin knows anything, it's offense. And just like in Week 1, the Rebels obliterated their opponent to the tune of 52-3. No shutout, so I assume the defense will be running laps. Traveling to Winston-Salem to take on the Demon Deacons shouldn't be too much trouble.
6 Alabama Crimson Tide [-2] [2-0] There are three things that Tuscaloosa fears: coatless James Spann, Jordan-Hare voodoo, and Alex Golesh's South Florida Bulls. For some reason, the past two games have been shockingly close before the talent and depth allows Bama to pull away late. Have to clean that up before heading north to Madison.
7 Missouri Tigers [+1] [2-0] Another week, another shutout. Neither of their first two opponents were expected to be anything more than tune-up games, and Mizzou handled business as they should. This weekend, they invite a ranked Boston College to their stadium in a Top 25 matchup that had little pre-season hype going for it.
8 Penn State Nittany Lions [-3] [2-0] Remember what I said about Oregon last week, just being happy that they were 1-0? Repeat that for the Nittany Lions here. Their big win over West Virginia is what's keeping them from falling lower, but that was NOT pretty. They do have an off-week to recover from the scare before facing Kent State in a game that should give them no issues. Should.
9 Oregon Ducks [+1] [2-0] On the bright side, the Ducks finally notched a win against their G5 boogeyman in the Boise State Broncos. Unfortunately, it was quite the struggle for Oregon, necessitating a come-from-behind win at home to do so. They have to improve quickly, for a tumultuous (but thankfully short) trek up north to play in-state rival Oregon State awaits them.
10 Miami Hurricanes [+1] [2-0] I'm not sure what to make of the Hurricanes. They've taken care of business so far, blowing out Florida in Gainesville during Week 1 before shutting out FCS Florida A&M in Week 2, but it's clear that the Gators aren't really that good, so it's uncertain where the Hurricanes stand. No further P5 opponents until next month doesn't help clear out things either, though maybe the South Florida game in 2 weeks might illuminate some weaknesses (if any exist).
11 Utah Utes [-2] [2-0]
12 USC Trojans [+2] [2-0]
13 Oklahoma State Cowboys [-1] [2-0]
14 Boston College Eagles [+1] [2-0]
15 Iowa State Cyclones [NEW] [2-0]
16 Syracuse Orange [NEW] [2-0]
17 Illinois Fighting Illini [NEW] [2-0]
18 Northern Illinois Huskies [NEW] [2-0]
19 Louisville Cardinals [-3] [2-0]
20 Vanderbilt Commodores [NO CHANGE (-)] [2-0]
21 Washington State Cougars [NEW] [2-0]
22 UNLV Rebels [NEW/HONORABLE MENTION] [2-0]
23 Memphis Tigers [-2] [2-0]
24 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers [NEW/HONORABLE MENTION] [2-0]
25 Liberty Flames [NEW/HONORABLE MENTION] [2-0]

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