Ballot Type: Human
Submitted: Oct. 22, 2024, 4:57 a.m.
Overall Rationale: Wins and losses matter most. If you have the same record as a team and they beat you head-to-head, you must be ahead of that team. For the first time since I've been a voter on r/CFB, I have not ranked Alabama. There are still 30 zero and one-loss teams, so I did not end up ranking any 2 loss teams. This also means I did not rank New Mexico State Eastern Branch (aka Vandy), and furthermore, if I did rank Bama, they'd have to be behind them. Another thing I'll mention is my ranking of Liberty at 25. As long as they're still undefeated, at this point in the year, I have to respect that to some degree. They will remain somewhere in my top 25 until they lose a game, and they'll stay ahead of any 2 loss teams. I already mentioned Bama, but the other team dropping out of the top 25 this week is Nebraska, who did not belong on the same field as mighty Midwest James Madison, who I have at #3. If they were wearing Ohio State jerseys with the exact same résumé, that's about where they would be. Replacing Bama and Nebraska are Washington State and Memphis, who each have their sole losses to G5 powers Boise State and Navy, respectively. Georgia's big win over Texas mostly dragged Texas down instead of moving Georgia up a bunch, since they are chained to that bad Bama loss. However, if they keep winning and the teams around them start losing, they'll quickly climb again. I've explained Miami before, but basically I view at least two of those wins as losses stolen by the refs, so I'm punishing them for pretty much losing, without punishing them as hard as I normally would. The same principle applies to UNLV-Syracuse, but I do ultimately respect the official result, keeping Syracuse one spot ahead of UNLV. Both Syracuse and UNLV have big chances this week in weekday games, with Syracuse vs Pitt on Thursday, followed by Boise State vs UNLV on Friday. I dropped Iowa State and BYU a little for basically identical close games vs UCF and Oklahoma State. Clemson, SMU, Army, Navy, and Notre Dame got big wins and looked good doing it. Honestly not a ton of movement this week outside of a little shuffling and the Bama bottom out. As always, feel free to tell me how stupid I am.
Rank | Team | Reason |
---|---|---|
1 | Oregon Ducks | |
2 | Ohio State Buckeyes | |
3 | Indiana Hoosiers | |
4 | Penn State Nittany Lions | |
5 | Iowa State Cyclones | |
6 | BYU Cougars | |
7 | Kansas State Wildcats | |
8 | Boise State Broncos | |
9 | Georgia Bulldogs | |
10 | Texas Longhorns | |
11 | Clemson Tigers | |
12 | SMU Mustangs | |
13 | Illinois Fighting Illini | |
14 | Tennessee Volunteers | |
15 | Miami Hurricanes | |
16 | Navy Midshipmen | |
17 | Army West Point | |
18 | Pittsburgh Panthers | |
19 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | |
20 | Syracuse Orange | |
21 | UNLV Rebels | |
22 | Texas A&M Aggies | |
23 | Washington State Cougars | |
24 | Memphis Tigers | |
25 | Liberty Flames |
Teams Ranked:
Rank | Team | Unusualness |
---|---|---|
1 | Oregon Ducks | 0.00 |
2 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 0.18 |
3 | Indiana Hoosiers | 0.65 |
4 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 0.00 |
5 | Iowa State Cyclones | 0.39 |
6 | BYU Cougars | 0.00 |
7 | Kansas State Wildcats | 1.71 |
8 | Boise State Broncos | 1.42 |
9 | Georgia Bulldogs | -0.59 |
10 | Texas Longhorns | 0.00 |
11 | Clemson Tigers | 0.00 |
12 | SMU Mustangs | 1.46 |
13 | Illinois Fighting Illini | 0.95 |
14 | Tennessee Volunteers | -0.18 |
15 | Miami Hurricanes | -2.40 |
16 | Navy Midshipmen | 0.11 |
17 | Army West Point | 0.00 |
18 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 0.00 |
19 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | -0.87 |
20 | Syracuse Orange | 4.03 |
21 | UNLV Rebels | 3.64 |
22 | Texas A&M Aggies | -1.42 |
23 | Washington State Cougars | 0.00 |
24 | Memphis Tigers | 1.04 |
25 | Liberty Flames | 0.00 |
Omissions:
Team | Unusualness |
---|---|
LSU Tigers | 2.33 |
Alabama Crimson Tide | 0.87 |
Missouri Tigers | 0.73 |
Ole Miss Rebels | 0.33 |
Total Score: 25.30