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throwaway_6786 Ballot for 2024 Week 14

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Nov. 26, 2024, 9:56 a.m.

Overall Rationale: It's all about the games on the field.

Rank Team Reason
1 Oregon Ducks The only undefeated team left and they've got three ranked wins, including over the #2 team in the country. If you don't have Oregon as your #1, you're doing it wrong.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes A dominant performance over the previously undefeated Hoosiers. The Buckeyes started slow through the first 20 minutes, but they made the adjustments and kicked ass from that point on. Now, they look to exact a measure of revenge against a Michigan team that has beaten them in three straight.
3 SMU Mustangs Nobody expected them to be here, but their loss to BYU is still kinda decent considering how close it was, and they've been crushing teams as of late (save for their close call against Duke). Their wins over 8-3 Duke, 7-4 Pitt, and 7-4 Louisville are just enough to keep them above PSU, ND, and others below them.
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish The loss to NIU is bad, but Notre Dame has obliterated their competition otherwise and still has an alright win over Texas A&M. The Irish have definitely passed the eye test over the last two months as they've been slaughtering teams week in and week out, which is more than I can say for most teams.
5 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia's two losses got worse while they fiddled around for a while before beating UMass into the dirt, but they moved up two spots anyway due to Indiana and BYU both losing. They're in the SEC Championship game for the
6 Penn State Nittany Lions This is the third time this year that Penn State has looked sketchy in a win, but their quality loss to OSU hasn't wavered and their ranked win over Illinois is enough to keep them above Boise State and Texas. Still, the Lions will have to finish off Maryland next week, and if they do, they'll have to pick up their level of play against CFP competition if they don't want to go one and done.
7 Boise State Broncos Penn State, Boise State, Texas, and Miami are really close, but I went with Boise here mainly because they have a ranked win over UNLV and Texas/Miami don't have any ranked wins while having worse losses than the Broncos do. Still, Jeanty has had to carry this team to wins in recent weeks, which leaves me concerned for how this team will play if they make it to the CFP, which looks like a near-certainty after the thumping that Army just took. Honest question for any readers: Could Boise State lose a game and still control their own destiny for the CFP at this point?
8 Texas Longhorns They've got the eye test going for them, but with no ranked wins and a rough-at-best loss, it's difficult to put them any higher than this.
9 Miami Hurricanes A solid win, but at this point, the Duke win is likely going to be what Miami hangs their hat on as they try to make the ACCCG.
10 Arizona State Sun Devils This team really came out of nowhere, didn't they?
11 Tennessee Volunteers Devoured their cupcake, but with Alabama losing again, their marquee win has lost some of it's luster.
12 Indiana Hoosiers Tough loss, but not so bad that Indiana drops out of the CFP conversation.
13 Clemson Tigers A big CFP test awaits next week against the rival Gamecocks.
14 BYU Cougars Tough loss, but they kept it close enough to mitigate their drop.
15 South Carolina Gamecocks Could they make the CFP? It's still a possibility, strange as that may sound.
16 Alabama Crimson Tide That's probably it for Alabama's CFP hopes. They still have wins over Georgia, USC, and Mizzou, but you just can't lose in that fashion against a 6-5 team for your third loss.
17 Tulane Green Wave
18 UNLV Rebels
19 Iowa State Cyclones
20 Texas A&M Aggies
21 Kansas State Wildcats
22 Illinois Fighting Illini
23 Ole Miss Rebels
24 Syracuse Orange
25 Duke Blue Devils

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