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bretticus33 Ballot for 2024 Week 16 & Bowls

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Dec. 8, 2024, 11:56 p.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Oregon Ducks There really shouldn't be any dispute: until Oregon gets taken down they're the clear #1 team. Now three wins over top 10 teams this season and a B1G title in their first season.
2 Georgia Bulldogs Somehow, some way, Georgia prevailed again over Texas. They were dominated in the first half, but were able to keep Texas at arm's length and pulled off the win with their backup QB. There's a chance Stockton might be the better QB to lead the team than Beck is.
3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Ultimately, Notre Dame just didn't shoot themselves in the foot enough. Their loss to NIU is by far the worst of any of the teams in the CFP field, but they do have a lot of good wins and they didn't drop any other games. ND earned their spot up here.
4 Tennessee Volunteers Really good defense and really good run game is why they beat Bama, and why they ended up in the CFP over Bama. If 55 degrees is too cold for the Vols though, they're gonna have fun in Columbus in a couple weeks.
5 Texas Longhorns Texas doesn't have any ugly losses, but they're lacking a high end win. Their best one is probably 8-4 Texas A&M at College Station, which isn't an easy win, but just not the high end one they would have liked. I have a lot of fears about Texas' offense in the CFP.
6 Ohio State Buckeyes Still a week removed from their latest loss to Michigan, and the pressure is on Ryan Day who has now gone 4 years without a rivalry win and a B1G title. Losing their opening round game to Tennessee at home may end his time.
7 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State played well against Oregon, but alas another top 10 loss for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions. A lot of people saying Penn State got rewarded with an easy path, but that would require Franklin to win two top 10 games in a row. We'll see if they get it done or not. The narrative was always about just making the CFP, but with all the expectations now to make the semis, let's see what an early loss does to Franklin's job security.
8 Indiana Hoosiers Indiana might be disappointed they're playing a road game in the CFP, but at least it's in South Bend so the opportunity for Hoosiers to make the trip for the game. And let's be real: did anyone, even Indiana fans, really believe there was even a slight hope to make the CFP?
9 Boise State Broncos I've seen Boise State finish 2 undefeated seasons, repeatedly show they can compete with the big dogs, finish with 10+ wins several times and finish in the top 10 several times, but never be given the shot they've earned at a national title. Until now. Boise State earned their spot, and they earned that bye.
10 Arizona State Sun Devils If it wasn't for Cignetti, Kenny Dillingham would be the runaway favorite for Coach of the Year. They both have strong cases, as does Cam Skattebo for a trip to NYC at the Heisman ceremony. Congrats to the Sun Devils for the quick turnaround and the Big 12 title in their first season.
11 SMU Mustangs SMU earned their spot in the CFP. The pre-conference move work Rhett Lashlee put in to avoid having a rough transition paid off, and while SMU didn't win the ACC, they came damn close. That trip to Penn State is gonna be tough though.
12 Alabama Crimson Tide The best part about seeing Alabama be the first team out of the CFP is the immediate reaction was to say if they scheduled easier OOC games, they'd be in. The reason Alabama isn't in the CFP is they lost to 6-6 Vanderbilt (a team even Georgia State was able to beat) and got blasted by 6-6 Oklahoma. Swapping out Wisconsin for Kent State isn't going to change anything.
13 South Carolina Gamecocks Honestly, I'm just glad the lobbying from SCAR was ignored. Teams lobbying for a spot when they have 3 losses is stupid, but at least SCAR's losses were to good/decent teams.
14 Ole Miss Rebels Kiffin is funny when things are going well, but insufferable when things aren't going well. The constant politicking for Ole Miss got old FAST. The season is an utter failure considering the money spent on the roster and coaches and the preseason expectations. Don't lose to Kentucky and you're in.
15 Clemson Tigers Dabo and Clemson backed into the ACC title game, blew a 17 point 4th quarter lead, and won the conference on a miracle kick that not only put Clemson in, but knocked Alabama out. Nobody thought this was even on the table 2 weeks ago, but a trip to Austin awaits the Tigers.
16 Syracuse Orange I really think Syracuse is getting undervalued. A lot of wins against teams with winning records and bowl teams, a prolific passing attack, and a win over Miami.
17 BYU Cougars I think BYU is getting a bit undervalued too, but in relation to some of the teams like Miami that I think are in the same tier as them. Would have liked to see BYU get more consideration, but they didn't make it easy to.
18 Miami Hurricanes Miami is massively overvalued. No great wins, a lot of wins that Miami was probably fortunate to win, and the two best teams they played, they lost to. Miami didn't have any business being as close to the CFP Field as they were.
19 Illinois Fighting Illini Illinois ended up being a really solid team. They have good momentum under Bret Beliema and have worked their way into that 2nd tier of the B1G.
20 Colorado Buffaloes It was a great season for Colorado overall. 9-3, probable Heisman winner, another Heisman contender, and were in contention to win the Big 12. It'll be interesting to see what Colorado looks like when Shedeur and Hunter are both gone.
21 Missouri Tigers Yeah Missouri is being slightly overvalued, but they're still 9-3 and should be in the bottom part of the top 25.
22 Army West Point If only Army had kept it competitive against Notre Dame, they might have been in the discussion for the CFP. That was a huge win for Army to beat Tulane and win the American in their first season there.
23 Memphis Tigers Memphis was a preseason CFP contender, and many had the Tigers as the G5 rep in the CFP. They kinda fell out of mind after losing to Navy, but they still won 10 games and ended the season as a top 25 team.
24 UNLV Rebels The two seasons of Barry Odom brought maybe the best two-season span in Rebels football history. They both just ended in losses to Boise in the MWCCG, but UNLV became a premier G5 team under him. UNLV isn't just losing Odom but is losing a lot of important players this offseason, so we'll see if UNLV continues their success or if they fall off again.
25 Iowa State Cyclones I know people don't like to punish teams for losing in the CFP, but it's completely different when you put up a performance like Iowa State's. That was a pathetic effort and they gave up as soon as they went down 14 points. The opportunity to win their first conference title in 112 years and that's what Iowa State put out on the field.

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