Rank | Team | |
---|---|---|
1 | Florida | |
2 | Texas | |
3 | Oklahoma | |
4 | Southern Cal | |
5 | Ohio State | |
6 | Alabama | |
7 | Penn State | |
8 | Mississippi | |
9 | Virginia Tech | |
10 | LSU | |
11 | Boise State | |
12 | California | |
13 | Georgia Tech | |
14 | Oregon | |
15 | TCU | |
16 | Oklahoma State | |
17 | Iowa | |
18 | Missouri | |
19 | Brigham Young | |
20 | Georgia | |
21 | Texas Tech | |
22 | Nebraska | |
23 | South Florida | |
24 | Florida State | |
25 | North Carolina |
That's right, it's that time of year where you tell me where I'm completely wrong about where I've ranked teams. For those of you who don't know, Double-T Nation has been asked, my second year, to participate in the BlogPoll. For those of you not familiar with the concept then check out MGoBlog BlogPoll (who is in charge of all of this stuff) with succinct definition:
It's basically the AP poll except with bloggers.
It's that easy.
Make sure and read the BlogPoll Voting Philosophy and Rock M Nation's summary of different voting philosophies. Obviously, there's quite a bit of disparity between theories, and the nice thing about the BlogPoll is that it's all transparent and it's somewhat understood that there will be biases because we're all human.
It happens.
But I need you! Yes, I need your comments to tell me where I've gone wrong and where I've gone right. Given enough encouragement and comments, I'll make the change on each week's BlogPoll ballot.
Flimsy Rationale
1-5: This was a fairly easy top 5 for me personally. I do think that Florida does have the best team and despite the fact that it appears that the Longhorns are in some injury trouble, especially at tight end, I still think they're a pretty good #2. OU, USC and tOSU are all fairly even teams in my opinion.
6-10: I love Alabama's defense and I'm not sure about the offense, although McElroy was recruited by Leach, and if Leach liked him, then he's got to be pretty good. PSU, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech also seem even, and LSU despite having a young and/or shaky QB situation, is a very solid team.
11-15: This is where things get hairy. I don't think that Boise State is this good, but I think that by the end of the year, they could be ranked this high. Fairly easy conference schedule, and it could certainly happen. And if you put a gun to my head, I'd tell you that I think that TCU is the better team, but Boise State will be ranked higher at the end of the year. Cal will go as far as Best can carry them and I really, really like Georgia Tech. Oregon is a head-scratcher, I'm not sure what to think about the Ducks.
16-20: I'm not on the Oklahoma St. bandwagon, and as I've said before, I think that the difference between third and fourth in the Big 12 will be razor thin. I realize that I'm being a little bit contradictory here as I've been picking Texas Tech finish third in the Big 12 South, but have the Red Raiders ranked a few spots below OSU. With similar schedules, I keep thinking that if OSU can get a win against Georgia, then the Cowboys will look better in voters' eyes. Like the title says, this is all very flimsy rationale. I may also be the only one that thinks that Missouri is going to deliver a shocker in the Big 12 North. Georgia is replacing more offensive talent that Texas Tech had to replace and think these two teams are fairly comparable in terms of replacing talent on the field. BYU gets here by virtue of a weak conference.
21-25: As mentioned above, I'm conflicted about your Red Raiders. Feel free to leave disparaging comments below, but at the end of the day, I think it's going to be tough replacing the two safeties in a conference that throws so damned much. Everything else, I think I can live with, but replacing two senior safeties is a big thing. I have no doubt that Nebraska is on the right path with Pelini, but I think he needs more time to get the Cornhuskers back on track. That offense is going to be replacing a lot of talent. The last three were somewhat toss-ups. I also considered Miami, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Nevada, Utah, Oregon State, etc. I could be easily swayed into picking any of those teams rather than the three listed. Invariably, the last three or four teams is always the toughest to pick.
As stated above, tell me where I'm wrong, and where I'm right. The final ballot must be submitted by Monday, so any comments through Sunday will be considered. Comments appreciated.