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Half of the BlogPoll Ballot for Week 8

Bpbweek8_mediumHere's my half of the BlogPoll ballot, which might be irreparably broken but is here for your perusal and constructive criticism.

1 Alabama
2 Texas
3 Florida
4 Iowa
5 Cincinnati

This was probably the most difficult part of the ballot. Ultimately, my logic went something like this: Alabama's overall season resume is still more impressive than Texas or Florida's. Saturday didn't change that for me because Florida's win was sketchier to me than Alabama's win -- Alabama was playing a better team in a rivalry game. Even if I'm wrong about the results this weekend, I still think the Tide has played better on weekly basis. Texas' win against Missouri was enough to put them at No. 2. The comments are there for you as well, Florida fans, so criticize away if you're so inclined. Iowa and Cincinnati round out the Top 5 because they've put together undefeated seasons in BCS leagues and have faced tougher competition than TCU or Boise on a weekly basis.

6 TCU
7 Oregon
8 Boise State
9 LSU
10 Southern Cal

I suppose it's possible that I'm being unfair to Boise here because of my skepticism about their schedule and wins, but I think Oregon has just played a tough enough schedule to justify canceling out the head-to-head. TCU has enough good wins to keep them ahead of hte Ducks. LSU and Southern Cal both seem a bit high, but I'm not sure I see a better choice.

11 Georgia Tech
12 Virginia Tech
13 Miami
14 Pittsburgh
15 Houston

Anyone notice that we have a Big XII South-style knot that's formed in the ACC? Miami defeated Georgia Tech which defeated Virginia Tech which defeated Miami. This is my attempt to make sense of the chaos. Why not Pittsburgh? Houston's big wins against BCS wins keep them in the Top 15.

16 Oklahoma State
17 South Carolina
18 Penn State
19 Clemson
20 Ohio State

This is the point where I start ranking teams that might not really deserve being ranked but are the closest to it. Oklahoma State has a couple of nice wins to offset the lost to Houston, South Carolina has yet to lose against a truly bad team (though the Georgia loss isn't looking good); Penn State has yet to win against a truly good team. To paraphrase the Mayor's refrain about Auburn, I hate Clemson. Ohio State won't go away.

21 Arizona
22 Cal
23 Notre Dame
24 West Virginia
25 Wisconsin

And now I'm just doing a little bit better than throwing darts at a board. Arizona and Cal are good enough Pac-10 teams I suppose. Notre Dame is here until their 93rd return to glory ends. West Virginia and Wisconsin aren't great but don't appear to be mediocre, either.

I should start doing this more regularly, but I watched in whole or in part: Ole Miss-Arkansas, Alabama-Tennessee, Clemson-Miami, Florida-Mississippi State, TCU-BYU, LSU-Auburn, Southern Cal-Oregon State, Arizona State-Stanford.