I did something a bit different this week. I looked at my old ballot after I had compiled the new one and adjusted accordingly. Part of that was to avoid problems like last week, where I unknowingly dropped LSU, and part of it is to avoid giving too much credit or taking too much away from a team because of one week or because for some reason I devalued a resume too abruptly. I want this to be a resume ballot, not a mood swing ballot. As always, feel free to fire away.
1 Alabama
2 Texas
3 Florida
4 Cincinnati
5 TCU
I can see more clearly now why some people are moving Texas ahead of Alabama; I'm just not ready to do so quite yet. If Alabama fails to impress against LSU next week, then I'll probably move Texas and perhaps Florida up on the ballot. This is still 1a, 1b and 1c as far as I'm concerned, and we'll be able to untangle things a bit more as the season goes along. Cincinnati should be in the title conversation, as should TCU, but they'll remain out of the top two spots as long as everyone ahead of them keeps winning.
6 Oregon
7 Iowa
8 LSU
9 Boise State
10 Georgia Tech
Part of the problem with the move up/move down thing is that I already have some of these teams valued higher or lower than did other people. Oregon was already No. 7 even before they waxed Southern Cal, so they don't move up much despite the big win. Iowa falls because I'm beginning to get a bit nervous about the tight-rope act. If they're undefeated at the end of the season, they'll likely be back in the Top 5. LSU and Boise hold after doing what they should have done this weekend. Georgia Tech is the best of a suspect ACC.
11 Miami
12 Pittsburgh
13 Houston
14 Southern Cal
15 Virginia Tech
This is part of why I'm glad I compared the two, because the original ballot had Houston zooming up by like four spots and other assorted insanity. Miami probably shouldn't get credit for defeating Wake by 1, but who should I move above them? (Seriously; I'm asking.) Should Pittsburgh maybe move up 3 for shellacking South Florida? Southern Cal was also already pretty low on my ballot, so only moving them down 4 seems fair enough. Virginia Tech lost to North Carolina, but the Tar Heels aren't that bad a team. Besides, it's the ACC and everybody is bound to have one of those losses by the end of the season.
16 Penn State
17 Clemson
18 Ohio State
19 Oklahoma State
20 Cal
I'm not sure that Oklahoma State should be ranked at all, so I'm open to any thoughts you might have on that. As for the rest of this, several teams who won as they should have or maybe a bit better but benefit from teams who have been excised or other movement on the ballot.
21 Arizona
22 Notre Dame
23 Oklahoma
24 Texas Tech
25 Wisconsin
I almost had Oklahoma higher but decided against it at the last minute. The Sooners and Texas Tech are just swinging by for a few minutes, but might hang out a little bit longer. They just haven't made up their mind yet. Nobody here really did anything on their own merits. But it doesn't hurt sometimes to be in the right place at the right time.
South Carolina and West Virginia are gone for losses that would have merited kicking them out even if they'd been in the Top 15.