Well, it's that time of year again. Time for my laughably inaccurate preseason BlogPoll ballot. Let's build a better ballot together:
And The Valley Shook! Ballot - Week 1
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 3 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 4 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 5 | Florida St. Seminoles | -- |
| 6 | Wisconsin Badgers | -- |
| 7 | Boise St. Broncos | -- |
| 8 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -- |
| 9 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -- |
| 10 | TCU Horned Frogs | -- |
| 11 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 12 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 13 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
| 14 | Stanford Cardinal | -- |
| 15 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -- |
| 16 | Michigan St. Spartans | -- |
| 17 | Arizona St. Sun Devils | -- |
| 18 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | -- |
| 19 | Missouri Tigers | -- |
| 20 | Florida Gators | -- |
| 21 | West Virginia Mountaineers | -- |
| 22 | Houston Cougars | -- |
| 23 | Iowa Hawkeyes | -- |
| 24 | Baylor Bears | -- |
| 25 | Auburn Tigers | -- |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
1-5. I believe Alabama is the best team in the country and trust me, that hurts me deeply to think, much less say out loud. Sure, thy've got QB issues, but that's the only issue with the team and every other top team has massive flaws as well. Florida St sneaks into the top five, we'll see how they handle expectations this season.
6-10. I love Wisconsin. Just love that team. Love the coach. Love the stadium. Love the fans. Love Madison (except for the weather). This should be their year to win the Big Ten. VT is rebuilding but their schedule is a cakewalk, so they won't get exposed as they find their sealegs. The MWC pair also gets ranked here.
11-15. I'm not too worried about Knile Davis, as Arkansas has plenty of weapons. And am I the only one who thinks losing Mallet might be a blessing? He reminded me a lot of Ryan Leaf. Ohio St has all of those suspensions, but they are still loaded. Stanford's a popular top ten pick, but they are replacing most of their offensive line, and Andrew Luck is going to spend a lot of the season running for his life. Oklahoma St is one of the sleeper teams that really scares me.
16-20. Mixed bag of overhyped teams and sleepers. I don't trust Notre Dame until proven otherwise. Michigan St's Kirk Cousins is one of those senior QB's behind whom great seasons are made. Arizona St has been quietly getting good. They lost a lot of close games last year and could radically turn their fortunes this season. Florida is still Florida.
21-25. Houston returns that crazy passing game and Case Keenum. Iowa is reeling from tragedy, but that could be the kind of thing to galvanize a team. Baylor has a weak schedule and a dark horse Heisman candidatein RGIII. They've finally learned to use their track program to help recruit speed. Auburn, as defending champs, gets a courtesy appearance on my ballot at #25.
LAST FIVE OUT: Texas (QB controversy and only 4 returning offensive starters), Maryland (solid roster but nothing special), Penn St (if theycan solve the lines...), Mississippi St (not quite sold on 'em), and Georgia (my sleeper pick to win the East, but they have to show me something first).