My AP Top 25 Ballot (Week 6)

by Alex Abrams

Posted on 12 October 2009

Thanks to Arkansas’ early kickoff, I had the chance last night to sit down, relax and flip between Florida’s win over LSU and Georgia Tech’s shootout with Florida State. (Well, it was actually more of a run-fest because the Yellow Jackets use that darn triple option.)

After spending too many hours watching college football, I sat down Saturday night and started putting together my AP Top 25 ballot for this week. And while there weren’t many changes because there weren’t many upsets, I did make a major move at the top.

Without any further delay, here’s the ballot I submitted a few minutes ago:

1. Alabama (I had been thinking for a few weeks that Alabama was the nation’s best team, but I gave Florida the benefit of the doubt since the Gators are undefeated and the defending national champions. But then I looked at it like this: Alabama and Florida have each beaten a top 5 team. The Crimson Tide looked more impressive in its 34-24 win over Virginia Tech than the Gators did in their hard-to-watch 13-3 win over LSU. In addition, Alabama has looked dominant in its lopsided wins over Arkansas and Ole Miss. Florida has done just enough to get by. Thus, Nick Saban got the edge over Urban Meyer.)

2. Florida (See Alabama.)

3. Texas

4. Virginia Tech

5. USC (Even though the Trojans had an off week, I moved them up from No. 8 because of LSU’s loss and TCU’s struggles with Air Force. USC also has the big win at Ohio State. In my opinion, a top 5 team should have an impressive win by now. Well, OK, Texas is the exception. But we’ll save that argument for another day.)

6. Ohio State

7. Boise State

8. Cincinnati

9. TCU

10. Iowa (I considered ranking the Hawkeyes even higher. After all, they’re undefeated with a huge win at Penn State. But after seeing Iowa struggle with Michigan and have to hold on late for the win, I thought No. 10 was good enough for now. But there’s a chance for upward mobility if Kirk Ferentz’s team keeps winning.)

11. Oregon

12. Miami

13. LSU

14. Kansas

15. Oklahoma State

16. Penn State

17. Nebraska (The Cornhuskers made a considerable leap in my ballot, moving up six spots from No. 23 after they turned it on late to knock off previously ranked Missouri. If only Nebraska had been on the winning end of a 16-15 loss to Virginia Tech, this would be a top 10 team.)

18. BYU

19. Georgia Tech (For pure entertainment value, Georgia Tech’s 49-44 win over Florida State was the game of the day. It looked like an ArenaFootball game – all offense, no defense. And boy, the ‘Noles had no answer for the Ramblin’ Wreck’s triple option. The only thing that could stop it was the 78-minute delay because of lightning.)

20. Oklahoma

21. South Carolina

22. South Florida

23. Utah

24. Houston

25. Notre Dame

I struggled with putting together teams No. 23, 24 and 25 in my ballot. No one seemed worthy of those spots. I dropped Ole Miss from No. 17 to out of the poll because of its one-sided loss to Alabama. And I had a hard time justifying keeping Auburn in the top 25 after the Tigers trailed 34-3 at Arkansas before losing 44-23.

Do you agree or disagree with where I ranked any teams. Do you think Florida should have stayed at the top of my ballot? And do you want to make a case for Arkansas being ranked? Let me know what you think. My

You can also follow me on Twitter (@NWAAlex).

Categorized | Blog, Football, General News

7 Comments For This Post

blake Says:
October 12th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I am sorry but other than the top 2 teams in the nation I think there is a lot of parity this year.

Teams like Iowa and Kansas are far overrated but they have won their games. Kansas was in a shootout with Iowa State this weekend and Iowa almost was knocked off by Arkansas State last weekend. Neither team looks very good to me. Boise State would be beaten by most of the SEC but they win their games. Texas has not looked good at all to me. The red river shootout this year is going to be all hype because neither team is that good in my opinion.

Pretty much from 6-25 I see a bunch of teams that are really not that good but a product of an easy schedule, hype, or a weak conference. I cannot believe Oregon is ranked so high. Is it because they beat Cal? Cal actually plays football? I don’t know. The more years this playoff and rankings are flaw debate goes on the more I see myself looking at them skeptically. I think it is time for something new.

Virginia Tech is another team that I just don’t buy into. I have watched their highlights and a few of their games. They beat who they should and they get beat by their best competition. Which unfortunately since they play in the ACC is one team usually and the SEC OOC game they play. They will go to a BCS bowl year in and year out regardless of if they actually stack up with half the SEC because they don’t have to play the teams the SEC does.
John Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I’m pretty sure that UF played a much better Alabama team last year in Atlanta. I don’t see why the result would be any different.
JJ Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Can you explain why a 10 point win over Virginia Tech on a neutral site is more impressive than a 10 point win over LSU in death Valley? Especially after 2 weeks when your starting QB was recovering from a cuncussion? VT’s run defense has been pourous comparted to LSU’s. EVEN STRANGER, Alabama’s 18 point victory over kentucky on the road is more impressive to you than Florida’s 34 point victory over kentucky on the road? You need to do a better job explaining why Alabama has been “more impressive.”
Mark Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Yeah, Alabama definitely outplayed Florida against their one common opponent. Alabam won 38-20, Florida 41-7 despite the team being withour Tebow for a quarter of the game.
Gatormiami Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Admit it! You’re searching for a reason to drop the Gators from the top spot. That’s the ONLY excuse that works. Are you one of those secret Gator/Tebow haters?

If you watched the Tide-Ole Miss game, you surely saw 5 turnovers & an Alabama QB who got the job done vs Ole Miss, but stands little chance against Florida….. Despite the fact that the UF offense refused (or wasn’t allowed) to close. They didn’t need to.

Do you take your job seriously? Watch & learn on Saturday!
R.Reece Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Both teams lost players from last year’s offense and brought back their entire defenses. The real question is whether Tim Tebow gets back to 100%. If he does, Alabama can’t hang with Florida. If he doesn’t, the Gators might be mortal. Tebow has a month and a half till he has to worry about Alabama. After Saturday’s game I bet at least a few Gators ask who you’re going to vote for now.
ohio state fan Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Apparently, our fearless columnist is caught up in the “Alabama Groupthink Herd.”

I agree with JJ . . .

If you're looking for posts from today's game, don't forget to follow me over at @NWARobbie now. No longer posting here. 1 week ago
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