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We kept our AP #1 vote this week...
Sep 8, 2013, 11:58 AM
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This guy is my local Cleveland reporter and he has kept us #1 in his AP poll for 2 weeks. He covers TOSU beat for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
His ballot is truly a showcase of big game wins early in the season. Which is a strategy I do like early. But it will start to take a different tone soon. As I expect his ballot to change next week with the winner of ALA/TAMU to be #1 next week and us to fall a little off a bye.
Here is his article: follow link at... http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2013/09/no_1_clemson_no_2_miami_no_3_m.html#incart_river
COLUMBUS, Ohio - I'm sure that I won't be the only voter to have Clemson No. 1 on his or her ... wait, a I better not say that this week.
Last week, I put Clemson No. 1, and no one else did. The other 121 voters in the AP and coaches polls wanted nothing to do with me. Clemson stayed No. 1 for me this week.
But some other teams made new appearances in my top 25, with Miami at No. 2 and Michigan No. 3. Overwhelming No. 1 Alabama is at No. 5 on this ballot, and that certainly may seem low. But the Crimson Tide has one win over Virginia Tech and was off this weekend. The four teams above Alabama have what I believe are better wins that, through this point in the season, indicate a better overall body of work that deserves a higher ranking.
Clemson beat Georgia in week one, Miami beat Florida in week two, Michigan beat Notre Dame in week two and LSU beat TCU in week on.
My No. 6 team is Georgia, which earned that with a win over a good South Carolina team. But records do matter, so losing to No. 1 and then adding a big win won't push you past other undefeated teams with good wins. But it did push Georgia past undefeated teams that have only beaten mediocre teams or worse.
Ohio State stayed at No. 9 on my ballot, which I know a lot of people think may be low. I was much more impressed with the Buckeyes this week, but Miami, Michigan and Georgia were lower last week than Ohio State and are now ahead because of better week two wins; Clemson, LSU, Alabama have been mentioned, and Oregon and Louisville have won more impressively overall while, like the Buckeyes, not playing great competition.
Illinois, a team I had little hope for in the preseason, gets a No. 18 vote from me for being 2-0 after dismantling Cincinnati. When you get into that range, you're dealing with teams that have various degrees of impressive wins against less-than-impressive foes. And in that company, a big win over Cincinnati looks pretty good.
Alabama plays at Texas A&M on Saturday, and there is a very good chance the winner of that game could be my new No. 1 next week. Right now, with what has been shown on the field, I think Clemson, Miami, Michigan and LSU have done more than Nick Saban's crew.
No. 1 Clemson
No. 2 Miami
No. 3 Michigan
No. 4 LSU
No. 5 Alabama
No. 6 Georgia
No. 7 Oregon
No. 8 Louisville
No. 9 Ohio State
No. 10 Washington
No. 11 Florida State
No. 12 Stanford
No. 13 South Carolina
No. 14 Texas A&M
No. 15 Oklahoma State
No. 16 Oklahoma
No. 17 Northwestern
No. 18 Illinois
No. 19 Bowling Green
No. 20 Wisconsin
No. 21 Baylor
No. 22 UCLA
No. 23 Nebraska
No. 24 Florida
No. 25 Notre Dame
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