Here is my Week 3 BlogPoll Draft Ballot. Suggestions for changes are due by 9:00 PM Pacific Sunday night, at which time I will submit the final BTD Ballot. As in our last post, I'll defend my picks after the jump.
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings
Building the Dam Ballot - Week 3
Rank Team Delta
1
Alabama Crimson Tide
--
2
Oklahoma Sooners
--
3
LSU Tigers
--
4
Virginia Tech Hokies
--
5
Boise St. Broncos
--
6
Texas A&M Aggies
--
7
Florida St. Seminoles
--
8
Pittsburgh Panthers
--
9
Oregon Ducks
--
10
Arkansas Razorbacks
1
11
South Carolina Gamecocks
1
12
Wisconsin Badgers
1
13
Stanford Cardinal
1
14
Ohio St. Buckeyes
1
15
Texas Longhorns
1
16
Georgia Bulldogs
-6
17
Nebraska Cornhuskers
--
18
Michigan St. Spartans
1
19
Clemson Tigers
1
20
Arizona St. Sun Devils
1
21
TCU Horned Frogs
2
22
USC Trojans
2
23
South Florida Bulls
2
24
Iowa Hawkeyes
-6
25
Florida Gators
--
Dropouts: N.C. State Wolfpack
Arkansas - The Razorbacks move up a spot after their 52-3 thrashing of New Mexico. With Georgia losing this was an easy call to put them in the top ten. South Carolina - I'm still not ready to anoint the Gamecocks of top ten status, but they had a great win in Athens today. The next four games are going to be very interesting for them (Navy, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Kentucky) as they are all should-be wins, but they have to be very careful with them if they want to keep their high ranking. Wisconsin - We still don't know much about the Badgers. They looked solid in their 35-0 win against Oregon State, but at times they struggled to rush the football. We will get a better feel for Wisconsin when they host Nebraska in a few weeks. Stanford - Like Wisconsin, we still haven't learned anything about the Cardinal. Stanford demolished Duke in the SAT Bowl, 44-14, to go on top of their 57-3 defeat of San Jose State last week. Ohio State - Ohio State? Moving up? After their scare against Toledo? Yes, it's true, and there's a few reasons for it. First, Georgia lost, sending them to 0-2 and #16, meaning Ohio State at least moves up one spot by default. Second, Toledo is no pushover. They've got a very explosive offense, led by receivers Bernard Reedy and Eric Page, and they have a solid running back in Adonis Thomas. And finally, Ohio State had seven players suspended for the game. When they get those key players back they will be right back here in the 15-10 range by mid-October. Texas - The Longhorns are the final team that benefits from Georgia's loss. The Horn's didn't do anything special in their 17-16 squeaker over BYU, but it was a good victory against a good team. Michigan State - The Spartans followed up their lackluster performance against Youngstown State with a 44-0 thrashing of Florida Atlantic, good enough to move them up a spot. Clemson - The Tigers chose to schedule Wofford, a top FCS team, instead of a traditional middle-of-the-pack FCS opponent, and they almost paid for it. Clemson did survive though, improving their record to 2-0. Arizona State - We've been on the ASU train since the preseason and they should finally crack the Top 25 poll this week. I've got them at #20 in my ballot and am waiting until next week's matchup at Illinois to make sure they are 19-15 material. TCU - The Horned Frogs bounced back nicely after their heartbreaking loss last week to defeat Air Force, 35-19. USC - The Trojans held on for a great win today against the Utah Utes. Despite the Utes rallying time after time, USC blcoked the game-tying field goal attempt at the gun to survive. The win gets them to 2-0 and #22 in my poll. South Florida - The Bulls followed up their upset win at Notre Dame last week with a solid 37-7 win against Ball State. Goin' Down Georgia - Everyone is going to overreact to the Bulldogs 0-2 start, but come on, they played Boise State and South Carolina. And they played both team's tough for most of the game. It's not a popular pick right now, but I think the 'Dogs will be in the hunt for the SEC East title come November. Iowa - The Hawkeyes played some terrible defense in today's 44-41 loss against Iowa State, and I was very tempted to drop them out of the Top 25 completely. However, it was a rivalry game, AND it was on the road. Also, I can't find a team that should replace them. I'm still not sold on Michigan or Baylor, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs lost today. So Iowa keeps their spot in the poll, but they will be on VERY thin ice the next couple of weeks.
So, what do you guys think? Tell me what I need to change and provide a good argument for it and we will change it! --Connor