Gabe_i_guess's Week 7 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | The Wildcats look amazing, blowing out Alabama in the second half Saturday. I think them and Michigan are really 1A and 1B |
| 2 | Michigan | Michigan just keeps blowing everyone out, and it came despite some adversity at Maryland. They very well may be the best team in the country |
| 3 | Duke | |
| 4 | Gonzaga | Ignoring their loss to Michigan, Gonzaga has looked as impressive as anybody, including now a 10 point win on UCLA. I think the Bulldogs are a tiny bit underrated and a real national title contender |
| 5 | Iowa State | Iowa State improves to 11-0 and showed grit in a comeback win against the Hawkeyes this week |
| 6 | Purdue | Purdue rolled this week, and I'm still convinced the Boilermakers are great, only behind Iowa State due to the head to head |
| 7 | UConn | UConn continues to impress and bolster their resume with solid wins over Florida and Texas. The only reason the Huskies are this low is because I think there's a whole lot of amazing teams |
| 8 | Louisville | Aside from their loss in Bud Walton, Louisville has looked very dominant basically all year. Anyone they've even been remotely better than they've managed to beat and do so by a few scores at least |
| 9 | Houston | The Cougars seem strong, but I have them down here just because I think they have a worse loss and less impressive wins than everyone above them |
| 10 | Michigan State | Penn State gave the Spartans a scare, but they survived and have done enough before this for me to let that slip up slide |
| 11 | BYU | They had an EXTREMELY impressive comeback vs Clemson this week. The Cougars seem really good, and while I'm still not fully sold, I wouldn't be shocked if they win the Big 12 and make a Final Four run |
| 12 | North Carolina | |
| 13 | Vanderbilt | While Vandy hasn't played very many good teams, they have seemed like a complete buzzsaw with one of the best offenses in the country. I may prove to be an idiot, but I think Vandy is legit. |
| 14 | Nebraska | HUGE week for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska not only beat a solid Wisconsin team by 30, but also went and won at Illinois to have their best start in program history. Nebraska has proven they can compete |
| 15 | Arkansas | Arkansas got a big win vs Texas Tech this weekend. The Razorbacks seem like they could win the SEC if they can just play at well more often than not, though they definitely are far from perfect |
| 16 | Alabama | They got their doors blown off by Arizona, but it's Arizona so I can't blame the Tide to much |
| 17 | Illinois | They got a solid win at Ohio State and lost close vs Nebraska. Illinois still seems like a very good team, and they still have a very strong resume to this point in the year |
| 18 | Georgia | While they have far from a glamorous resume, the Bulldogs have quite a few high major wins, and their only loss came in OT to a pretty good Clemson team. |
| 19 | Kansas | To play, or not to play, that is the question for Darryn Peterson. In all seriousness, I think the Jayhawks are a top 25 team if he's healthy most of the year, and not if he's not. |
| 20 | Virginia | |
| 21 | Seton Hall | Crushed Rutgers this week. I think the Pirates have done a lot to impress me, and their only loss is by 2 to USC in Maui. Crazy take, give me Seton Hall to finish second in the Big East this year |
| 22 | Texas Tech | Texas Tech has looked pretty good for the most part, but they got crushed by Purdue and are yet to notch a top 25 win. I think their game against Duke next week is huge and will show how legit TTU is. |
| 23 | USC | USC hasn't blown very many teams out, but they sure keep winning. That UW loss stings a lot, but they have solid wins like Boise State, NCSU, and Seton Hall |
| 24 | Tennessee | |
| 25 | Auburn | I still have no clue what's up with Auburn, but for now they seem like a borderline top 25 team who just lost to some real tough competition |
Overall Rationale
At this point, I'm (not a hard rule by any means, but generally) valuing having fewer losses over having many 'quality' losses. Teams like Vandy and Georgia may not have any huge feather in their cap wins, but they keep winning and have either no losses, or only one not bad loss. I value that over teams like Auburn or Texas Tech who have looked good, but have lost most of their big games and left room for me to be unsure of how good they actually are. This isn't to say being undefeated is more important than having good wins, but I do think as of now I'm more impressed by a team like Vandy than a team like Auburn.