Gabe_i_guess's Week 8 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | |
| 2 | Michigan | |
| 3 | Iowa State | The Cyclones are in the top 3 because they've played a very strong schedule and still are yet to take a loss, though they haven't been quite as dominant and eye popping as Arizona and Michigan |
| 4 | Gonzaga | If you ignore the Michigan stain on their resume, they have looked just as fantastic as Arizona and Michigan. I believe that was an anomaly and the Zags are as good as anyone this year |
| 5 | Duke | Duke finally got clipped by one of the many great teams they've played against. A neutral court loss to TTU is nothing to be ashamed of and they still have one the best resumes in the country |
| 6 | Houston | The Coogs just looked fantastic vs Arkansas, at one point running away with the game. They just haven't played the gauntlet Duke has |
| 7 | Purdue | Purdue smoked Auburn and continues to look great aside from their outing vs the Cyclones |
| 8 | UConn | UConn starts 2-0 in Big East play this week, which is nice, though admittedly against not the best teams |
| 9 | Michigan State | Sparty yet again gets a scare, this time from Oakland, but Kampe's Grizzlies also aren't bad. They get a pass this time, but back to back weeks with a close call vs an inferior team is a bit worrying |
| 10 | BYU | |
| 11 | North Carolina | The Tar Heels slipped out with a win in a thriller vs a decent Ohio State, and I'm starting to really think I missed hard when I left this team out of the top 25 in the preseason |
| 12 | Louisville | Tennessee put it on the Cards this week, but they were without Mikel Brown Jr, so the Cards have an excuse as long as they right the ship as ACC play starts |
| 13 | Vanderbilt | Slip away with an OT win at a very confusing Memphis team and blow out an also confusing Wake Forest team on the road. No matter how those two wins age, Vandy just keeps winning, which is impressive |
| 14 | Nebraska | |
| 15 | Alabama | Bama takes care of two very solid mid-majors, with Yale still in front of them. The wins aren't eye popping, but they very well may have came against teams who play in March Madness |
| 16 | Illinois | |
| 17 | Tennessee | The Vols finally got if figured out this week by dominating Louisville and breaking their three game losing streak. |
| 18 | Arkansas | Arkansas honestly put up a pretty good fight against Houston, if you ignore their ~5 minute 21-2 run the Coogs had. But, that's not how it works, and the Hogs still seem like a bit of a question mark |
| 19 | Texas Tech | The Red Raiders finally won one of the really big ones, and they seem to have a lot going for them if they can put it together for what will be a tough as usual Big 12 |
| 20 | Georgia | |
| 21 | Kansas | |
| 22 | Virginia | Virginia gets a win vs a not very good Maryland team, but it's another high major win nonetheless. Maybe it's a product of a somewhat light schedule, but so far Virginia has looked pretty good |
| 23 | Seton Hall | They got past Providence on the road. Seton Hall hasn't played the toughest schedule either, but at a certain point winning is just impressive |
| 24 | Kentucky | With a win over Indiana last week and St. John's this week, while both those teams are also iffy in their own right, the Wildcats seemed to have found their footing |
| 25 | USC | It has been far from the prettiest a lot of the time, but USC keeps winning outside of their blown game vs Washington. They keep finding ways to win |
Overall Rationale
The rankings are starting to settle in as we get clearer pictures of who every team is. I still favor wins over quality losses for the most part, but having wins doesn't guarantee you any ranking. Iowa and Florida are probably my 26 and 27 right now, but I just find that both teams have failed to capitalize in their big games, so they get to stay out for the time being