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SALT LAKE CITY — Does anybody actually want to be ranked anymore?
What a bizarre week of college football, where nothing really made sense. But it was entertaining nonetheless, which is all we ask with this sport. And shoutout Oregon-Boise State for helping bring back the memories of #Pac12AfterDark.
After all that, though, trying to figure out this week's Associated Press Top 25 ballot felt more difficult than I can remember. We still don't know a ton about most teams, and yet there were wild results that have us guessing everything.
So let's see what happens ...
The following is the ballot I submitted to the Associated Press that will be counted in the consensus rankings that will be released Sunday afternoon.
1. Georgia
Georgia played FCS Tennessee Tech and won 48-3. Next ...
2. Ohio State
Ohio State played an FBS opponent, but Western Michigan wasn't much of a challenge in a 56-0 win for the Buckeyes.
3. Texas
Texas looked like a team on a mission in its matchup on the road at the Big House against reigning champs Michigan. The Longhorns controlled the game early and looked like a viable championship contender. Are we sleeping on Texas at No. 3?
One could make a case.
4. Ole Miss
Middle Tennessee never stood a chance against quarterback Jaxson Dart. The former Corner Canyon High star completed his first 24 passes of the game to set an SEC and school record, and had only two incompletions on 27 attempts in the Rebels' 52-3 win.
Dart remains the front-runner in the early Heisman Trophy voting, in my opinion.
5. Alabama
Alabama was on upset watch for a stretch in the second half against South Florida. But in the blink of an eye, the Crimson Tide took over and controlled the game in a 42-16 win. Alabama scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to leave no doubt.
6. Tennessee
Tennessee was too much for a ranked NC State team that had a lot of promise coming into the season, but the team never lived up to the expectations in a 51-10 blowout Saturday evening. The Vols are a team to watch in an already top-loaded SEC.
7. Miami
Miami played FCS Florida A&M, and did what you're supposed to do against lesser competition. But things are looking good for quarterback Cam Ward and the Hurricanes.
8. Penn State
Admittedly, I don't love having Penn State at No. 8 after Saturday's poor showing against Bowling Green. James Franklin felt nobody was talking about how good his defense was after Manny Diaz left to coach at Duke.
Let's just say people are talking now ... just not in the way Franklin intended.
I'll call this a soft No. 8 ranking because I don't quite trust the Nittany Lions this week. After a strong Week 1 showing, the follow up was disappointing.
9. Utah
Utah looked like it was going to put up 50 points on Baylor, while limiting the Bears to just one half of the field to work. But a mid-game injury to starting quarterback Cam Rising — an injury the kept him out for the duration of the game — sucked the air out of the stadium and changed the tone of the game.
The Utah coaching staff played it safe for the remainder of the game to came away with a 23-12 win at home. Though Rising's injury doesn't appear serious, it has the potential to drop Utah in the rankings if there's not more production from the offense in the future.
10. USC
Following a neutral site win over a ranked LSU team to start the season, USC took care of business against a Utah State squad already without the service of its starting quarterback. The Trojans look like a complete team — defense included — and came away with a 48-0 win at home.
The schedule gets more difficult for the Trojans in the coming weeks, but so far so good. Maybe we all picked the wrong former Pac-12 team to be good in their first season in the Big Ten (Yes, Oregon, we're looking at you).
Dropping out: Boise State, Iowa
Checking in: Iowa State, Northern Illinois
In consideration (alphabetical): Arizona State, Boise State, Illinois, Iowa, Memphis, South Carolina, Syracuse, UCF, Wisconsin
If you can't see my full ballot below, click here.
