My AP top-25 ballot: Georgia on top, followed by Iowa and Cincinnati (it’s chaos … glorious chaos)
The wild ride that is the 2021 season continued in Week Six with Alabama losing, Iowa edging Penn State and Oklahoma's thrilling win over Texas.
Highlights from the ballot …
— There’s a new No. 1, with Georgia replacing Alabama after the former won handily and the latter lost to a two-loss opponent with a backup quarterback.
— Iowa is No. 2 after the narrow win over Penn State, but I kept the Nittany Lions steady in the No. 4 slot.
Generally, I don’t drop teams for losing close games to higher-ranked opponents, especially close games on the road to higher-ranked opponents.
(Framed another way: If you’re deemed the No. 4 team in the country and lose to No. 3, that doesn’t mean you aren’t still the fourth-best.)
— Alabama fell to No. 7, behind both Oklahoma schools (which are undefeated).
While the Crimson Tide remains a serious threat for the CFP and national title, there is no discounting the results: That was not a good loss … not good at all.
Texas A&M barely beat Colorado and had lost two in a row, to Arkansas and Mississippi State.
— Oregon is slotted eighth once again, followed by Ohio State.
The head-to-head result from Week Two continues to trump other factors when evaluating the teams, as long as they have the same number of losses.
— That approach was applied to Brigham Young and Arizona State, as well.
Even though the Cougars lost at home to Boise State, their head-to-head victory over the Sun Devils justifies a higher ranking as long as they both have one loss.
To the ballot …
1. Georgia
2. Iowa
3. Cincinnati
4. Penn State
5. Oklahoma
6. Oklahoma State
7. Alabama
8. Oregon
9. Ohio State
10. Michigan State
11. Notre Dame
12. Michigan
13. Kentucky
14. Mississippi
15. Arkansas
16. Coastal Carolina
17. Brigham Young
18. Arizona State
19. Florida
20. Baylor
21. Clemson
22. Texas
23. Kansas State
24. Wake Forest
25. San Diego State
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