August 12, 2023

My ballot for the AP Top 25 – If they let me have one.

If the AP Top 25 let me have a ballot, this is how mine would look. It’s a ranking, not a power rating. But in the preseason, rankings are irrelevant. So it will have some power rating aspects to it. 

Confused? Good, me too. 

I’ll explain my picks in groups of 5 from 25 to 1. Then, at the bottom, I have a list of 1-40. I went 40 deep to show what my personal “others receiving votes” section would look like. 

25-21

25 – Tulane

24 – Illinois

23 – Maryland

22 – North Carolina

21 – South Carolina

Tulane is the top G5 team. They beat USC in the Cotton Bowl last year, and they return most of that team. But, they are still a G5 with less talent than everyone above them. They will have to earn a higher ranking, not be gifted one.

The middle of the B1G is better than people give it credit for, Maryland and Illinois are quality teams. UNC is a good team with a great QB, but losing OC Phil Longo will hurt. South Carolina has outperformed …