We’re less than a week away from the kickoff of the 2013 college football season, and it appears from the ballots of our seven gridiron pollsters here at Sports Unbiased that everyone else is still chasing after Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide. Gunning for their fourth BCS championship in five seasons, Alabama returns plenty of talent on both sides of the ball as they look to win a third straight crown.
This season each of the ballots of our seven pollsters will be available every week for your critiques and derision in the comments below. While a majority of the writers who will submit their picks each week are centered on the east coast (understandable given the site’s Virginia headquarters), the map below also shows a nationwide distribution of selectors:
First, let’s take a look at each individual ballot:
Brooke Brown | Zach Bigalke | Matt Strobl | John Mitchell | |
1 | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama |
2 | Oregon | Stanford | Stanford | Stanford |
3 | Notre Dame | Ohio State | Ohio State | Oregon |
4 | Clemson | Oregon | Georgia | Ohio State |
5 | Oklahoma State | Clemson | Oregon | South Carolina |
6 | Ohio State | Georgia | South Carolina | Georgia |
7 | Stanford | Louisville | Texas A&M* | Clemson |
8 | Michigan | Oklahoma State | Clemson | Texas A&M |
9 | Louisville | Texas A&M | LSU | LSU |
10 | LSU | Boise State | Florida State | Louisville |
11 | Georgia | South Carolina | Florida | Florida |
12 | South Carolina | Michigan | Oklahoma | Michigan |
13 | Oklahoma | TCU | Oklahoma State | Texas |
14 | Nebraska | Florida State | Louisville | Oklahoma State |
15 | Boise State | Baylor | TCU | Notre Dame |
16 | TCU | Florida | Texas | Florida State |
17 | Florida | LSU | Michigan | Oklahoma |
18 | Oregon State | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | TCU |
19 | Florida State | Nebraska | Boise State | Boise State |
20 | Northwestern | UCLA | UCLA | Oregon State |
21 | Texas | Northwestern | Nebraska | Nebraska |
22 | Texas A&M | Northern Illinois | USC | Northwestern |
23 | Wisconsin | Oregon State | Michigan State | UCLA |
24 | Iowa | Fresno State | Kansas State | Kansas State |
25 | Washington | UTSA | Oregon State | Miami (FL) |
Rich Stowe | Kimani Gregoire | Mike Santangelo | |
1 | Alabama | Alabama | Ohio State |
2 | Ohio State | Oregon | Alabama |
3 | Stanford | Georgia | Oregon |
4 | Oregon | Ohio State | Georgia |
5 | Clemson | Stanford | Stanford |
6 | Georgia | South Carolina | Clemson |
7 | Texas A&M | Louisville | South Carolina |
8 | South Carolina | Texas A&M | Texas A&M |
9 | Notre Dame | Florida | Louisville |
10 | Florida | Clemson | Notre Dame |
11 | Louisville | Florida State | Florida |
12 | LSU | LSU | Florida State |
13 | Florida State | Notre Dame | Oklahoma State |
14 | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | LSU |
15 | Michigan | Oklahoma | Michigan |
16 | Texas | Texas | Texas |
17 | Oklahoma | Michigan | Oklahoma |
18 | Boise State | Boise State | Nebraska |
19 | UCLA | TCU | Boise State |
20 | TCU | Nebraska | Oregon State |
21 | Northwestern | UCLA | TCU |
22 | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | UCLA |
23 | USC | Oregon State | USC |
24 | Virginia Tech | USC | Miami (FL) |
25 | Michigan State | Northwestern | Kansas State |
As you can see, the greatest deviation is in the middle and bottom thirds of each ballot. While most of the rankings at the top of each ballot are similar, the plethora of teams selected beyond the top ten show that there is hardly consensus on how this last season of the BCS will play out. Now that you’ve seen each ballot, here’s how they combine to form the Sports Unbiased Preseason Top 25:
1 | Alabama (6) | 174 | 0.9943 |
2 | Ohio State (1) | 159 | 0.9086 |
2 | Oregon | 159 | 0.9086 |
4 | Stanford | 156 | 0.8914 |
5 | Georgia | 142 | 0.8114 |
6 | Clemson | 137 | 0.7829 |
7 | South Carolina | 127 | 0.7257 |
8 | Louisville | 115 | 0.6571 |
9 | Texas A&M | 113 | 0.6457 |
10 | Oklahoma State | 101 | 0.5771 |
11 | LSU | 99 | 0.5657 |
12 | Florida | 97 | 0.5543 |
13 | Notre Dame | 96 | 0.5486 |
14 | Florida State | 87 | 0.4971 |
15 | Michigan | 86 | 0.4914 |
16 | Oklahoma | 65 | 0.3714 |
17 | Boise State | 64 | 0.3657 |
18 | TCU | 60 | 0.3429 |
19 | Texas | 58 | 0.3314 |
20 | Nebraska | 43 | 0.2457 |
21 | UCLA | 31 | 0.1771 |
22 | Oregon State | 27 | 0.1543 |
23 | Northwestern | 21 | 0.1200 |
24 | USC | 12 | 0.0686 |
25 | Baylor | 11 | 0.0629 |
25 | Wisconsin | 11 | 0.0629 |
(ALSO RECEIVING VOTES)
27 | Kansas State | 5 | 0.0286 |
28 | Michigan State | 4 | 0.0229 |
28 | Northern Illinois | 4 | 0.0229 |
30 | Miami (FL) | 3 | 0.0171 |
31 | Virginia Tech | 2 | 0.0114 |
31 | Fresno State | 2 | 0.0114 |
31 | Iowa | 2 | 0.0114 |
34 | Washington | 1 | 0.0057 |
34 | UTSA | 1 | 0.0057 |
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