Week 1 is essentially in the books, and we went ahead and filled out our initial ballot. In case you missed it last week, we need you to tell us how you think the poll should look. I'll take a look at all the feedback and post a revised ballot Tuesday or Wednesday. Make your voice heard! Some explanations for the initial thoughts after the jump.
Arkansas Expats Ballot - Week 1
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 3 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 4 | Florida St. Seminoles | -- |
| 5 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 6 | Michigan St. Spartans | -- |
| 7 | West Virginia Mountaineers | -- |
| 8 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 9 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -- |
| 10 | Texas Longhorns | -- |
| 11 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -- |
| 12 | Clemson Tigers | -- |
| 13 | Wisconsin Badgers | -- |
| 14 | Georgia Bulldogs | -- |
| 15 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 16 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 17 | Louisville Cardinals | -- |
| 18 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
| 19 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
| 20 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -- |
| 21 | TCU Horned Frogs | -- |
| 22 | Tennessee Volunteers | -- |
| 23 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | -- |
| 24 | Mississippi St. Bulldogs | -- |
| 25 | Missouri Tigers | -- |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
- I was big on rewarding teams who played and won games against legitimate opponents in the first week. That's why Alabama is the clear number one. They were in the most high profile game and treated Michigan like a cupcake. That's also why I kept Michigan State, South Carolina, and Clemson relatively high. And the reason why Tennessee is in the poll.
- I'm buying into Oregon a little more now. Scoring 50 points with half the second quarter still to play is impressive against anyone. I might have had them at #2 if they'd actually hung 100 on ASU.
- Still think USC has depth issues. I'll think that until proven otherwise.
- I did drop the Hogs a little. The defense was disappointing but still only allowed a field goal in the second half, and the offense looks about the same even without Cobi.
- Teams that really disappointed: Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida (I dropped them from the poll)
- Missouri and Mississippi State took care of business easily enough to develop some real confidence for this week's big games. If they truly belong in the poll, they'll win this week. I'm willing to put them barely in right now.
- Notre Dame didn't beat any great team, but to go overseas and still play well enough to drop 50 points, not bad. Not bad at all.
What do you think? Who's too high? Who's too low? Put your thoughts in the comments, find me on twitter, or send me an email.
Doc Harper is the editor of ArkansasExpats.com and is a regular contributor to ArkansasSports360.com. You can email him at heydocharper@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @doc_harper.