After a week of record-setting turmoil at the top of the rankings, the only guarantee was outrage.
Five of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same day for the first time in the poll's history, leaving the voters to sort through a jumbled pile of contradictory results and conflicting resumes. Even if all 70 ballots made sense independently, the final tally after mashing them together was always destined to be flawed.
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Greg Luca's AP Top 25 ballot
Difference from poll results in parentheses
1. BYU (+1)
2. Miami (-1)
3. Ohio State (0)
4. Notre Dame (0)
5. Indiana (+1)
6. Georgia (-1)
7. Texas Tech (+1)
8. Ole Miss (-1)
9. Tennessee (+2)
10. UCLA (-1)
11. Utah (-1)
12. Alabama (+1)
13. Houston (+1)
14. Kentucky (-2)
15. Iowa (0)
16. Texas (+3)
17. Wake Forest (0)
18. LSU (0)
19. Northwestern (+5)
20. Oklahoma State (+6)
21. Oregon (+6)
22. USC (-6)
23. Arizona (+2)
24. SMU (-1)
25. Boise State (-4)
Through each week of my debut season with an AP Top 25 ballot, we'll take you inside my thought process behind the picks, looking this week at some of the loudest criticisms from the year's most controversial set of rankings.
Why is Texas ranked over Florida?
The poor optics jumped off the page the moment the poll was released. One day after Florida beat Texas 27-24 in Austin, the Gators checked in at No. 20, one spot behind the No. 19 Longhorns.
Again, the poll results come from a points tally. The AP voters did not have a committee meeting that ended with an agreement to flout the previous day's head-to-head.
My ballot was one of the most polarized in this regard, as I had Texas at No. 16 while leaving Florida unranked.
The Longhorns' body of work still presents a strong overall case. Texas has wins over No. 3 Ohio State and No. 11 Tennessee, and the Longhorns still rank eighth in SP+ efficiency and ninth in adjusted EPA per play.
The ugly nature of Texas' 27-24 losses to Florida and Oklahoma hurts in the eye test, but analytics tell a different story. Per postgame win expectancy data from ESPN's Bill Connelly, the Longhorns had just a 1.2% chance of going 0-2 against the Gators and Sooners the past two weeks. In other words, Texas built the types of statistical edges that usually lead to wins, suggesting the outcomes were more likely to be flukes than indicators of the Longhorns' downfall.
Texas' close final margins also inspire more confidence than Florida's 45-17 loss to Missouri on Oct. 3 and last week's 38-19 home loss to a South Carolina team that appeared to be on the verge of firing its coach.
The Gators are much worse than the Longhorns in the analytics - No. 38 in SP+ and No. 29 in adjusted EPA per play - and Florida's inconsistency is too alarming to merit a top-25 spot.
Why is Georgia ranked ahead of Tennessee?
Before Saturday's shocking home loss to Auburn, Georgia was the best and most consistent team in the nation. The Bulldogs won their first five games by at least 24 points, then beat Alabama 20-17 on the road last week to mark one of the most impressive results for any team this season.
The counterargument is obvious: Tennessee was even more impressive in a 26-10 win against that same Alabama team Saturday, delivering a smothering defensive performance.
But one solid showing from quarterback George MacIntyre isn't enough to undo concerns about a Tennessee offense that has struggled most of the year, narrowly defeating lowly Arkansas a week ago.
The combination of quarterback Gunner Stockton and coach Kirby Smart at the head of one of the nation's most reliable programs is still easier to trust going forward, and the Bulldogs checked in at No. 2 in SP+ even with Saturday's loss.
My No. 6 ranking for Georgia was one spot lower than the AP average, while my No. 9 ranking for Tennessee was two spots higher than the consensus. But I do agree that they belong in that order.
Why didn't Notre Dame fall farther?
Notre Dame's soft schedule makes the Fighting Irish an easy target, and many fans wanted to see a steeper drop after Saturday's 28-24 loss at BYU.
But in a hostile primetime environment against a Cougars team that now ranks No. 2 in the country, the Fighting Irish played to a near stalemate. Notre Dame and BYU both finished with 0.10 EPA per play for the game, and the Cougars' 45% success rate just edged the 44% success rate for the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame also remains strong in the yearlong analytics despite facing lesser competition, sitting No. 4 in SP+ and No. 2 in adjusted EPA per play.
Given that Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin will be out "several weeks" due to injury, according to coach Ryan Day, a case exists to keep Notre Dame at No. 3, bumping Ohio State to No. 4. But I chose to reward Ohio State for Saturday's 19-15 win at Indiana and a strong analytics profile, keeping the Buckeyes at No. 3 while slotting the Fighting Irish at No. 4.
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There’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Inside Greg Luca's AP Top 25 ballot: Sorting through an unprecedented week.