It’s been a crazy week in the Frank the Tank household, so I just have time for my BlogPoll Ballot and parlay picks for this post. Some more in-depth posts about conference realignment, the college football playoff picture and TV contracts are forthcoming.
(1) BlogPoll Ballot
Frank the Tank’s Slant Ballot – Week 9
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | — |
| 2 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |  2 |
| 3 | Oregon Ducks |  -1 |
| 4 | Kansas St. Wildcats | 1 |
| 5 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | 2 |
| 6 | LSU Tigers | — |
| 7 | Georgia Bulldogs | 5 |
| 8 | Florida St. Seminoles | 3 |
| 9 | Florida Gators | -6 |
| 10 | Clemson Tigers | 4 |
| 11 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 6 |
| 12 | Stanford Cardinal | 6 |
| 13 | Oregon St. Beavers | -5 |
| 14 | Oklahoma Sooners | -5 |
| 15 | Louisville Cardinals | 5 |
| 16 | USC Trojans | -6 |
| 17 | Mississippi St. Bulldogs | -4 |
| 18 | Texas A&M Aggies | — |
| 19 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | — |
| 20 | Boise St. Broncos | 2 |
| 21 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | -6 |
| 22 | Louisiana Tech Bulldogs | 1 |
| 23 | Northwestern Wildcats | — |
| 24 | Toledo Rockets | 1 |
| 25 | Northern Illinois Huskies | — |
| Dropouts: Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio Bobcats, Wisconsin Badgers | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
This is the first time in history where an undefeated Notre Dame team is actually underrated. The Irish resume is deserving of a #2 ranking.
(2) College Football Parlay Picks (odds from Yahoo! and home teams in CAPS)
Illinois (+27.5) over OHIO STATE – As evidenced by last week’s post, I’m waaaaaay down on the state of the Illinois football program, but for whatever reason, the Illini generally outperform expectations whenever they play Ohio State (if only because this matchup typically comes with trap game timing for the Buckeyes).
USC (+8.5) over Oregon – I’m feeling upset #1…
LSU (+8.5) over Alabama – … and upset #2. Identical lines for two uber-talented home teams in the biggest games of the weekend. Get ready for that Notre Dame vs. Kansas State national championship game.
(4) NFL Parlay Picks (odds from Yahoo! and home teams in CAPS)
Bears (-3.5) over TITANS – I’m going to chalk up last week’s sub par performance by Smokin’ Jay Cutler and the Bears to a short week coming off of a Monday Night Football appearance.
FALCONS (-3.5) over Cowboys – Atlanta should honestly be getting more love from the oddsmakers here.
Ravens (-3.5) over BROWNS – This Browns team was challenging to be the among the worst Cleveland teams ever (which is saying something) before it pulled out that cringe-inducing victory over San Diego last week. I think they’ll revert to true form against the Team Formerly Known as the Cleveland Browns.
Enjoy the weekend, stay safe if you’re on the East Coast and, no matter what your political persuasion might be, please vote on Tuesday!
(Follow Frank the Tank’s Slant on Twitter @frankthetank111 and Facebook)
FRANK THE TANK'S SLANT 