Scott Hamilton’s AP Top 25 ballot: Broadway takes center stage after Week 1

Back Porch Sports’ Scott Hamilton is one of 69 voters in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll. Here’s how his Week 1 ballot shook out:

Broadway Musical Edition

High Society: Ohio State had no problem with Ball State, rolling up 671 total yards (434 passing, 237 rushing) en route to a 56-3 win over Ball State. That was enough to keep the Buckeyes (1-0) in the top spot heading into this week’s game at No. 2 Texas. 

The Longhorns also didn’t have any problems during their opener, beating Texas State 59-7. Three members of Texas’ (1-0) transfer class – running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers, along with receiver Cam Coleman – accounted for four touchdowns.

Phantom of the Opera: Lane Kiffin doesn’t wear a mask or hide in the shadows, but he’s definitely manipulating all kinds of chaos on and off the field. Who else ever thought about actually managing a pros-to-college scheme?

In his debut as LSU’s head coach, that meant orchestrating a 51-10 victory over Clemson – the worst defeat in Dabo Swinney’s 18-plus-season career. The question now is what Kiffin concocts between now and LSU’s (1-0) Sept. 19 game at Ole Miss, which stands to be an even bigger circus than what engulfed Baton Rouge leading up to Week 1.

Les Miserables: The official standings show that Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12 after completing a second chance at a game-winning Hail Mary. Was it legit and there was a one second left on the clock? Or should the game have ended when Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood first heaved a pass out that flew outside of the end zone? There’s still plenty of conjecture, yet the Wolverines’ victory stands (at least at the time this was written).

But these eyes saw a different outcome. That was enough to drop Michigan from No. 16 to No. 25. And that nine-spot fall is actually pretty charitable considering the majority of voters left the Wolverines off their ballots entirely. And probably justifiably so.

Oklahoma!: The Sooners’ defense didn’t budge during a 51-0 win over UTEP, limiting the Miners to only 198 total yards. Oklahoma also didn’t budge in these rankings and stayed in the No. 11 spot.

The Book of Mormon: BYU dropped one spot and is now 14th in these rankings. But the slip was more the domino effect from teams around the Cougars rather than underwhelming play. The Cougars (1-0) performed as expected in their 63-7 win over Utah Tech of the FCS, rolling up 521 total yards – including 308 yards rushing on 46 attempts. BYU’s sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier accounted for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing). The Cougars haven’t lost to a non-FBS team since 1960.

West Side Story: Three teams from the Pacific Time Zone are in these rankings. All are from the Big Ten and each dropped a spot this week despite winning their games. 

Oregon (1-0) fell from third to seventh after holding off Boise State, 34-27. Southern Cal (2-0) is now 15th despite beating Fresno State, 39-0; Washington (1-0) went from 17th to 18th after beating rival Washington State, 24-10.            

Bye Bye Birdie: Louisville was the only ranked team to take a loss, albeit to another ranked team via a 41-38 loss to then-No. 9 Ole Miss. Yet that was enough as Virginia – which had the week off – was waiting in the wings to cash in on its 34-8 win over N.C. State during Week 0.

Damn Yankees: Only marginally. The SEC again leads these rankings with nine teams, one more than the Big Ten. The Big 12 landed four teams, while the ACC had three. Notre Dame, as usual, is the lone independent. Also, there are no Group of 6 teams in these rankings for the second straight week.

Hamilton’s rankings (last week): 

1. Ohio State (1)

2. Texas (2)

3. Notre Dame (4)

4. Georgia (5)

5. Miami (7)

6. Indiana (6)

7. Oregon (3)

8. LSU (10)

9. Texas A&M (8)

10. Ole Miss (15)

11. Oklahoma (11)

12. Alabama (12)

13. Texas Tech (9)

14. BYU (13)

15. Southern Cal (14)

16. Penn State (18) 

17. SMU (20)

18. Washington (17)

19. Iowa (19)

20. Missouri (21)

21. Virginia (NR)

22. Utah (23) 

23. Houston (24)

24. Tennessee (25)

25. Michigan (16)

Follow Scott Hamilton on X @ScottHsports