My AP ballot: Sun Devils debut at No. 21

ASU’s Carl Bradford celebrates with teammates after beating Wisconsin. Photo by Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

RELATED LINK: More voters add Arizona in AP poll

I had been waiting for the Arizona State-Wisconsin game to decide which team I would place on my AP ballot. I like both teams but wanted to see how they fared against real competition.

And then the result only made things fuzzier.

The bizarre — and very possibly incorrectly officiated final seconds of Saturday night’s game — robbed the Badgers of attempting a game-winning field goal, leaving the Sun Devils a 32-30 winner.

But a win is a win, right?

There’s no guarantee the Badgers would have converted a field goal of about 32 yards, even if they had been able to stop the clock and get off an attempt. And even if ASU needed a bit of divine intervention from the guys with the whistles, it’s not like teams are in the business of giving back wins after favorable calls (isn’t that right, Sabatino Chen?).

I ended up moving Arizona State onto my ballot at No. 21, fifth in my ranking of Pac-12 teams. We’ll see how ASU does at Stanford this weekend.

I made some other changes within conference. I have had Stanford ahead of Oregon based on what I thought in the preseason, but the Ducks’ demolition of Tennessee is part of the reason why I have switched their order.

I jumped UCLA six spots, leapfrogging Washington, after its win at Nebraska. That victory is better than the Huskies’ home win over Boise State.

Here is my ballot compared to the actual poll (note that Wisconsin is still No. 24 in the AP poll, while I favor Michigan State):