Wide receiver Jaelen Strong and the Sun Devils are champs of the Pac-12 South. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Wildcats, coming off their 42-16 victory over Oregon, appeared on four AP ballots Sunday morning.
Most curious is the vote of Tom Murphy of the Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is tied with having the lowest rank for Arizona State (No. 22), while giving Arizona its best ranking at No. 23.
Seems like there is more separating the teams than that, but we’ll find out Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium. ASU, which has won the Pac-12 South, opened as nearly a two-touchdown favorite. Perhaps Murphy knows something we don’t.
I have Arizona State at No. 12 on my AP ballot, with the Wildcats unranked. ASU is 13th in the actual poll, with a wide range of opinion — from No. 8 to No. 22.
Arizona (7-4 overall, 4-4 Pac-12) appeared at No. 25 on three other ballots, giving the Cats six total points, which is tied for 30th in the poll. UA had two points in the USA Today coaches’ poll, which doesn’t release individual ballots.
Alabama is still No. 1 in the AP poll, picking up 56 of the 60 first-place votes. No. 2 Florida State has the remaining votes at the top spot.
Here is my full ballot:
1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Ohio State
4. Auburn
5. Clemson
6. Missouri
7. Oklahoma State
8. Michigan State
9. Baylor
10. Stanford
11. South Carolina
12. Arizona State
13. Oregon
14. UCF
15. LSU
16. Fresno State
17. Wisconsin
18. Texas A&M
19. Louisville
20. Oklahoma
21. UCLA
22. Northern Illinois
23. Notre Dame
24. USC
25. Duke