I think I ended up a little more nervous than I should have been picking my first official BlogPoll. Though in the end, I think it ended up being like any exam I took in college. Spend copious amounts of time wondering if I’ll get it right, the occasional moment studying anything semi-related to the task at hand, then see if I can be the first one done.

Of course, three warning shots…errr..e-mails later about the impending deadline of it all, and I’m left with a disgusting hybrid of what others think. (Which, when you combine “professional” pollsters, the turkeys in the BlogPoll, and the left side of my brain, you come up with about 12% of something.)

While guessing was semi-discouraged, and using “potential schedule” theories will get you 20 lashes, I think I did all right. Here’s my Top 25 with about 11 days until kickoff*:

(*-Notes where applicable, everything else, assume “Meh”.)

1 USC – Consensus, and for good reason. As an impartial voter, I can’t wait until they lose.
2 Texas – Solid team that has no reason to not get the job done against anyone. Except Oklahoma. Since “schedule peeking” is banned in BlogPoll voting, they get the two spot.
3 Louisiana State
4 Michigan – As Brian noted, there may be some homerism involved, but Michigan has the tools to deserve it, until they piss it away. (See Week 4.)
5 Tennessee
6 Oklahoma
7 Miami(FL)
8 Ohio State – I just had a thought. Do you think it says something psychologically about someone if they write on the post-it note, then peel it and stick it, as opposed to peeling, sticking, writing?
9 Virginia Tech
10 Georgia – The hunch in my head is that UGA will be the biggest climber this year, but not out of the gate.
11 Louisville – Not being allowed to peek ahead at their schedule keeps Louisville lower than they should be, I’m thinkin’.
12 Florida State
13 Iowa – Big Ten title possibilities, but they have questions to answer first.
14 Texas A&M
15 Boise State – Poised for a big move with a win between the hedges, shaking up my ballot before UGA MCMXVIII is done licking himself.
16 Pittsburgh
17 Bowling Green – See here for why I think BG deserves this spot. See here for why I think their first game of 2006 could come well before September.
18 Florida – He’s done it twice, but in a much tougher conference, Mrs. Meyer’s husband has some questions to answer before packing for the NFL telling Florida fans that he loves them and plans on staying around.
19 Purdue – Don’t base it on the schedule. Don’t base it on the schedule. Don’t base it on the schedule. Joe Tiller’s got him a purty mustache.
20 Boston College
21 Arizona State
22 Fresno State – The mid-major flag keeps flying. But it’s not like the Bulldogs don’t deserve the love.
23 Virginia
24 California
25 Alabama

And now, Charlie Weis in sweatpants…

Seriously, dude’s gotta be a C-cup.