Earlier in the week, I poked good-natured fun at Brian Cook’s computer troubles, so it probably served me right that I arrived at the office this morning, fired up my laptop, and quickly learned that there is something called a logic board and that you do not want it to break.

On occasion, my BlogPoll ballots have led Brian to believe that my logic board was broken, but the 2009 preseason BlogPoll raised no such questions with regard to my sanity.

On 99 of the 101 ballots cast (including mine), the Florida Gators were ranked No. 1. The nation’s consensus top team was followed by the No. 2 Texas Longhorns, the No. 3 USC Trojans, and the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners. The Alabama Crimson Tide rounded out the top five and other SEC squads appeared at Nos. 8 (LSU Tigers), 11 (Mississippi Rebels), and 13 (Georgia Bulldogs).

The ‘Dawgs received one first-place vote, as did the 18th-ranked Utah Utes. The Classic City Canines’ slate is bookended by road trips to face the tenth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys and the 14th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Although it was not my aspiration to win the Straight Bangin’ Award, I nevertheless took home the trophy by a hefty margin, as my negative bias against my team was more than double that of the second-place finisher. If, as I hope will be the case, my pessimism is a harbinger of good things, you may thank me later.

For what it’s worth, my laptop is back up and running, by which I mean my antiquated iBook has been replaced with a MacBook that supposedly has even more nifty features I will never use. Be on the lookout for my oddball preseason predictions tomorrow.

Go ‘Dawgs!