let me qualify that "where they think they'll finish" comment....
"did the voter take into account the ranked teams schedule?"... if so.... the poll is bogus. a poll (not a power ranking) is either/or- they can't pull (what i often accuse women of doing) 'savage tactics' and fluidly float between two standards... they are either 'ranked right here right now future notwithstanding', or, they're "well, they might be as good as teamX, but they stand a better chance of winning out". a poll like the coaches or the AP attempts to crowd source opinion, but to my knowledge they fail to demand a standard be upheld (finish or now)...
Bama may very well be the best right now and may be projected to finish undefeated... tOSU may very well be the second best, but I'd wager they've a harder row than Bama (and i would suggest that's why they're second)... I figure USCw and Washington wouldn't be ranked in the top 15 w/o the cleared schedules.
I reckon this post will piss a lot of folks off, but it's just how i see it.