Michigan #3 in ESPN way too early top 25

No proven QB, a new DC (although a damn good one), and a very green, unproven LB corps?

I don't see us as the #3 team right now. It's not like we have an elite running game to lean on while the QB gets his feet wet.

The potential is there, sure, but there's a lot of moving parts right now.

and undefeated heading into EL!  I think we will beat sparty on the road. Iowa may play us tough but we have the talent and coach to win. At Columbus will be our toughest game.

The odds below reflect not just the strength of teams but their chances of winning it all given their schedules.  

 

Clemson (6-1)
Alabama (7-1)
Oklahoma (10-1)
Baylor (12-1)
Stanford (15-1)
Michigan (15-1)
Ohio State (15-1)
Notre Dame (15-1)
Florida State (15-1)
Tennessee (15-1)

 

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/254469…

I don't mind a high ranking.  What I am looking forward to less when debating with my unwashed colleagues is whether the rankings are inflated due to the Harbaugh Effect(TM).  My unverified impression is that when we start the season ranked between 12-15 we tend to overachieve, whereas when we are ranked high in the preseason, we tend to underachieve.

 

I know it's preseason but my gawd....how far this program has come in terms of national respect since December of 2014...

Now I just want to prove it on the field.

I don't think there are many teams out there returning as much talent as we do. And we have pretty good depth pretty much everywhere. #3 seems lofty, but we are set up better than almost anyone else right now.

I wouldn't worry about high rankings in early polls or real polls with this team. They are coached by a maniac who (whom? whooov?) I'm confident will never let his team relax or become overconfident. Past Michigan teams had that issue, so I understand the concerns, but I believe this team will work even harder if they were ranked highly because all the goals would be closer to accomplishing.

I'm sure Harbaugh will win us a national championship in the next 5 years. If not this year, we may have a slight set back next season losing all the seniors on defense but our offense may make up for a slightly weaker defense in 2017. After 2017 we should be contenders for a NC for as long as Harbuagh is our coach.

I suggested after the Florida win that Michigan would be a preseason top 5 team so I'm not stunned here. I think 3 is a bit high, maybe, but not excessively so.

People suggesting 7-12 is more appropriate are totally mystifying me. I mean, we are just talking about meaningless polls here, but do people really think that Jim Harbaugh with a boatload of returning seniors including all of the key athletes from a top-3 defense last year (that just imported the coach of the talentless #1 defense) is going to regress?

Yeah, QB is a major issue, and I think Michigan's preseason hype will falter a bit if the noise coming out of the Fort is uncertain in late August. But Michigan returns guys everywhere else that Harbaugh turned into big-time winners.

Let's put it this way: If Michigan was ranked #12, that puts them behind one or two B1G schools and at least 5 SEC schools. Now, in terms of the B1G, Michigan is not an overwhelming favorite but they are certainly a guarded favorite given the difference between who is returning between us and our two big rivals. No other B1G team is close. That makes us a leading candidate to get to the playoff. That's close to top 5 right there without even considering the actual merits of the team.

But worse than 5 SEC teams? Yeah, LSU and Bama are loaded. But we just torched a team that played in the SEC championship game last season. That stuff matters for preseason polls. 

It's just a poll, and its ultimate impact is slim, but this is not ridiculous at all. Michigan's schedule practically guarantees that they will be top three by the time they play the first really challenging games, and if they post a couple of key road wins, an undefeated record heading into Columbus is a good bet. 

That's why the rankings look like this.

I don't care about our schedule being soft, I just want us clicking by the time we travel to E. Landfill. I work with so many johnny come lately, bandwagon staee fans it's ridiculous. 10/29

 

Edit: Was replying to comment #52

I'm very cautious of this because the last time Michigan was ranked third in the preseason poll the horror took place.

I'll hold off my enthusiasm...for now. But it won't hurt putting in for the week of playoffs off though.

Just think , Hoke had us 5-7

Why not #1?