247 Sports Consensus Poll: Michigan in at No. 17
Similar to their composite recruiting rankings, 247 took thirteen polls from different sports writers and websites and combined them in order to create their "consensus poll".
Other interesting rankings include Alabama at the top, Ohio in 2nd, Notre Dame in 8th, Boise State right above us at 16th, then Nebraska at 19th, and Northwestern at 22nd to round out the Big Ten teams.
They also project us to play in the Capital One Bowl against Georgia this year.
http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Alabama-Ohio-State-top-first-edit…
I'm also pleased with the rankings. but I feel like we should be ranked above Boise State, even though they went 11-2, the team plays in a weak conference and is trending in the wrong direction.
Well if you're so concerned about trends, shouldn't we expect 5 wins this year?
It also projects Michigan-OSU for the BTCG.
Damn straight.
A lot of their projections seem spot on, but Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl baffles me. Anyone who watched them last season against USC, Pitt, BYU and Michigan saw a team that was very lucky with opponents injuries, turnovers or wretched officiating. Now, people are thinking that their luck will continue with Rees at the helm and with limit offensive weapons. I just don't see it happening. Maybe they can win 9 games, maybe.
Don't forget that one as well.
Still though? I'm sure it will still be good, I doubt it's as good though. And you gotta score points.
Thank God this can't happen after this year. The Game isn't going to mean squat if the title game match up is already known.
But it's not like the first game would be meaningless. There are other factors that would still make The Game really important whether or not the next week is set.
Both coaches would be under major pressure not to lose both games, so you definitely don't want to let the first one slip away. Neither Hoke nor Meyer has a losing record in the series, but that would change with a sweep (losing twice => 1-3 for Hoke or 1-2 for Meyer).
Hoke could very well have a 20-0 home record to preserve.
Ohio pawn shops could take a hit without a steady supply of gold pants. And
Both teams could be top-10 and in contention for an at-large BCS bid even if they lose the championship.
It sounds lame to think about two games back-to-back, but I think we'd all be pretty amped come November/December.
Under the radar with not a lot of expectations on a national level is where I love the team to be at preseason. I see us playing in a much better bowl than Capital One bowl, but time will tell.
I have us in the Orange Bowl. I don't see us winning the conference (because I don't see us beating Ohio State twice in a row), which puts Ohio State in the Rose Bowl (not the NCG since I don't see them beating us twice in a row). If we are eligible for an at-large bid, I see the Orange Bowl taking us since they have the first at-large pick. The only other teams that might trump us would be Notre Dame and/or Texas if they are eligible. I don't see them being eligible though (Notre Dame will regress to say 9 wins and Texas will have at least two losses in a competitive Big 12). So Orange Bowl, here we come!
Well, while I don't think Ohio or ND are that much, if any, better than us, I can't argue with a middle-teen ranking. I think we are probably 4-5 places better than that, but hey...it's preseason.
BTW does anyone think A&M is better than Georgia, South Carolina, & Florida? I picture the pressure getting to them & Manziel this season.
EDIT: Looking at A&M's schedule it's pretty favorable, the will be favored in every game but Bama. LSU will be a tough road game in November, espeically if it's at night, but LSU lost a lot of their defense. Their next most diffuclut game is Ole Miss or Vandy as Arkansas, Auburn & MSU are all down this season. I could see them going 10-2. I wish they played South Carolina, Florida, or Georgia.
Yeah, winning at LSU is tough--I don't care how good your team is or who LSU lost from last season. I really don't know much about A&M but I'd be surprised if LSU isn't favored by the time that game rolls around.
I really hate to think of the possibility of OSU beating Alabama and ending the SEC streak. I want Michigan to do that. I want Michigan to do that AND beat OSU (maybe twice) and obliterate the B1G weak SEC stong notion that OSU is partly responsible for.
I think it would be fitting since we were the last national champs under the old system that we should be the last before the new playoff (and first of the new playoffs).
I don't see why people are so dead set on Michigan winning, going to or playing for a national championship. It would be nice, don't get me wrong, but that isn't what Brady Hoke cares about.
That's not the goal here. It never has been. It's always been to win the B1G and go to the Rose Bowl. And if you are fortunate enough to have won all of your regular season games, you can go for the next one.
I don't believe for one second that Brady Hoke isn't interested in winning a national title.
Before team meetings they don't recite the number of claimed national championships. CHAMPIONSHIPS? 42.
And then there is this-
For one thing, Ohio State went 6-6 in 2011 (I don't recall whether they won or lost their bowl game), so it's not as though they had a painless transition from Tressel. Second, Meyer started with the sophomore version of Braxton Miller at QB. I suspect Rich Rod' s first year at Michigan might have been better if he'd had Braxton Miller instead of Threet & Sheridan. Third, the Big Ten that Meyer entered was much weaker than the league that RR entered in 2008; teams like Iowa and Illinois used to be pretty difficult. Fourth, OSU had mobile quarterbacks since 2004 and probably had begun to account for that in their recruiting well before Meyer arrived. Fifth, Meyer kept a number of Tressel's assistants so they really weren't redoing everything like Michigan did in '08.
Everyone had better update their goals then, because more often than not going forward, winning the Big 10 is going to put you into the playoffs. Sorry if that disappoints OP or Brady Hoke (though I don't think you'll hear him complaining,) or anyone else. I'd much rather play for a title than go to the Rose Bowl, and I'll bet most others here would agree.
That's one area where I'm a little bit in disagreement with Hoke. Not that I think he'd ever decline to play in a title game, but its just an outdated way of thinking. The Rose Bowl should never be this program's ceiling, as prestigious as it is.
Ohio could certainly beat Rich Rod's group...but what does that have to do with anything? In all seriousness, when has Alabama (i.e. Bama) ever been called "UA?" Auburn may be AU due to their logo, but Alabama doesn't even refer to itself as UA (like Arizona does).
One of the great mysteries of our times: why is oklahoma OU and their logo an OU when they are called the University of Oklahoma? Is it because they're stupid okies?
I've always suspected it is that they didn't want to be known as "you owe."
What do I know though? I just live in Tuscaloosa.
They are projecting Clemson to play Louisville in the Orange Bowl. The Orange Bowl gets the ACC champion (so Clemson is fine here), but they also get the first at-large pick this year (after replacements). It is highly unlikely Louisville would be the first at-large pick.
I realize that Louisville has a good chance to go to a BCS game. I was just doubting that they would be the first at-large pick. I could see them being the second or third at-large, but not the first since a powerhouse team like Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, or Oklahoma would likely be selected ahead of them.
Looking at the polls in a spreadsheet is sort of interesting. Other than Ohio State, no Big Ten is ranked higher than 8th (Michigan, About.com poll) and Michigan's rank in any given poll varies from 8th to 24th, and indeed, we didn't even make one of them. The only Big Ten teams that appear in more than 5 of the 10 polls are Michigan, Nebraska (highest rank is 9th, USA Today), Wisconsin (highest rank is 19th, Athlon's and NationalChampions.net) and Northwestern (highest rank is 17th, CollegeFootballUniverseBlog). Michigan State only makes an appearance in four of the polls.
Amongst the individual polls, Michigan's average rank was 16th, Michigan State's was 22nd, Nebraska's was 19th, Wisconsin's was 20th and Northwestern's average rank among the individual polls was 21st. Notre Dame's average rank was 9th and Ohio State's was 2nd.
I'm kind of surprised at the lack of love for Michigan State by the pollsters. I guess they view 2010 and 2011 as the aberrations, not 2012.