Latest B10 Power Rankings from ESPN - M #3
Ritttenberg (apparently he's spelling it with 3 t's these days) and Bennett posted their latest Big Ten power rankings, and we showed up at #3(!), behind Wiscy and Nebraska. Some little nuggets of goodness:
3. Michigan (4-0): The Wolverines are 4-0 for the third consecutive year, and there are reasons to believe this season will be different than the previous two. There are also reasons to remain concerned. Michigan beat San Diego State primarily because of its defense, which is a very encouraging sign. Craig Roh led the Wolverines' best defensive effort of the season. Denard Robinson did his thing with 200 rush yards and three touchdowns, although his mistakes in the passing game could come back to haunt UM.
I'm kind of surprised to see us ranked so high (and Indiana is worse than Minny??), but hey, I'll take it. The full rankings:
- Wisconsin
- Nebraska
- Michigan
- Illinois
- Sparty
- Ohio Polytechnic Institute
- Penn State
- Iowa
- Northwestern
- Purdue
- Minnesota
- Indiana
September 26th, 2011 at 4:07 PM ^
I mean, UConn looked bad last year against us, but they did win their league andn go to a BCS bowl. I suppose you could say that this year's ND is better than last year's, first vs. second year in a system and all, and that SDSU is better than they showed, but at best, I think, you get to this year's OOC being about equal to this year's.
September 26th, 2011 at 4:22 PM ^
I think (and some might disagree) that UConn was one of the worst (if not the worst) BCS bowl participant ever. If nothing else, they should have highlighted how terrible the Big East is as a conference (and, therefore, how overrated their coaches might be).
I'd say Western is better than UConn; ND better than (or same as) ND; Eastern better than UMass; and SDSU miles better than BGSU. If anything, maybe UConn and WMU are close, but the overall OOC was much tougher this year. WIthout a greatly improved D it would have been unsightly.
September 26th, 2011 at 2:36 PM ^
but I would submit that due to our current lack of a threatening, consistent passing game it could be argued that the offense has taken a step back.
September 26th, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^
September 26th, 2011 at 4:03 PM ^
Hey! How's my favorite lil hater today? Doing well? Excellent.
While it's nice to have lots of returning starters; it's not like we returned a squad of all-conference players. And those returning players are the same ones making all the comments about how much different the team is now.
Here's a the simple bottom line - the "Hoke is lucky" refrain is annoying. You make your own luck. Anyone think that the coach who allowed 37 to UMass (the most they scored against any opponent not named "Maine") would be 4-0 this year?
Is the B1G down this year? Who fucking cares. We didn't lose to Toledo. We didn't get embarrassed by UMass. The B1G will never be as "down" as Toledo and UMass, but we now have a coach who won't lose to teams like that. It's not because of luck; it's because he's building a Team.
September 26th, 2011 at 4:54 PM ^
September 26th, 2011 at 5:09 PM ^
yeah, right...
I was actually happy as shit for the coaching change
Is that why you endlessly defend RR? Because you were "happy as shit" that he got canned. Bullshit. You (and maybe about 2 other guys) are the most ardent RR defenders on the board.
September 26th, 2011 at 6:57 PM ^
September 26th, 2011 at 7:27 PM ^
Wow. It's amazing that you even take the time to write such garbage. It's like you just dipped a line into the well of terrible pro-RR arguments and came back with whatever fabricated garbage you found first.
Did I say RR was a "horrible person"? Of course not. I don't think he is (but watching his post-firing behavior, I'd say I previously thought too much of him). Did I say he is a "horrible coach"? No. Though I do think he did a horrible job. Did I say he "stepped into the perfect situation"? Once again, no, but he wasn't paid to land in a perfect situation. He was paid to do a job and fired for failing to do it well enough.
Get. Over. It. And if you can't get over it, just stop bringing up my name in your pointless, fabricated blatherings.
September 26th, 2011 at 7:36 PM ^
This is why no one can take you seriously. To suggest RichRod has done anything since getting fired other than get a job and talk about football is ridiculous. So what has he done that is so horrible?
Also, did you hear RichRod didn't even have sleds at practice? Just amazing huh? I think you should get upset about it.
September 26th, 2011 at 4:18 PM ^
Man, let it go. How long are you going to be bitter over the coaching change?
September 26th, 2011 at 5:07 PM ^
But the passing. I want to hear you argue that that is not a step back from last year. Please. And the running game has pretty much held serve in my opinion. So based on my math, -1 + 0 = -1, so it's taken a step back. Whatever--a step back from #2 offense in the country doesn't mean I dislike our performance.
I'm just hedging on the D because I don't want to sound stupid if last year repeats.
I share your optimism, but after a few Big Ten games we'll know for sure if these high variance things you seem to think will continue forever like TOs and 100% red zone scoring come back to earth.
September 26th, 2011 at 5:16 PM ^
The passing is bad. I agree without doubt. I just don't like the "Hoke is lucky" stuff. The circumstances outside of our control (OSU troubles and no Wisc) don't affect how Hoke has smartly decided to build a Team and program. Our recruiting class isn't a result of luck. Our defensive adjustments have nothing to do with luck. Etc.
I don't know, though, if I'm super optimistic. Frankly, I didn't love the offense last year (no matter how many yards we gained before turning it over in the Red Zone) and don't love it so far this year. While I'm not a fan of one player being everything, we do seem to be converting when it counts. Is the passing a step back? Eh, I think Denard wasn't a good passer last year and he isn't this year either. I'm crossing my fingers that we build a large lead this Saturday so Denard can gain confidence and rest, giving Devin some experience.
September 26th, 2011 at 2:15 PM ^
I think the top four looks right (for the time being).
September 26th, 2011 at 3:00 PM ^
on illinois
September 26th, 2011 at 4:41 PM ^
Not sold on Michigan.
September 26th, 2011 at 3:01 PM ^
Minnesota and Indiana won't play each other this year.
September 26th, 2011 at 3:04 PM ^
One of the BCS computers has us at #1. It's the one that has no bias towards the previous season, or conference affiliation, etc.
September 26th, 2011 at 9:05 PM ^
Is why you cannot trust computers.
September 26th, 2011 at 3:10 PM ^
At this point who deserves to be #3 more than Michigan? It doesn't matter if there are question marks. Everyone has question marks. This ranking isn't a forecast of how the standings will look in December. It's based on what has happened to date, and Michigan is 4-0. OSU is not. Penn State is not. MSU is not. Iowa is not. The conference has been really, really weak so far.
So, while I'm not terribly surprised Michigan is 4-0, I am somewhat surprised they are deservedly the third best team in the conference at this point in the season. But they are deservedly third.
I'm also not sure I see things changing much. You won't have to be very good to do well in this conference. I suspect OSU will find its stride and get a lot better than they showed vs. Miami. Other than that, who is there? MSU has serious issues along both lines. Iowa looks like a team that still has talent in spots but lost too many key players to be a reliable contender (although they may be right there). Penn State is just not a good football team. Illinois is terribly inconsistent. Northwestern will be decent but not great even when they get Persa back. Purdue, Indiana and Minnesota are pretty weak.
September 26th, 2011 at 3:34 PM ^
agree with Needs that 3-9 in the conference is sort of a roll-the-dice situation. At this point in the season, based purely on accomplishments, I think U-M has done as much as any other team to prove they are the best of the bunch. Consider:
U-M: 4-0 record with wins over solid notre dame and SDSU teams. Looking at the scoreboard, dominant in 3 of 4 wins.
Illinois: I'd say they're in a virtual tie with Michigan at this point, with their 4-0 record and the best win of the 3-9 teams in ASU. Struggled against a WMU team Michigan beat fairly handily.
msu: 3-1 with blowout loss @ notre dame. Their game against osu Saturday should be interesting. Slightly ahead of osu, as the loss to nd is better than the loss to Miami, and didn't struggle much against other opponents as osu did against Toledo.
osu: 3-1 with blowout loss @ Miami. Really struggled against Toledo.
PSU: 3-1 with blowout loss against Alabama. Barely beat Temple, who are probably a worse MAC team than WMU. Better loss, but Toledo may be better than Temple.
Iowa: 3-1 with inexplicable loss to Iowa State. Beat a decent Pitt team. Nice matchup @PSU Saturday.
Northwestern: 2-1 with inexplicable loss to Army. Have done the least to earn anything more than 9th in the conference thus far. Easily the worst loss of any of the 1-loss teams.
September 26th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^
FWIW, PSU plays Indiana this week. Iowa's off. They play the week after.
September 26th, 2011 at 4:28 PM ^
I've said it before and I'll say it again -- until we actually finish the game with a "W", I'm always at maximum terror-level.
September 26th, 2011 at 4:40 PM ^
As much as I love stomping on ND's self-esteem every year, it's hard for me to feel very much excitement at all for our potential this year given our track record and how questionable our passing game has looked so far. Sadly the biggest reason for hope is that a couple of our conference foes look significantly worse (OSU, Iowa).
September 26th, 2011 at 5:01 PM ^
I seriously think we could make it to the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin this year. We have a shot of winning out if we can just beat Nebraska at home. Plus I think they'll lose a few games this year in the conference while becomming acclimated to their new league. Michigan Wolverines - Legends Division Champions.
September 26th, 2011 at 5:37 PM ^
As of right now, we are 4-0, and our improved Defense is looking great. I for one am excited because I know Denard can pass better - we have seen it... So I hope we just continue on and hit 9-3/10-2... We will lose a few, but we do look improved.