M Falls One Spot in AP Poll

Submitted by marlon on

Not sure how this happened.  Michigan fell one spot this week, from 17 to 18.  Meanwhile, Notre Dame leapt from 20 to 11.  This doesn't quite add up to me, but I suppose applying logic to this poll will only result in frustration.

Edit to add link: http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings/_/week/4

MGoBoard

mgowill

September 16th, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^

 

  WEEK 3 WEEK 4
1 Alabama Alabama
2 USC LSU
3 LSU Oregon
4 Oregon Florida State
5 Oklahoma Georgia
6 Florida State Oklahoma
7 Georgia South Carolina
8 South Carolina West Virginia
9 West Virginia Stanford
10 Michigan State Clemson
11 Clemson Notre Dame
12 Ohio State Texas
13 Virginia Tech USC
14 Texas Florida
15 Kansas State Kansas State
16 TCU Ohio State
17 Michigan TCU
18 Florida Michigan
19 Louisville UCLA
20 Notre Dame Louisville
21 Stanford Michigan State
22 UCLA Arizona
23 Tennessee Mississippi State
24 Arizona Boise State
25 BYU Nebraska

 

Joined: 08/31/2011

MGoPoints: 18545

turtleboy

September 16th, 2012 at 12:49 PM ^

Florida is this weeks overrated winner. They got way too much of a jump for beating last weeks overrated winner, Tennessee. That's okay, when we win @ ND next week we'll be riding the hype train. Edit: Holy Cow. Ohio won convincingly and dropped 5 spots. Lol

Joined: 04/22/2011

MGoPoints: 35131

PurpleStuff

September 16th, 2012 at 1:21 PM ^

Cal had a long TD called back due to a fairly bullshitty holding penalty and ended up having to settle for a field goal attempt that of course their kicker missed because he hates me.

Joined: 04/21/2009

MGoPoints: 15969

turtleboy

September 16th, 2012 at 1:58 PM ^

I meant against a convincing opponent, I guess. Compared to what, though? Clemson scraped by Auburn at home, and has given up 53 points through 3 games against  the likes of Ball State and Furman, Oregon has only played 3 of the weakest cupcakes they could find, yet have allowed an embarrassing 73 points in 3 games, and West Virginia has only played 2 games against Marshall and James Madison, yet they've been tagged for 46 at home in 2 games. I know we like to be realists about our conference, but seriously. These other schools couldn't stop a cow from wandering through their defenses for a touchdown, yet they're in the top 10. South Carolina and Florida aren't any better, either. 

Joined: 04/22/2011

MGoPoints: 35131

umchicago

September 16th, 2012 at 2:14 PM ^

oregon:  all 3 of their games were blowouts at halftime.  50 of those 73 pts were scored in the second half; primarily against the backups.

WVa: again, only 13 of those 46 were scored in the first half.

So, I wouldn't draw any conclusions about their D based on that.  Combined, those 2 teams have given up only 36 pts in 5 games during the first half against the first teamers.  That projects to just 14 pts per 4 quarters.

Joined: 02/05/2009

MGoPoints: 33625

turtleboy

September 16th, 2012 at 2:43 PM ^

I watched those games too. Theres no excuse for that much scoring at home against OVC schools. We blew out an FBS school, but how much did they tag our freshmen for in the 2nd half?

Edit: I'll expand a little. Nebraska blew out the same Sun Belt Arkansas State team but their suspect defense and backups only got tagged for 13.

Joined: 04/22/2011

MGoPoints: 35131

bronxblue

September 16th, 2012 at 12:45 PM ^

Doesn't surprise me.  They beat a bad UMass team, and that's about it.  ND is #11, so winning there on the road and UM will be back on the top end of the rankings.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 170851

State Street

September 16th, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^

I had a literal LOL this morning when Gerry Dinardo tweeted that MSU's OOC schedule prepared them best out of all Legends teams for the conference slate.  These are the types of people voting in these polls.  That is all you need to know. 

Joined: 07/09/2011

MGoPoints: 15316

turd ferguson

September 16th, 2012 at 2:17 PM ^

This doesn't seem ridiculous to me (assuming that you're really talking about UM vs. MSU).

Both UM and MSU play Notre Dame, so we'll call that even.  Aside from that, we've played an NFL team, the quirkiest offense in college football, and a Pop Warner team.  This, to me, is not optimal nonconference scheduling.  It's much more difficult than MSU's schedule, but it doesn't sound like that's what Dinardo was saying.

Joined: 12/09/2009

MGoPoints: 26493

Wolverine Devotee

September 16th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^

I don't see the AP poll as anything more than a novelty. The one that is higher up is the coaches poll since it factors for 1/3 of the BCS formula.

But polls don't matter.

The goal is to win the B1G Championship and beat ohio. This Is Michigan.

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: 31528

Humen

September 16th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^

Georgia is ranked #5 for beating:

 

Buffalo 45-23

Florida Atlantic 56-20

Missouri 41-20

 

Missouri barely scraped by unranked Arizona State last night 24-20.

They're not good.

 

The only rationale I can see for these ranking switches (particularly Georgia over Oklahoma) is TV schedules, but even then, do all voters have ESPN interests in mind?

Joined: 10/04/2010

MGoPoints: 11731

inthebluelot

September 16th, 2012 at 1:06 PM ^

To slay the ND dragon once again. Meanwhile, out west, an interesting matchup between Oregon and Arizona will be kicking off at 10:30. That will be a great capper to watch the 2nd half in the White Lot in South Bend while I celebrate Denard sweeping the Irish for his career. Lots of spread on spread action.

Joined: 01/05/2010

MGoPoints: 1274

ChalmersE

September 16th, 2012 at 1:10 PM ^

Will mean a lot in the polls. Alabama is starting to look like a juggernaut after demolishing another preseason top 10 team. Sure Arkanas lost to Louisiana-Monroe, but their performance against Auburn shows they're a decent football team.

Joined: 11/19/2008

MGoPoints: 5196

Farstate

September 16th, 2012 at 1:24 PM ^

Perhaps it just shows that Auburn is a poor team? If I had to guess I would say ULM has proven that John L. Smith is still John L. Smith and that Gene Chizik is Gene Chizik. ULM is still a bad football team though.

Joined: 07/04/2012

MGoPoints: 146

One Inch Woody…

September 16th, 2012 at 1:35 PM ^

Yeah Bama pulled their starters at the start of the 3rd quarter (They were even using backs and QBs and receivers that they didn't put out against us on that last Bama drive!)... While we kept Denard in until the middle. What is that saying if Bama vs. Arkansas is more of a blowout than Michigan vs. UMass? One, that Michigan is not very good, sure, but it also says that Bama is freaking unstoppable. It's not like losing Tyler Wilson meant that Arkansas couldn't play defense, but man, they couldn't play defense to save their lives... Lacy was just running them over along with Yeldon.

Joined: 06/25/2011

MGoPoints: 1434

WingsNWolverines

September 16th, 2012 at 2:26 PM ^

for the B10 and more salt in Sparty's open wounds. Nothing better than State losing to a team that we beat. ND will be tested big time this Saturday. MSU didn't even look like a top 10 team last night neither did their defense. We'll give Sparty plenty to tweet about after we knock off the Irish in South Bend. Beat ND, MSU and OSU and you'll see Michigan claw their way up in no time.

Joined: 04/27/2011

MGoPoints: 587

jsquigg

September 16th, 2012 at 2:37 PM ^

Last year we improved dramatically at the end of the year.  That isn't a given this year, so while I appreciate the stats that give perspective to the panic, I remain skeptical of a similar improvement since last year could in part be attributed to new schemes and new coaches.  We got the benefit of a lot of luck last year, especially against ND and VT.  I will let the games play out, but I am neither panicking nor am I overly optimistic about the team.  ND will be a tough challenge, especially on the road.  They beat MSU in the trenches and so far they haven't been bleeding turnovers.  I keep hearing how we need to establish other playmakers, but in big games I'd still love to see Denard run as much as possible and to set up the pass off of the threat of him running.  I HATE running power from the I-Form and play action passes that by design end up with two people in Denard's face.  As deadly as the offense can be I think Borges wastes 10-15 plays a game. 

Joined: 09/06/2009

MGoPoints: 9561

EGD

September 16th, 2012 at 3:02 PM ^

I actually feel like this year's team has even more room for in-season improvement than last year's team did.  We are playing what, like 12 freshmen?  Last season, the only freshmen I recall being significant contributors were Morgan, Ryan, Countess, Clark, and Beyer.  

Joined: 09/16/2009

MGoPoints: 35199

jsquigg

September 16th, 2012 at 3:20 PM ^

Except that I think last year's improvements were not freshmen getting better but experienced players getting the new system.  The freshmen will probably improve but I don't think the jump will be as big.

Joined: 09/06/2009

MGoPoints: 9561

EGD

September 16th, 2012 at 4:00 PM ^

That's a good point.  But I think if you look back over the past couple seasons, historically we had a problem defensively in even gettting into the right pre-snap alignment.  To me, that's the type of issue you have when your players are unfamiliar with the system.  This season, it seems the area most in need of improvement is with individual technique on the defensive fron.  It probably isn't realistic to expect a player like Campbell or Roh to be a whole lot better in November than they are right now.  But a guy like Pipkins, Clark, or Ross could improve significantly in that time frame.  

Joined: 09/16/2009

MGoPoints: 35199

snarling wolverine

September 16th, 2012 at 4:25 PM ^

I HATE running power from the I-Form and play action passes that by design end up with two people in Denard's face. As deadly as the offense can be I think Borges wastes 10-15 plays a game.
Believe it or not, Denard has a much higher career passer rating when under center than when in the gun. It's true that our running game is the opposite (better from the shotgun than under center), but in order for both strengths (I-form passing, shotgun running) to work, you can't telegraph them by formation. You have to do some running out of the I and some passing out of the gun. They may seem "wasted" plays but they keep the defense honest.

Joined: 12/14/2011

MGoPoints: 97906

Sten Carlson

September 16th, 2012 at 4:34 PM ^

[I]n big games I'd still love to see Denard run as much as possible and to set up the pass off of the threat of him running.
Which games are you considering "big games?" I'll go out on limb and guess that they include: ND, MSU, Neb., and OSU. Well, the problem with your hope to see Denard run as much as possible, is that these teams are likely to stack the box to keep Denard in check. Add to that the fact that, at least to this point, the OL hasn't been getting a whole lot of push, Denard might not have a lot of success. I understand what you're thinking, but against better defenses, Borges is going to have to loosen them up significantly by passing and getting the non-Denard play makers the ball in space down field and/or on the edges, IMO. You talk about the fact that you think Borges "wastes 10-15 plays a game," well can you think of anything more wasteful than slamming Denard into a defense that is keying on him exclusively? This is the argument that raged in here following the Bama game. The "run Denard" crowd acted like it doing so was some magic formula that Borges simply forgot about, and discounted the fact that Bama's defense just took away that weapon. We're not going to see a defense that good again, but the concept is still the same. Against ND, for example, their defensive backfield is their weakness, and their front 7 is their strength. Right now, it doesn't seem prudent to play to their strength. Yes, Denard running is Michigan's strength, but they know this as well as anyone, I think we need to use this against them, and make them crowd the line, and expose their DB's to the Two Devins, et. al.

HATE running power from the I-Form and play action passes that by design end up with two people in Denard's face.
Well, the problem is -- at least statistically -- these plays have been the most successful. I love these plays as they give Denard the run-pass option, and they expose the mismatches that guys like Fuchess present. You have to run it out of that set enough to make the defense respect it, but I think it's a great new wrinkle that really didn't seem all that effective last year, but seems to be this year thus far. As far as improvement goes, I think one of the things that you have to remember about the underclassmen is that they are "Hoke's guys" NOT the remnants of RR's classes, i.e., at least on paper, they're a lot more talented. These kids are already starting to pass the upperclassmen on the depth chart. Last year's improvement was centered, IMO, around MM and RVB. These two were highly intelligent seniors that were recruited by Carr, not RR. I don't know that that means all that much, but I think it is a statement of overall talent. I think by the end of the season we're going to see most of the freshmen having taken over where they can -- they're just that talented.

Joined: 11/16/2009

MGoPoints: -56