Why is Ohio not among the lowest ranked undefeated teams? They should be below Oregon St, Mississippi St, and Louisville with the way they've played. Every win has been a squeaker except Nebraska.
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Michigan now 23 in AP Poll
They are. Ohio is 25th.
I think you are confusing Ohio with OHIO.
Because OMG BRAXTON MILLER HEISMAN!!!! That's why.
why are they even eligible to participate in the coaches poll? what a freaking slap. Allow ohio and their trucker fans to still be arrogant about how good they are. NCAA sanctions are going to mean nothing to this program that cheated for 10 years !!!
Go Blue!
They're not eligible to be ranked in the coaches poll...
At this point, I think the polls are moot. The B1G isn't getting a second BCS bid, so it's Rose Bowl or bust. Win out and the rest will be taken care of.
Agreed. Rankings have pretty much zero bearing on Michigan anymore this season. The only thing that matters are the B1G standings. Pasadena or bust...
I agree that the rankings have no real signficance this season. But it still makes me feel good to see a lower number next to Michigan's name whenever I turn on my TV or computer.
West Virginia 17 and Texas Tech 18. Both 5-1. How do you beat a team 49-14 and be ranked a spot below them?
By playing the way WV has the rest of the season, scoring tons of points, and being flashy. The transitive property does not apply to sports.
It would transitive if TT beat a team that beat WVU.
It is simply TT beat WVU. Annihilated them. How could TT be a worse team?
Do you know what the transitive property is?
Yuk yuk yuk, you know what I mean. Rankings will never be based on team A beat team B who beat team C. Just because one team beats another in one game doesn't mean a) that they'll be ranked higher or b) they're the better team.
It's really bizarre that you appear to know what the transitive property is, but fail to see that it does not apply in any way to the case at hand.
Hah, you're right, and I apologize. I always jump to that argument when people complain about how one team is ranked higher than another despite just losing.
It's one thing to beat a team but everyone really knows that the other team is better overall.
Texas Tech CREAMED WVU. Doesn't make much sense.
What are you talking about? The AP poll is voted on by the press.
There are still lots of undefeated and 1-loss teams, since we are only two weeks into conference play. If we beat State, we should make a pretty good jump.
Beating State will make them 1-3 in conference and 4-4 overall. I'm not expecting a pretty good jump based off of that victory.
MSU's record may not be very good, but I still think a win against MSU will carry some cachet with the AP voters because MSU has beaten us four straight seasons. Ending that streak sends a clear signal that the program has taken a step forward.
Then again, you could be right. State doesn't really get a whole lot of national respect even when they are winning, so maybe the voters will not think much of a UM win.
The Big East and Big 12 have a number of teams ranked above Michigan that have yet to play each other; it is unlikely that all stay ranked where they are after head-to-head games lead to some or all of them collecting some losses. Voters have not tended to give teams in the Big East (unlike *cough* the SEC) the benefit of the doubt when the lose a few league games.
I was looking at that, too. Teams ahead of us likely to lose, or get challenged soon:
#3 Florida could lose to South Carolina this week, and Georgia/FSU wont be easy.
#4KState will be challenged by Texas Tech, TCU, and maybe Texas.
#5Notre Dame should've lost twice now at home, and likely will @Oklahoma and @USC.
#8Oregon State hasn't beaten anybody, and likely won't survive against Washington, Stanford, Cal, and USC.
#10Oklahoma has trap games @Iowa State, @West Virginia, and @TCU. They can run up the score, but they defend like Baylor.
#12Florida State should derp away another game, or maybe two, just because that's what they do. @Virginia Tech looks like the ideal game to lose, so they'll probably crush VTech and lose to Duke for no reason, lol.
#14Clemson still has VTech, NCState, and South Carolina, and they let everybody put up 4+ touchdowns on them.
#15Mississippi State plays @Alabama, [email protected], and @LSU. Yeah.
The Big East teams like #16Louisville, #19Rutgers, and #21Cincy all play each other soon. We'll jump them in no time.
#17West Virginia got humiliated against a normal Texas Tech defense. At this rate losses to KState, TCU, Oklahoma, and maybe even @Iowa State are in the cards. @Oklahoma State will be Baylor round 2, and it's even remotely possible that their last game against Kansas will be their only other win this year. They're eerily reminiscent of 2009/2010 Michigan: Great out of the gate, struggling for bowl eligibilty by seasons end.
#18Texas Tech plays @KState, and @TCU next. Those 3 I expect to take turns losing to each other.
#22 Stanford will likely lose @ Oregon.
Coaches' Poll is out as well - we are #25. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/polls/coaches-poll/
We are the only Big Ten team in the Coaches' Poll actually. Northwestern, Nebraska and Wisconsin did at least get votes, however.
is still ranked ahead of us despite the fact that we lost to two Top 5 teams (#1 Bama and #5 ND) on the road!
They have a better win (USC).
Maybe the reason the voters didn't drop Stanford much is that the voters actually watched the game.
Nah, that would never happen. Forget I said that. I don't know what I was thinking.
Michigan's losses are to the #1 & #5 teams in the poll, while Stanford's losses are to the #5 & an unranked U-W team. Both of Stanford's losses are more recent. The reasoning isn't there, but these things (polls) are not about reason. Better to be aware, but not care too much.
Rose Bowl ho!
Our loss to Alabama was a blowout and when you commit six turnovers as we did at ND, that is something people remember. Both games had national coverage in prime time. I just don't see ND's ranking, but I guess it's ND.
By seasons end I expect Ohio to keep surviving and staying ranked, and then we beat them at seasons end. When we do ND will likely have already lost @Oklahoma, and just lost @USC. Can you imagine the schadenfruede when we pass 2 loss ND in the polls? Oregon against Bama for the BCSNCG, Michigan/USC for the Rose Bowl, and one loss Big12, ACC, and undefeated Big East teams in the other 3 bowls blocking ND from the BCS. Lmfao
Double
We're going to be a slow rising team this year. Even though I think we've been just as impressive as say, Ohio State, the fact is we did lose two games early and that sets a team back.
We also don't have many chances to jump a bunch of spots due to our own performance. Two of our big games (MSU and Nebraska) are looking less and less like potential impressive victories. As of now, Ohio is the only ranked team on the schedule and they have looked as shaky as a 7-0 team can be.
We are a close #2 in the two-loss club, so we're not going to get much upward movement in the unrecognized two-loss group.
However, my rule of thumb is that if you continue winning, it takes about 3-5 weeks to halve your ranking. If we continue winning, we'll rise to a respectable ranking in the relevant-to-fan-talk polls.
I see about 8 teams ranked below the domers, who would be giving them points if they played, and one who will.
Rankings based on resume. (Or at least they should be.) ND is undefeated, so I don't have a problem with where they're ranked right now. If (read: when) they lose, they'll come back down.
I can't reject the null hypothesis. (That they belong at #5 out of the 12.)
I think it's still pretty fair. If we win the next game I think the needle moves a little more but again at that point State would be a sub-.500 team (please please please) so probably not much. This year everybody is right that the rankings mean next to nothing to us since no Big Ten team is getting a second BCS bid due to extenuating circumstances (lol Ohio).
If things keep going to plan then by the end of the year the Rose Bowl could be a Top 10 affair with Michigan having a somewhat decent chance to get a Rose Bowl win for the first time in a long time and a pair of BCS wins in a long, long time.
All that said let's just focus on State and beat the crap out of them, politely.
- Lady in rollers, "Kung Fu Hustle"
They deserve "60 Minutes of Unnecessary Roughness."
Get out of here with your politeness. Beat the crap out of them and then insult their mothers.
Michigan having a somewhat decent chance to get... a pair of BCS wins in a long, long time
Forever, actually. We've never won back-to-back BCS bowls (or equivalent, in the pre-BCS era): http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/bowls/
BTW, does anyone know how to make a table on this site? What I'm really asking is: Chart?
It's an option if you're making a forum post or diary. Personally I like copy/pasting from Excel better.
Forever, actually. We've never won back-to-back BCS bowls (or equivalent, in the pre-BCS era):
True, although it's worth noting that before 1975, the Big Ten didn't allow its teams to go to bowls other than the Rose, and prior to 1972 you couldn't go to that two straight years, either.
Which isn't surprising. Until recently B1G teams weren't allowed to go to bowls in consecutive years.
Actually, I would prefer simply beating State decisively on the field and treating the win indifferently. That would really burn them.
East Lansing… hide your cars, hide your couches!
Win
Baby!
I wouldn't say we looked good against ND, but a 13-6 loss to the #5 team in the country is hardly a whooping. I think we end the season between #10-15.
If we win out and get 2-3 spots every week, we will be top 10. I think we'll move into the top 15 if we beat MSU and Nebraska. Minn, NW, and Iowa won't be worth much, but if OSU is a no-loss or single-loss team when we beat them, we should easily jump into the top 10.
I want revenge against ND in the Rose Bowl.
#icandream
As of tonight, the AP poll is basically for shots and giggles because the first BCS rankings come out. Even though we all hate it, those are the rankings that really matter now.
The B1G isn't getting an at large this season thanks to Ohio's ban and general malaise elsewhere. We can, should, and honestly must win out (except for OSU) in order to make the Rose Bowl.
If we beat Ohio, then we'd probably be ranked Top 10. Again though, who cares? We're not going for the ship or an at-large. Rose Bowl is the only goal.
Polls don't matter. The goal is to win the B1G and beat ohio.
This Is MICHIGAN.
The B1G is pretty shitty this year. I have already accepted that. We could have beaten ND, I think ND and us are pretty equal, but we had to play at their place at night and it didn't go so well. Shit happens. But if we win out and win the B1G I will be pretty damn happy (but I wouldn't be surprised if we drop a game somewhere). Just take it one game at a time. Fuck the polls.
Michigan's top goal every year is and should always be to win the conference. Rankings don't matter, as long as you win the conference you will make a BCS bowl and have a shot at the NC most years. Not sure how it would shake out under the new system though.
And this is just what Brady Hoke has been saying, the first goal is to win the conference. This season, especially, shows the wisdom in that. A lot of people want the MNC to be the primary goal, but in doing that, one loss and the season's goal is already down the tubes, perhaps even in the first game of the year. Michigan still has complete control and an excellent shot to win the Big Ten. 'They don't have to worry about polls or other external factors.
We were 28th last week, so this is actually a pretty solid jump.
ONLY 23 OMIGOD WTF NO WAI!<!?!?!>!??!?
I will be totally content with winning out, rising slowly but steadily through the polls and winning the Rose Bowl to finish in the top 10 thankyouverymuch.
Oh and a Denard QB career rushing title would be nice also. Can someone see to that for me please?
You aren't going to start any fires, are you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbtAVSCPBFQ
EDIT: Embed fail...not quite sure how to do it...
UM is about where it should be, but I still don't get why some of these SEC teams are ranked so high given who they have played. Georgia may look good on paper, but they have not beaten anyone and were housed by the one team that was any good. Same with Miss. St., who has beaten Kentucky, Tennessee, and Auburn (combined 5-14). Sure, they look good on paper, but let's see how they look after playinh Alabama, , TA&M, and LSU in a couple of weeks.
But regardless, UM wins out and all is good. Otherwise, no BCS bid for the team.
I think we're clearly underrated right now. An interesting question, to me, is whether or not this is the first time we've been this underrated in the polls in the last decade or more. I'm thinking yes, but maybe others have better memories about this stuff. Anybody?
Then we'll talk about being under-rated. For now, I'm satified with where we're at. Rankings won't matter, anyway, if we end up B1G Champs. We'll still go to the Rose Bowl.
#OnlyThingThatMatters
We were all breathless about getting that 6th win to become bowl eligible. Things have change a lot in two years. I think the team got a bit ahead of itself and expectations got too high last season.
It's all good. I wrote down before the season we'd finish 13th and I'm quite confident with that prediction still.
And those two losses are currently #1 and #5 (barely) I'm a little surprised we're not getting a bit more love, especially given how we've dismantled our first two conference opponents (where we all know anything can happen in conference games).
One at a time. This week: Sparty.
if you think Louisville should be ranked above o$u. The same Louisville team who should have lost to both UNC and So Miss? They are awful. They play one of the easiest schedules in D1.