I put together a chart of Michigan's scheduled opponents in order of their week 4 Sagarin Ranking. I listed the current rankings by opponent, the predictive ranking by opponent, the strength of schedule by opponent, and where Michigan plays/played that opponent.
| Current - U-M Opponents | Predictive | SOS | STADIUM |
| 1 Alabama | 102.04 1 | 65.81( 78) | N |
| 8 Notre Dame | 88.40 10 | 73.97( 15) | A |
| 21 Ohio State | 82.24 22 | 62.65( 108) | A |
| 22 Nebraska | 83.88 19 | 60.61( 125) | A |
| 25 Michigan State | 78.60 30 | 70.17( 36) | H |
| 28 Purdue | 79.74 25 | 61.63( 117) | A |
| 37 Michigan | 77.13 35 | 76.39( 8) | - |
| 40 Northwestern | 75.70 41 | 64.07( 93) | H |
| 60 Minnesota | 71.96 61 | 61.27( 118) | A |
| 62 Iowa | 70.79 64 | 65.89( 75) | H |
| 67 Illinois | 69.56 68 | 66.98( 61) | H |
| 79 Air Force | 68.36 74 | 59.03( 136) | H |
| 193 Massachusetts | 42.10 195 | 68.24( 50) | H |
Things of note -
- Michigan has the most difficult schedule of all their opponents thus far (duh).
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The 4 most difficult games for Michigan this year are on the road (or at a neutral location).
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In fact, in order of difficulty with the current rankings, the away games are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 8th highest ranked opponents.
- The average rank of these opponents is 20 (!)
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The order of difficulty with the current rankings, the home games are the 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th highest ranked opponents.
- The average rank of these opponents is 78 (!)
- I realize that it was said over and over how tough this year's schedule would be, the numbers help quantify that for me just how right everyone was.
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In fact, in order of difficulty with the current rankings, the away games are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 8th highest ranked opponents.
- Out of Ohio State, Nebraska, and Michigan State, only Michigan State has a strength of schedule under 100 (36 to be exact). I'm still holding my verdict on how good Nebraska and Ohio State really are.
- With Purdue's strength of schedule, I'm not sold on them yet either.
Just as food for thought, here is the B1G Conference as a whole.
| Current - B1G Conference | Predictive |
| 21 Ohio State | 82.24 22 |
| 22 Nebraska | 83.88 19 |
| 25 Michigan State | 78.60 30 |
| 28 Purdue | 79.74 25 |
| 31 Wisconsin | 77.37 32 |
| 37 Michigan | 77.13 35 |
| 40 Northwestern | 75.70 41 |
| 45 Penn State | 75.78 40 |
| 60 Minnesota | 71.96 61 |
| 62 Iowa | 70.79 64 |
| 67 Illinois | 69.56 68 |
| 99 Indiana | 62.95 97 |
I also realize that it is fairly early for rankings with the small sample size available, just found some of the data interesting enough to post.
Does the SOS reflect only who we've played so far, or does it included strength of opponents who we have yet to play?
"Is There Anybody Out There?" Pink Floyd, The Wall.