October 15th, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
We have also been #1 three weeks in a row in SP+ rankings, which is opponent adjusted (for all the "who have they played" people)
October 15th, 2023 at 12:24 PM ^
Beat State! (penitentiary)
October 15th, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
Yes, opponent adjusted but air force is top ten so not fully opponent adjusted.
That said, I do think we are the best team in the country.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:34 PM ^
Air Force is 35 on the SP+ results released today.
October 15th, 2023 at 3:13 PM ^
I think you're thinking of PFF's rankings.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
Good stuff from Zach, I'm a numbers guy so I like stats like that.
Here's one from yesterday's game:
1st quarter: total yds: IN 141 Mi 7.
Last 3 quarter: MI 400 yds, IN 91.
GO BLUE!! Beat sparty-SMASH sparty!!
October 15th, 2023 at 12:06 PM ^
51 yards of that 91 came in the last drive during garbage time as well.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:40 PM ^
And there were a lot of ‘hidden’ return yards as well, kickoff, punt, some interception (the big one was still 1st quarter), and even 10 fumble return yards. Without looking it up, that’s another 50-100 yards in the last 3 quarters.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:30 AM ^
While a nice stat, I'll save that accolade until Michigan shows the same defensive superiority when it plays Penn St and OhioSt. Do to those two teams that it has up to date and I'll start proudly blasting form the roof top that Michigan, especially the D, is elite.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:36 AM ^
You do have a point, but we have done pretty well against both of those teams the last 2 years with a shitty schedule. The TCU game was more of an eye opener especially after what Georgia did to them, but we also weren't taking them serious until it was too late
October 15th, 2023 at 11:45 AM ^
I don't care as much about elite numbers against those two teams as I do about beating them. Just win baby.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:00 PM ^
Agree with the PSU and OSU games. Hopefully UM makes the playoffs and that will be the true test. Georgia and TCU made UM's highly ranked defenses look pretty average.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:25 PM ^
There’s no doubt Michigan has a good defense, but the last two CFP appearances should make it clear that they’re not going to be able to totally shut down another elite team. They’ll need to score a lot of points. Fortunately, it looks like they have the offense to do it.
October 15th, 2023 at 3:57 PM ^
I agree. You're not going to shutdown elite offenses but you need to be able to slow them down. Michigan has done a good job of that against OSU the last few years. OSU has 'only' scored 28 and 23 points. UM did a good job of forcing some punts, field goals and turnovers.
Georgia had 27 points and over 300 yds of offense in the first half. Georgia scored on every first half possession except their possession that ended the first half. TCU was 37 points and 500 yds offense (and then the next week TCU had 7 points and less than 200 yds of offense against Georgia). The defense did force some punts and got some field goals but what was eye opening in the TCU game was how they gashed Michigan's defense with the running game and all the big plays Michigan's defense gave up.
October 15th, 2023 at 10:56 PM ^
Whats all this 28 point talk?
October 15th, 2023 at 7:22 PM ^
I don’t know, Georgia sure seemed to be able to shut down an “elite opponent.”
October 15th, 2023 at 10:57 PM ^
As did K State. I think we were going to bring a better effort against Georgia but im not sure it wouldve been 35 points better than TCU.
October 15th, 2023 at 1:22 PM ^
I dunno. We Michigan fans will find something to worry about.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:29 PM ^
“We Michigan fans will find something to worry about.”
Gee, I wonder why our record in post-season play would give any Michigan fan cause to worry.
October 15th, 2023 at 3:37 PM ^
You shouldn't expect the same against elite competition.
Just win those games stats and numbers be damned.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:37 AM ^
No, we havent played anyone yet but Michigan is whooping these bad teams all the same like youd expect a national title contender to whoop a bad team
Compare that to say FSU who got a scare from one of the worst P5 teams in BC
October 15th, 2023 at 11:43 AM ^
The way we are beating these teams is the true sign
October 15th, 2023 at 8:54 PM ^
don't need to use to statistics to see wh'appening, but you can if you want.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:15 PM ^
I don't see FSU getting to the end of the season undefeated.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:43 AM ^
Defensive dominance in the Red Zone is great to see… for a few years (Don Brown) Red Zone defense was more than just a little problematic, especially against OSU.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
Beating Georgia by >=1 would be a nice stat to support the "elite" hypothesis.
October 15th, 2023 at 1:58 PM ^
Amen brother.
Not sure how to say this to other people although its so clear in my mind. Stats prove nothing. Stats are poor reflections of the reality of the games played. They are the best "math" can provide for human behavior in context of teamwork and organization but they no more represent a human created football team than "AI" does an individual human.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:27 PM ^
You’re wrong, and rather provably so. However, feel free to test out your hypothesis at a sportsbook. They’re using stats to set the lines — you can use your feelingsball and build a mansion with your winnings.
Just, don’t bet anything you can’t afford to lose.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:02 PM ^
Here is my important stats to see if we are truly dominant.
We have played 7 teams and they have played 7 teams.
Out of these we have dished out 7 of 7 worst offensive days by our opponents
Out of these we have dished out 6 of 7 worst defensive days by our opponents
Even a roundtable of Spartys, Pete Finebaum, and Chicken Little U of M fans would have to agree thats damn impressive.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
Georgia is not the #1 team in the country, and FSU is not top 10.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:53 AM ^
Georgia's #1 until they haven't won 20something in a row.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:00 PM ^
Disagree on both. Georgia deserves to be No. 1 until somebody beats them, at least once. (I'd love for that to happen, of course, and if it's Michigan, all the better).
And ... FSU's not in the top ten??? That's a bold take.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:17 PM ^
Disagree that Georgia should be #1 until beaten; they should only be #1 if they're perceived to CURRENTLY be the best team. Ranking them #1 now because they went undefeated in prior years has nothing to do with this season.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:29 PM ^
No, we're ranking them 1 because they went undefeated last year, AND they are undefeated this year.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:37 PM ^
If they were terrible I could see that point, but they're undefeated and have only had a couple close wins so far. I don't think they're as good as the last two years, but they've earned the benefit of the doubt until they play a top match up in my opinion.
October 15th, 2023 at 1:08 PM ^
According to a WWL radio host yesterday, the SEC is the Best Conference™ now precisely because of recent past success. Also, any current 'down' year by member teams is simply because so much talent left for the NFL, further demonstrating the SEC's all-encompassing Best-ness.
So obviously Georgia is #1 because unbeaten +SEC. QED.
October 15th, 2023 at 11:06 PM ^
Im of the thinking that the SEC East isnt much better than the Big Ten west except for the big dog of course. I think Wisconsin would beat Kentucky, Iowa would somehow beat Florida, and Tennessee would lose to all 3 of our top teams in the East. Its a house of cards but when it comes tumbling down (bowl games vs the Big Ten) nobody cares anymore.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:04 PM ^
Stats are factual and helpful. Thanks for sharing these. While points made about our schedule so far this have some merit, they team is playing very well, efficiently, and is loaded with talent. This team has handled all of their Conference games impressively. Will just mention UNLV is now 5 & 1, with a win over Vanderbilt. Georgia was up ten points on Vanderbilt until the last 3.5 minutes of the game yesterday when they scored another TD. Final anecdote, fwiw, at the gym this a.m. a buddy of mine who loves and follows college football closely and not a Michigan fan per se mentioned he watched the entire Michigan game yesterday and really enjoyed it simply because he thinks they play really well and he just enjoys watching good football teams play. Beat Sparty !
October 15th, 2023 at 12:12 PM ^
So Penn State is elite too?
October 15th, 2023 at 12:59 PM ^
Defense is, probably. Think we might be a bad matchup for them because if they have a weak spot it's DT and we have Zinter and Keegan.
October 15th, 2023 at 12:47 PM ^
The red zone defense is unsustainable even for the best defense in the country, but fixing some of the relatively minor coverage issues should make up for regression to the mean.
October 15th, 2023 at 2:04 PM ^
No one has taken a snap inside Michigan's 10-yard line yet.
That is absolutely nuts. We are seven games into the season!
October 15th, 2023 at 7:28 PM ^
I mean, to be fair, there’s a dark side there too. The average length of Michigan opponents’ touchdown plays has got to be 40 yards or so. :)
October 15th, 2023 at 2:08 PM ^
Not that this really matters at all right now, but I'm just kinda waiting for the AP to wake up and slot Michigan in at #1. Georgia got a big win against Kentucky last week but Kentucky went out and got beat pretty badly against Missouri, so how good is Kentucky anyway? And this week Georgia looked fairly pedestrian in a win against Vanderbilt. In my mind, the top two teams are Michigan #1 and Washington #2 and then Georgia #3 and Ohio St #4.
October 15th, 2023 at 4:46 PM ^
I think OSU doesn't belong that high. I could easily see them getting blasted by Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas and even Alabama
October 15th, 2023 at 6:09 PM ^
Another noteworthy stat...Michigan is outscoring their opponents 93-0 in the third quarter this season. This represents focus/discipline, halftime adjustment and most importantly, zero complacency.
October 16th, 2023 at 1:15 PM ^
Best thing about these stats is that they reflect 4 quarters of football, 3 featuring our starters and the 4th our 2nd and 3 string guys.