Michigan DNP; moves to 19 in AP, stays at 17 in Coaches

Submitted by glewe on

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/rankings

Other B1G+ teams in Top 25 of either poll:

Team AP/Coaches

Ohio 4/3
Northwestern 16/15
Maryland 25/RV
Nebraska RV/25
Wisconsin, MSU, Rutgers, and Notre Dame all receiving votes in both

 

Muttley

September 29th, 2013 at 1:11 PM ^

Wiscy gets great pressure on Braxton Miller in the 2nd quarter and recovers a fumble on Miller's attempted throw inside the OSU 10.  But the defender grabbed Miller's helmet and gets flagged for a facemask.  Clear penalty, but unnecessary.

And also in the 2nd quarter, Wiscy rugby-style punts, and the OSU return man makes an ill-advised attempt to field.  He fumbles, Wiscy recovers on the OSU ~25, but Wiscy is flagged for lining up incorrectly.

If Wiscy doesn't shoot itself in the foot on those three plays, I'd have to say Wiscy wins more likely than not.  (Or at least OSU would have had to come from behind in a different game situation.)

chally

September 29th, 2013 at 1:10 PM ^

"I think some people do their rankings based on how good they think the team is rather than how good their season's been."   Ummm...just about everyone does that at this point in the season.  If you were looking at a blind resume, #4 Ohio State doesn't look much different than #15 Washington or #25 Maryland.  All three teams are undefeated, have played at least two major-conference teams, and have ~30 ppg margin of victory thusfar.  When you get to the end of the season, a resume argument is easier to make.  Right now, these are effectively power rankings with an additional penalty for losing games.

TheGhostofChappuis

September 29th, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^

3 one-loss SEC teams in the top 10 and 4 in the top 13.  What a joke.  If you're in that conference, losing a game just doesn't matter, unless you lose by 25 and get shut-out, in which case you'll drop three spots.

Soulfire21

September 29th, 2013 at 7:56 PM ^

The only "top" SEC team I'm not sold on is South Carolina.  They have a loss to Georgia and a pretty easy schedule (play two ranked opponents: Florida and Clemson, both at home).  Ole Miss staying ranked after losing by 25 and being shut out is also a bit ludicrous in my opinion (wins over Vandy, Southeastern Missouri State [real college], and Texas).  Florida at #18 is also questionable, given their three wins are over Toledo, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

But I digress.  In general, I agree.  The B1G certainly has done no favors for themsevles in the past few years, last year was close (almost Nebraska over Georiga, almost Michigan over South Carolina, etc.) but no cigar.

Yeoman

September 30th, 2013 at 12:20 AM ^

Sagarin agrees with you on Mississippi but not on the rest. Sagarin predictor rankings for the top of the SEC (I'll put Massy's power ranking in parentheses for some confirmation, or not):

  • 1. Alabama (1)
  • 4. LSU (6)
  • 8. Georgia (5)
  • 9.Texas A&M (4)
  • 14. Florida (14)
  • 15. South Carolina (11)
  • 34. Missouri (17)
  • 35. Auburn (35)
  • 37. Mississippi (19)

Mississippi has played the #2 schedule in the country so far, though. The basic Sagarin ranking that takes wins and losses into account by weighting in his BCS/ELO ranking has Mississippi at 25.

I have no idea why Massey has Missouri so high. The one big difference I know of between the two systems is that Massey discounts big point spreads more heavily than other systems do, so it tends to (relative to the other computers) prefer schools playing stronger schedules over schools pounding weak opposition. Missouri's the latter, and I don't get it. Maybe it has something to do with the way the systems phase out last year's results as the statistics get better on this season.

glewe

September 29th, 2013 at 1:00 PM ^

I don't agree with you about the one-loss teams, but Ole Miss being ranked after getting shut out is a little ridiculous. If they had kept  that game even remotely close, I could understand it, but they got shut out and beat by 25. They have played and beat nobody significant.

M-Dog

September 29th, 2013 at 9:09 PM ^

Ole Miss is the classic case of innocence by association.  They are clearly trading off of the SEC label.  

If they were in the B1G, Big 12, Pac 12, or ACC and got shut out by Alabama like that, they would be out of the polls.

Ole Miss, Arkansas, South Carolina, Miss State a couple of years ago, and even Kentucky, have really been riding the SEC coat tails of late.

 

remdog

September 29th, 2013 at 1:49 PM ^

actually look at anything before a final score before commenting??? The Bama-Ole Miss game was MUCH closer than the final score. Ole Miss passed up several easy field goals and shot themselves in the foot when their WR threw a pick on an earlier drive in Bama territory. Bama could barely move the ball most of the game and padded the final margin with some late scores.

TheGhostofChappuis

September 29th, 2013 at 8:06 PM ^

No, it wasn't closer than the final score.  It was exactly as close as the score indicates, just like every single game.  I agree with you that if Ole Miss had played better, the game would have been closer.  They didn't.

Perkis-Size Me

September 29th, 2013 at 1:15 PM ^

You know how you fix that? Beat the SEC in non-con matchups or bowl games. No one has been able to figure how how to do that on a consistent basis, and until they do, that conference will be perceived as untouchable.



Winning 7 straight national championships helps, too. I'm not saying I disagree with you, but their dominance in the polls, in my mind, is completely justified. Minus Ole Miss, of course. That one does leave me scratching my head.

magonus

September 30th, 2013 at 7:33 AM ^

And as soon as the SEC starts scheduling road games against tough opponents that can happen. As it is, they play a few "neutral" site game where they are virtually the home team and that's it. Bama cancelled their home and home against MSU rather than drop a game against South Alabama State Agricultural School of Technology. Are they "scurred" of MSU? Not particularly, but a trip to East Lansing still had the potential for an upset at least. Why not just play it safe and expand to 9 games so you can play another game against Vanderbilt or Kentucky and have ESPN hype it as a huge showdown between SEC powerhouses?

Conference strength is cyclical, sure, but right now the perception of the SEC is so out of whack with reality that they are going to stay atop the polls indefinitely. Going 4-5 in a bowl season or two won't change it, they'll just write it off as a fluke. The only way the perception will change at this point is for the SEC to get blanked a few bowl seasons in a row and that just isn't going to happen.

Finance-PhD

September 30th, 2013 at 11:06 AM ^

So the SEC can only be beat by playing away? You are not making the best argument for SEC is overhyped.

 

I would love to see week two being the B1G East playing SEC East and B1G West playing SEC West using the last BCS to pair teams 1-7 with teams 1-7. Home B1G the first year and Home SEC the second. East and West could switch every two years so that you can see the relaitve strength that direction too. That would show top to bottom how strong the conferences are and give a bit more insight on how things truly stack up.

 

But that is a crazy fantasy akin to bikini models breaking down on lonely highways needing my assistance.

Njia

September 29th, 2013 at 1:49 PM ^

Our lone "quality win" was over ND ... So, yeah. Right now, our games against NW, Wisc, MSU and Ohio can all be wins or losses. Until Team 134 proves it can run the ball, pass the ball, catch the ball and HANG ONTO THE DAMN BALL, I'm not calling my bookie just yet. 

Yeoman

September 29th, 2013 at 2:35 PM ^

...but at Massey Michigan dropped 20 slots without playing, thanks to bad losses by every opponent and some subpar performances by opponents' opponents too.

M is now 51st in the base rating that includes w/l racords, 62nd in "power" (the equivalent of Sag "predictor"). That's ninth in the B1G, ahead of Indiana, Minnesota and Purdue.

I'm going to keep telling myself this is largely due to very bad turnover luck and isn't a true reflection of strength.

Soulfire21

September 29th, 2013 at 11:21 PM ^

Sagarin has us at 40th.  For reference, the entire B1G:

  • Ohio - 13th
  • Wisconsin - 15th
  • Maryland - 20th
  • Penn State - 31st
  • Iowa - 36th
  • Northwestern - 39th
  • Michigan - 40th
  • Michigan State - 41st
  • Nebraska - 47th
  • Rutgers - 53rd
  • Illinois - 54th
  • Indiana - 64th
  • Minnesota - 72nd
  • Purdue - 119th

graybeaver

September 30th, 2013 at 5:40 AM ^

It wouldn't bother me if M wasn't ranked. Maybe it would serve as motivation for the players. It will be interesting to see how Gardner responds against MN. The turnovers have to stop. If he makes a really stupid decision then he should be pulled. He needs to understand that punting the ball isn't the end of the world.

chatster

September 30th, 2013 at 9:05 AM ^

Michigan’s bye weeks are scary, like the vibes from bad voodoo.
Jared Walsh decommits, McGary’s back’s got a boo-boo.
The Ted Cruz Senate rant lasted twenty-one hours.
O. J. stole some cookies. (He must hate prison showers.)
 
Oklahoma State’s Cowboys brought Mike Gundy to tears
From a loss on the road to yellow-garbed Mountaineers.
There were scares for the Gamecocks, the ‘Noles and Manziell,
But Stanford, Clemson and Oregon had games end quite well.
 
Georgia’s Bulldogs came back to defeat LSU.
Wins came for the Sooners, the Gators, the Tide and The “U.”
But Lane Kiffin’s been fired, so he needed a new friend
To watch Homeland’s return and Breaking Bad’s end.
 
Sagarin puts Michigan sixth in the current Big Ten**
And Drew Sharp keeps the Wolverines unranked once again.
 
* SPOILER ALERT:  Breaking Bad ends with a song from Badfinger as we say "Bye" to Walter White.
 
**  Latest Sagarin Rankings have Michigan at 40th in FBS, behind Ohio State (13), Wisconsin (15), Penn State (31), Iowa (36) and Northwestern (39).  Future Big Ten member Maryland is ranked 20th.