Michigan #16 in USA Today Poll, #18 in AP
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/polls/
And NW only dropped to 18, which seems right.
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Clemson
3. Ohio
5. Stanford
6. FSU
7. Georgia
8. Louisville
9. Texas A&M
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. South Carolina
13. UCLA
14. Miami
15. Baylor
16. Michigan
17. Florida
18. Northwestern
19. Washington
20. Oklahoma St.
21. Texas Tech
22. Fresno State
23. Northern Illinois
24. Nebraska
25. Virginia Tech
The AP Poll has Michigan at #18 and NW dropping to #19.
http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Clemson
4. Ohio
5. Stanford
6. FSU
7. Georgia
8. Louisville
9. Texas A&M
10. LSU
11. UCLA
12. Oklahoma
13. Miami
14. South Carolina
15. Baylor
16. Washington
17. Florida
18. Michigan
19. Northwestern
20. Texas Tech
21. Fresno State
22. Oklahoma St.
23. Northern Illinois
24. Virginia Tech
25. Missouri
October 6th, 2013 at 12:13 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:17 PM ^
Going up from here...no problem.
Am I right?
October 6th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:46 PM ^
Because SEC.
Not saying I think its justified, but there's your answer.
October 6th, 2013 at 2:12 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 4:08 PM ^
There are three 1-loss SEC teams in the top 10.
Riddle me that.
October 6th, 2013 at 4:22 PM ^
Well, they did beat UM last year, so with the SEC that basically means they'd beat UM for the next decade.
October 6th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^
That's one perspective. Some voters may still have the image of Akron on our 1 yard line in their heads. It was only three weeks ago.
October 6th, 2013 at 12:23 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:37 PM ^
the voters feel we can do more than that. Whatever.
October 6th, 2013 at 12:44 PM ^
You can do more: You can not look terrible in wins against terrible competition.
Not that it matters, but Michigan is in no position to complain about its ranking.
October 7th, 2013 at 12:05 AM ^
ohio = 43.. Akron = 7... We have 5 wins and the voters have eveyr right to put us outside the top 20 regardless of who you think we can beat. We aare getting a good ranking. Win they games we have a beat osu.
October 6th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^
If we go into November undefeated, then maybe we should be in the top 10. Depending on what happens above us in the polls. But right now, we're just getting back on track. We barely looked like a top-50 team against Akron and UConn, much less a top-10 team, and no doubt those games are still fresh in the minds of the voters.
October 6th, 2013 at 12:56 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:58 PM ^
Using Massey Ratings, the USA Today #16 rank seems to be pretty generous.
http://masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cf&sub=FBS
Some bullet points pertaining to Michigan -
- Ranked #42 overall up five spots from #47 last week
- Victories are over the #110 (CMU), #34 (ND), #109 (AKRON), #104 (UCONN), and #83 (MINN) teams in the ratings. This is an average opponent ranking of 88.
- As a result of the above, Michigan's SOS ranking is #107
- Michigan has the #41 offense and the #54 defense
- Michigan opens as a 3-1/2 point underdog to Penn State
- Michigan is being given a 38% chance to win, with a predicted final score of 24-28
It's still pretty early for computers to be as accurate as they are by the end of the season, but it gives you a fairly decent impression after 5 games.
October 6th, 2013 at 1:15 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 2:14 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 2:48 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 3:00 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 3:55 PM ^
Agreed. Look how vulnerable #4 Ohio looked last night. I think, on a neutral field, Michigan beats Alabama 5/10 times they play. Look, wins are wins, and until we show otherwise, we should be tied at #1 with the other undefeated teams.
October 6th, 2013 at 4:10 PM ^
That's some strong koolaid you're sipping on.
October 6th, 2013 at 5:05 PM ^
I like others am a HUGE UM fan, but for someone to say this team would beat Bama 5/10 times this year might be one of the most embarrassing things I have ever heard.
October 6th, 2013 at 9:20 PM ^
I hate to say it, but dIdn't we stuggle to 5-0 a couple times under RR before we got handled by mediocre-to-good competition in B1G conference play? I think we have better coaches this go around, so I don't think we'll fall off quite as hard (if at all), but the point remains: 5-0 does not speak for itself.
October 6th, 2013 at 9:21 PM ^
Doo-blay post.
October 6th, 2013 at 11:25 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 1:39 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 2:15 PM ^
OK, let's say that it was Michigan State at 5-0 with 2 nail-biting wins over horrible opposition, one workmanlike win over a mediocre Minnesota team, one blowout of a lousy MAC team, and a shootout victory over an overrated Notre Dame team. You'd be agitating for the Spartans to be ranked in the top 10?
October 6th, 2013 at 12:20 PM ^
I was so disappointed that NW lost yesterday. I don't remember the last time I felt so down about a loss by a team that I wasn't actually a fan of.
October 6th, 2013 at 12:38 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:46 PM ^
NW is the team most likely to get in the way of our winning this division. You should be happy they lost.
October 6th, 2013 at 12:52 PM ^
Yeah, but if you look at the overall B1G title picture, not just the division race, it's another story.
If you didn't want to face Ohio two weeks in a row, rooting for them to lose to NW (and then us) was your best bet. Now, if we win the division we're virtually guaranteed to play a doubleheader against them.
October 6th, 2013 at 1:06 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:23 PM ^
.....and I'm including the NW loss to OSU.
I still believe UM's upside is higher though, assuming that DG can mentally get back into things full-time.
October 6th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
NW seems to be getting the benefit of the doubt after the last three games and im glad to see it, but UM is being slighted in my opinion. The Akron and Uconn games were not very impressive but teams like South Carolina and Georgia for that matter are not being punished for unimpressive wins. If you look at NW the last 3 weeks, they had a very unimpressive win against W. Michigan, a 14 point win against Maine(outgained NW) and a home loss to a tough OSU. I dont see how anyone could difinitively say NW is more impressive than 5-0 Michigan. The ND win looks a little better after the ND win over ASU.
October 6th, 2013 at 2:21 PM ^
Georgia has played #8 Clemson, #6 LSU, and #6 South Carolina. Are you saying that our schedule is as impressive? I hate the SEC slobbering as much as anybody, but Jeebus face reality.
October 6th, 2013 at 2:47 PM ^
Georgia LOST to Clemson. If you want to give credit for losses go ahead, but I dont believe losing is an accomplishment. LSU is a good win for sure, so this off sets the LOSS. Lets look at the powerful and great South Carolina a little closer; SC wins are against 1-4 UNC, 3-3 Vanderbilt, a 3 point win over UCF and this weekends 7 point win over 1-4 Kentucky! Is South Carolina worthy of the top 25 with that resume? So Georgia needing overtime to beat 3-3 Tennesee is not an impressive win and Georgia is not being punished for it.
October 6th, 2013 at 2:54 PM ^
The SEC is undoubtedly the best conference but its gotten to the point where the conference can seemingly do no wrong. South Carolina is a nice example of this bias.
October 6th, 2013 at 12:27 PM ^
I think Florida State should be top 3. They look damn impressive. Far more than ohio.
We're about right at 16, I think. Akron and UConn took the luster off this season for us, and we're not getting that back unless we pocket some impressive wins over quality opponents (e.g., MSU, Nebraska, NW, ohio).
October 6th, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:39 PM ^
Everybody murders....
October 6th, 2013 at 12:42 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:44 PM ^
Other than it looks good. I think the only teams in the top 10 that would be able to beat Ohio are Bama, Oregon, Stanford, and FSU. Louisville is almost a lock for the national title as they haven't and never will play anyone of significance. Bama will probably go back to the title game because their schedule is super Charming soft.
October 6th, 2013 at 1:08 PM ^
Georgia was pulling students out of the stands and dressing them just to get 11 players on the field for offense yesterday due to all of their injuries. If this continues to be a problem then they will lose and that will sort itself out, but they don't deserve to get tanked due to a plague of injuries without losing first.
October 6th, 2013 at 10:30 PM ^
October 6th, 2013 at 12:44 PM ^