Michigan #14 in Preseason AP Poll
August 20th, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
“definitely in the top 5?”
August 20th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
I know it hurts to have a strong SOS because going undefeated or 1-loss in a sugar soft schedule can land you a playoff bid, but our schedule sure as hell will be a lot more entertaining.
5 pre-season top 12 teams, Northwestern won 10 games last year, Nebraska and Scott Frost on the schedule. Meanwhile, Alabama and Georgia are still playing an 8 game conference schedule and an FCS opponent.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
SOS is total horse manure. Play easy schedule and win your division = punch your ticket to playoff.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
I can't believe Wisky is 4th? I guess they do got a great offensive line back and a great running back. That's probably their highest pre season ranking ever, I maybe wrong though.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
13-1 last year and probably 11+ wins this season.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
Their only weakness is depth. Taylor and that line will roll people and Hornibrook can beat you over the top if you overplay the run. Their defense is loaded too.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
PSU and ND overrated.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
I'm going to predict a MSU record of 9-3 or 8-4.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
Jesus.
We play 5 of the top 11 teams and three of those games on the road. This team could be significantly better than any team we've seen under Harbaugh and still finish 9-3.
Yes, still salty over the scheduling insanity of putting ND on the schedule, on the road, given everything else we have on our plate this year. Makes 0.0% sense if your goal is to get to the final four in football.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^
Right there with you. I mean its a different tone if we reload like Alabama or OSU. But apparently we get a great team every 2-3 years (2016, now 2018) so ...wut?? ...WHY schedule ND on the road opening weekend. Get a tomato can -> smash that tomato can. Just don't get it...but hey Michigan football, experts in shooting their own foot.
Still Go blue and can't wait to prove the haters wrong. Beat MSU and OSU this year and I am ecstatic.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:37 PM ^
Dumbest move ever to schedule them.
Oh woopie. 2 years and then we won't play them again until 2028 because our non-conference all features P5 opponents until then.
Short-sighted move. Could've opened with Arkansas at home. God forbid there be any variety.
August 20th, 2018 at 2:17 PM ^
I totally agree, I'd rather play Arkansas. I like seeing new Power-5 opponents. I actually liked that we stopped playing ND. We never get much credit for beating them, and those games in South Bend are always weird-bounce shitshows with a ton of flags.
August 20th, 2018 at 1:00 PM ^
But some of that is beyond their control .- they have to play 3 out of those 5 every year regardless. Wisconsin is a rotational game. So it's really only ND that screws them, and literally the only difference between this year and 2016 is that ND is on the road while Colorado was at home.
OSU is doing basically the same thing playing TCU (which was a home-and-home before they switched to Jerryworld).
I don't know if the goal should be "let's make the easiest schedule to make the playoffs" because it can also bite you in the ass. Look at Wisconsin - they can't afford a loss on this schedule in all likelihood and expect to get into the playoffs.
August 20th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
You do realize there's room between "easiest schedule" and hardest schedule (which we have). Without ND we had the toughest schedule in the NCAA so putting them on this year was pure lunacy.
August 20th, 2018 at 2:11 PM ^
Ill just chime in and say that having a tough schedule will make our team better in the long run. Especially when we get into a tough game with a good team. If we make the playoffs, would you rather have played a weak schedule and get your doors blown off or be a tested team and play the other team tough? Also with a hard schedule we can make the playoffs with 1 loss, especially if we win the big ten.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:37 PM ^
It grinds my gears to see MSU ranked ahead of us.
August 20th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^
They beat us, return more than us, blew out a top 20 team in their bowl, and have a much easier schedule than we do in 2018, they should be ahead of us, for now. Beat them at their place and we get ranked higher and Paul Bunyan to boot.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:42 PM ^
To quote (or at least paraphrase) WD:
Beat Notre Dame.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:46 PM ^
This is doable.
Wisconsin just lost a receiver, and the passing game is the only reason they aren't top 5 material.
Oklahoma's quarterback is unproven.
Win over ND and then UM is ranked around 8-10, which means if there's a loss halfway through the season in the UW/MSU/PSU stretch then UM still stays in the top 10, and in the mix for playoff with OSU looming.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:46 PM ^
14 makes sense. MSU at 11 is a stretch, but whatever. Wisconsin at #4 seems insane to me, but then you realize they play exactly 2 currently-ranked teams all years and, honestly, it's not hard to imagine them losing only 1 game.
August 20th, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
still don't believe in PSU
August 20th, 2018 at 4:45 PM ^
Me either.
August 20th, 2018 at 1:00 PM ^
Who do we think is the next best Big Ten team after Michigan? Iowa?
August 20th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^
Northwestern.
August 20th, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^
Nw and Nebraska should both have early season runs.
August 20th, 2018 at 2:22 PM ^
Nebraska? They'd better start playing even occasional defense. They could lose to Troy. Frost knows what he's doing but asking them to win right away is a tall order.
August 20th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
I like our team this year! But has any other team ever faced a schedule like this? 5 games vs higher ranked top 12 team. 3 on the road. 2 bs top 5.
Certainly not this year. OSU, Bama, Clemson, Wisky, Georgia all have cake schedules.
August 20th, 2018 at 1:57 PM ^
Certainly the schedule is very challenging, but playing ND on the road is a great "pre-season" test. Face it, we need to get this new (improved) offense ready to meet the B1G grind. The ND game will tell the coaches a lot and provide excellent feedback for things to work on over a 2-game home-stand against cupcakes. Then the real season begins with a bang ... Nebraska in a Maize-Out under the lights. Let the fun begin to a B1G title. Go Blue !!!
August 20th, 2018 at 2:35 PM ^
M will win the natty this year.
August 20th, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^
I see some parallels between this season and 1985 where UM ended up #2 when it was all said and done. Coming off a disappointing year where qb injuries played a big role (although '84 was worse than '17), entering with a strong defense, and one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Began the season unranked in '85, so starting at #14 doesn't seem so bad.
August 20th, 2018 at 8:18 PM ^
Perfect place to start