September 23rd, 2018 at 1:33 PM ^
Even better is that Michigan is up to #6 in S&P+.
Edit: should've read the OP!
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:38 PM ^
up from S&P #10 last week for comparison.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:52 PM ^
What is S&P+ ?
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:56 PM ^
Standard and Poor's - duh!
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:57 PM ^
A play-by-play predictive analytics ranking that is a decent proxy for the Vegas power rankings used to set lines.
Michigan is also #6 in ESPN's FPI.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:02 PM ^
It measures offensive and defensive performance on a play-by-play basis. It's a good predictive stat.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:38 PM ^
About right. The schedule is looking much more tractable.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:39 PM ^
Only complain - Wisconsin ranked above us with a much worse loss.
UCF - not sure they can out hit us anymore, so maybe also not fair that they are above us.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:41 PM ^
That will take care of itself in a few weeks...
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:52 PM ^
They also got a tough road win in Iowa City. That doesn't come easy.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:03 PM ^
Iowa should have won that game but they made a season's worth of disastrous mistakes in the second half.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:08 PM ^
Yeah, that punt "muff" was bruuuutal. For the spooky "luck" they've had at home recently at night, they were on the wrong side of a bunch of fluky plays last night.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:27 PM ^
That game was tied 7-7 Midway through the 3rd quarter, which is the way that game should go. Unfortunately the final was 28-17. All Iowa-Wisconsin games should end like 7-3 or 10-7 or something like that.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:07 PM ^
I'll complain a little: Michigan is ranked 3-5 spots too low. Definitely should be ahead of UCF, Wisconsin and WVU and arguably should be ahead of Auburn and UWash. Means nothing at this point though, so my complaints are for discussion purposes only.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:40 PM ^
#11 in ESPN Power Rankings. The TEAM, the TEAM, the TEAM. Keep workin', keep risin'
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:01 PM ^
The team is ascending.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:40 PM ^
I like it. Get to Top 10 after we beat Wisconsin and Top 5 after completing the Wisconsin, MSU, PSU trifecta
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:44 PM ^
Also of note: defense is 4th in S&P+. The only team in the top ten with a higher ranked defense is Washington (7th overall). And our top 2 DTs are out.
Are we still going to discuss whether Don Brown is overrated?
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:48 PM ^
Giving up 3rd and 10+ is unacceptable
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:57 PM ^
It's not the 1970s anymore. Teams do in fact regularly complete passes of 10+ yards nowadays.
You should get off the field in most of those situations but you're going to give up a few to all but the most incompetent offenses.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:08 PM ^
what should the consequences be?
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:13 PM ^
You weren't the asshole a few rows in front of me demanding that we put McCaffrey in after that errant snap, were you?
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:14 PM ^
Fumbled snaps are UNACCEPTABLE
September 23rd, 2018 at 4:03 PM ^
Last week while at the SMU game, after the VERY FIRST two plays from scrimmage, some idiot directly behind us starting screaming in a high pitched squeal to put McCaffrey in. Annoying to say the least. Thank goodness he left after about 5 mins into the game.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:54 PM ^
Which other top 2 DT is out besides Solomon?
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:06 PM ^
Marshall was back this week so I think we are still waiting for Aubrey. DT depth is starting to look pretty good, Kemp has been a really nice surprise.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:27 PM ^
I'm still holding out the Villain comes back and adds some depth at DE, maybe even allows Gary to move inside sometimes
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:28 PM ^
I'm really pulling for Kemp. Seems like a great kid who has been trying to find a position. His confidence is really starting to come on. Hopefully Solomon can get back for that Wiscy, MSU, PSU trifecta. Mixed signals from the Fort, with JH saying he's day to day and Mone saying he'll "be back this season." Umbig11 said he's a ways from coming back.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:29 PM ^
Well, his defense is very gimmicky, right? The fact that it has been top 10 in all three of his years here proves that.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:32 PM ^
Do any Michigan fans think DB is overrated? I haven't seen that hot take around here, but to suggest that he's "overrated" or anything but a top 3 D coordinator in CFB (only other guys with an argument for best would be Venables and Saban, yes, Saban is a D coordinator).
September 23rd, 2018 at 3:09 PM ^
After ND and SMU, the Defensive Snowflake threads contained lots of "Brown is overrated, teams have figured him out" posts.
September 23rd, 2018 at 3:10 PM ^
There was at least one thread about it here. I assume it was deleted.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:45 PM ^
Top two DTs are out?
Solomon is out. Mone and Kemp aren't. Who are you thinking of?
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:48 PM ^
Marshall was the nominal starter in game 1 (and may have started yesterday too with the nice tip on the third offensive play) but yes, he's probably the 4th or 5th best DT on the team.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:44 PM ^
It's about right. Wisconsin will be the next big one. Win that and we can talk top 10. Go from there.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:47 PM ^
I think our ranking is justified. Last year we couldn't say that - it was hard to say if we ever belonged in the top 25. It seems clear to me that we're a better team than last year. Maybe not at every single position, but in the majority, and certainly at the most important one.
Right now we legitimately look like a top 15 team. We lost to a 4-0 team on the road by one score, then beat our next three opponents (none of them named Rutgers) by a combined score of 150-33.
The one catch is that we have to show we can do it away from home, too.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:07 PM ^
What better road venue to test out the new rig than Northwestern High School!
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:30 PM ^
Evanston's a nice way to transition to playing on the road. Play in an unfamiliar stadium, but in a front of a crowd that is 50-60% M fans.
September 23rd, 2018 at 1:52 PM ^
No issues here. Should be 14, maybe 13, in the AP Poll.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:05 PM ^
#14 AP Poll.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:07 PM ^
And Wisconsin to #15
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:10 PM ^
Nice to see some teams lose yesterday. Should have a top 10 matchup with Wisconsin in 3 weeks now if both teams take care of business.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:14 PM ^
IDK, they have a bye week next followed by home vs Nebraska.
Not sure how much they'll move up before 10/13. They'll need some #Chaos and hopefully it doesn't involve Michigan.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:20 PM ^
Is there a way of seeing how the coaches voted?
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:33 PM ^
I think the vote used to be public the last poll of the season under the old BCS system, but I don't know if that has changed in the playoff era.
September 23rd, 2018 at 3:17 PM ^
I don't think it was ever public, which is why we don't know who voted us 4th in '97.
September 23rd, 2018 at 6:18 PM ^
I thought we knew it was Fulmer?
September 23rd, 2018 at 9:45 PM ^
He's a prime suspect, but we can't verify it.
September 23rd, 2018 at 2:59 PM ^
Could this be FOIAed for public schools?