UM #8 in preseason AP poll
August 15th, 2022 at 1:09 PM ^
Polls remain 100% meaningless.
Something like this is a bit nice just to give everyone a baseline of expectations, allowing us to enjoy upsets more and such… but it doesn’t matter where (or if) Michigan is ranked. They will win or lose on the field.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:19 PM ^
It's funny how things change as you get older. When I was a kid, I wanted us to be ranked as high as possible, I was always following the teams above us hoping they'd lose so we move up, etc. Now that I realize there's no real benefit (and potential downside) from being ranked high until late in the season, I want us to fly under the radar for as long as we can...
August 15th, 2022 at 1:12 PM ^
We are better than Clemson, ND, and Texas A&M. Those teams have way more question marks than we do
August 15th, 2022 at 1:15 PM ^
Thing is. we have two pretty big question marks in the form of new OC and DC, which as we've seen, is about 4X more important than any individual position group other than QB.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:30 PM ^
OC was on staff last year so there is some continuity there and honestly the new DC wants to run a similar scheme and the one constant under Harbaugh has been good defense under multiple DC's. It's not as big of a question mark as some people want to make it out to be honestly. It would be different if you had new coordinators implementing significantly different schemes from last year.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:14 PM ^
ND will get crushed in week 1 so we'll be top 7 for the first several weeks.
Interesting the total lack of respect for Ped State. Good I hope we crush them this year.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:18 PM ^
If ND goes 5 wide with all WR's against OSU, they'll have 0 scholarship WR's on the sideline watching that play.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:21 PM ^
Yep. Arguing #6 vs. #8 is a crapshoot in the pre-season, but grouping the teams by tiers based on total points, the poll seems reasonable.
Tier 1: Bama/OSU/Georgia
Tier 2: Clemson/ND/Utah/A&M/Michigan
Tier 2B/3A: Oklahoma
Tier 3: Baylor/Oregon/Ok St/Mich St/USC/NC St
Tier 3B/4A: Miami
Tier 4: The rest of the Top 25.
I can buy that. I might put Notre Dame with Oklahoma, but otherwise it's pretty good for a pre-season poll.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:25 PM ^
My big prediction this year: OSU will be a 3 loss team.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:41 PM ^
Don't know if I would go that far but people certainly are giving OSU the benefit of the doubt that their defensive issues will be solved. They weren't just bad against better offenses, they were a dumpster fire against them.
August 15th, 2022 at 5:27 PM ^
96 - certain teams, as we know, get th benefit of the doubt. The Bucks are one of those teams, and the SEC is one of those conferences.
it seems like one issue in Columbus is - defensive recruiting. The Bucks get huge talent on O, but - the level of talent, and perhaps development - does appear to be the same on the other side of the ball. Perhaps their D “has to improve”, but - then again - wishfully thinking - perhaps they step down another wrung or two on the ladder.
I just took a quick look at 247 Sports. In 2021, the Nucks had 15 5* players on their roster. Ten were on offense, and five were on D. Surprisingly, four of the five defensive 5* prospects were on their DL.
August 15th, 2022 at 4:44 PM ^
Respectfully, where do you see three losses?
Possibilities are: ND (home), Wisconsin (home) MSU (road), Iowa (home), Penn State (road), and Michigan (home).
Don’t get me wrong, I’d welcome a three loss Buckeye Squad - but, I don’t see it.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:41 PM ^
The pollsters want A&M to be good so badly, don't they?
Honestly, spots 4-8 are fairly interchangeable with one another. You can make arguments for each one of them to move up, down, or around one another. But the gap between them, and the 1-3 spots is enormous. Once again, its the same 2-3 teams ruling the college football landscape on a year-to-year basis.
What I'll be curious about for the top 3 are:
1) Alabama - who are the skill position players this season? Seems like every year its a who's who and Alabama just stockpiles talent at RB and WR. I'm sure they still do, but last season was the first time I can remember since maybe Saban's first season where they didn't have a household name at RB. They had someone who was really "just a guy." By the end of the season, all their top wideouts were injured, and I think their top incoming WR for the season just fractured his foot and is out for the first 4-6 weeks of the season. Of course, they have Bryce Young and a ferocious defense led by Will Anderson, but do they have the bodies ready to bring their unstoppable offensive death machine back online?
2) OSU - Can the defense be just good? Can it be average? Can it not crap its pants in critical games? If Knowles can answer any one of those questions with a yes, then OSU is going to be just fine. If not, they may suffer a fate similar to what they received last season.
3) Georgia - no matter what Kirby Smart does, the defense he has this season WILL NOT be as good as it was last season. It just won't be. That was a generational defense, the quality of which you see maybe only once every 20-30 years or so. His recruiting will help make up for it and he plays in a much weaker SEC eastern division than its western counterpart, but how will Georgia fare this year without a generational defense to fall back on? Stetson Bennett will undoubtedly be asked to do more. Can he do more? No idea. They may very well drop a game in the regular season, and if they do, they're going to have to beat Alabama in the SEC title game. You never want to have to beat Alabama in order to do anything.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:49 PM ^
Kind of odd to me people are saying UM's changing coordinators is a question mark when they are running similar schemes as last year and then kind of hand waving away OSU having a new DC trying to fix a defense that was a tire fire at times last year.
August 15th, 2022 at 2:22 PM ^
I’m perfectly fine with a lower ranking. Just that much more motivation.
August 15th, 2022 at 3:21 PM ^
Its solely because its OSU, and whether we like it or not they're going to be given the benefit of the doubt because of their brand, their run of success (only two seasons in the last 20 years with less than 10 wins), and the fact that they recruit head and shoulders above everyone else in their conference. It's not really that close.
It's based on the reasonable assumption that "if they can just bring in a good DC, pair him with all of that elite talent, they'll be good to go." OSU went out and bought arguably one of the 3-5 best DCs in America last year. People, like me, are also assuming if Knowles can get that defense to be even just average, that is enough to get them over the top. All he needs to do is not have his defense screw up so bad that it negates an otherworldly offense.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:52 PM ^
I really wish we would add some form of computer rankings to CFP equation. Solely based on people is to susceptible to perception based on past given more credit than deserved. Being solely based on computers like the early days of the BCS leads to passing teams that clearly were the better team but number anomalies lead to lesser teams going higher.
August 15th, 2022 at 2:21 PM ^
Venom, a computer ranking is completely dependent on the algorithm. I think it should be - and should have been - pretty simple.
This applies for both the BCS and CFP. If you’re a member of a conference - you must be your conference’s champion to be selected / invited to participate.
People will say - “Oh, a four loss team from the other division got lucky.” To which I reply - “win the game, be your conference champion.”
Should teams be selected because of their on the field performance - or, is it a beauty pageant? IMO, it’s been a beauty pageant since the BCS started.
August 15th, 2022 at 5:14 PM ^
I'm 100% in agreement that it should be conference champions only. But until the rest of the world thinks that way, computers with heavy weight take away from the mentality that team A was good before, so let's give them the benefit of the doubt.
August 15th, 2022 at 5:21 PM ^
Venom. Getting the rest of the world to think that way.. oh my… a lifetime is too short.
I would have loved to see an 8 team playoff. The Power Five conference champs - are auto bids - period. Then perhaps, one Group of Five conference champ - selected by the Committee - and two At-Large teams, also selected by the Committee.
I think ND should “play through” the ACC - and, if appropriate - compete / play in the ACC CCG.
The Committee’s decisions have devalued conference championships since the start.
August 15th, 2022 at 1:53 PM ^
UM deserves better than #8. Coaches poll (for once) has it correct at #6. Unofficially, UM is #7 in the AP, bc OSU plays ND first game of the season. Whichever team loses will certainly drop below UM in the AP and Coaches poll. #GoBlue
August 15th, 2022 at 2:00 PM ^
I'm not sure OSU will fall that far in the AP poll if they lose
August 15th, 2022 at 6:34 PM ^
I agree. If #2 OSU loses to #5 ND, I can see them falling to #6 or #7, but no farther.
August 16th, 2022 at 1:09 AM ^
Interesting question. Clemson only fell from 3rd to 6th after last year’s centerpiece opener (against Georgia) But then, OSU fell from 3rd to 9th after losing to Oregon (which, granted, was ranked a little lower at 12th). OSU went on to fall to 11th over the next two weeks despite two blowouts.
My guess is OSU would indeed fall quite a ways. They’re a 2 TD favorite at home; a loss would mean they came up well short of expectation. That’s different than Clemson-Georgia, a neutral-site game that was expected to be close and was.
Put another way: How can you lose as a 2 TD home favorite and only drop 3 or 4 spots? Doesn’t that by definition mean your ranking needs a major rethinking?
August 15th, 2022 at 2:12 PM ^
We're #8! We're #8!!!
August 15th, 2022 at 2:26 PM ^
The first four teams according to the AP, are the same four teams in the 2021 Team Talent Composite by 247 Sports.
The order is slightly different. Bama, Georgia, the Bucks, and Clemson. No surprise there.
August 15th, 2022 at 3:01 PM ^
I refuse to look past the IOWA game week 4 at Kinnick. Beat them convincingly and go from there.
August 15th, 2022 at 4:36 PM ^
H2V, I agree..the game in Iowa City, I will be an indication of what the team can do, and it’s potential. Tough venue, most likely at night, and a pink locker room.
August 15th, 2022 at 4:07 PM ^
Perfect spot IMO
August 15th, 2022 at 4:15 PM ^
Just win, Baby! It took a while in 2021 because the team was unranked to start the season. Better to be a bit of an underdog in early September. The true test will be at Iowa. I can wait.
August 15th, 2022 at 5:37 PM ^
Just a quick look. There are six (6) teams from the SEC in theTop 25. The ACC also has six (6) teams - if you include ND as an SEC team (which I did). The B1G has four (4) teams,
August 15th, 2022 at 5:57 PM ^
I want to see what Notre Dame will do to the OSU D. That will be the most interesting part of the match up week one. Im betting the D is not 100% turned around for that game. Then again, ND needs some O production to put the test to that unit.
August 15th, 2022 at 6:29 PM ^
Panther, I expect ND will attempt to establish the ground game. They’re breaking in a new QB and their receiving corps is depleted.
The issue here is - the Bucks should expect ND to try to run all day. Will ND’s OL be able to create lanes with - what I assume will be - 8 or more in the box.
August 16th, 2022 at 8:52 AM ^
Only a team with a man named Haskins is capable of running rampant with 8 or more in the box.
Go Blue!
August 15th, 2022 at 6:28 PM ^
aTm wins the national championship once again for out of control preseason hype. How are they #6 knowing what they do every single year?
August 15th, 2022 at 7:04 PM ^
”If your not first your last”-Reese Bobby
August 19th, 2022 at 1:28 AM ^
Good to know. Glad it doesn't really matter. SP+ comes out this weekend, which I'll be much more interested in.