Michigan Ranked 18th

Submitted by michiganman001 on

Michigan 18th in the latest AP Polll.

NW is 13th, OSU still 1st, MSU now 4th, and Utah is somehow lower at 5th

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DanGoBlue14

October 4th, 2015 at 2:46 PM ^

I hope we beat MSU, god would that be great. My work is full MSU bandwagon fans and I have to constantly remind how we own them in the series. Also this is my first blog post.

Joined: 10/03/2015

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alum96

October 4th, 2015 at 2:48 PM ^

I am actually shocked how far they dropped 1 loss UCLA and Georgia.  Thought UCLA in particular would stay above us so thats cool.  FL really rocketed up.  Dominating #3 will do that.  Just like when we dominate #4 in a few weeks - boo yah.

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WolverineHistorian

October 4th, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^

Wisconsin pretty much handed that game to Iowa on a platter by losing a fumble on 2nd & goal from the 2 yard line towards the end of the game. That game was very 2014 MOON. Pitiful offense on both sides and a clown show of turnovers by both sides. Someone just had to win in the end.

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WolverineHistorian

October 4th, 2015 at 2:51 PM ^

Michigan's ranking is fair. MSU deservedly dropped a couple spots. OSU still at #1 despite being 9 yards away from going to overtime against Indiana and their backup quarterback is overly generous. Teams losing their #1 ranking despite a win is not uncommon. It even happened to us in 1977 after a ho-hum 14-7 win over Navy at the big house. That dropped us to #3. In 97, after Nebraska needed a miracle yet illegal kick to force overtime against an unranked Missouri team, they also dropped from #1 to #3. Why does OSU still stay #1 after a 7 point win over Northern Illinois and yesterday's Indiana game. Because Urban Meyer poops rainbows?

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Ghost of Fritz…

October 4th, 2015 at 3:06 PM ^

We know that a big part of Michigan being much better so far this year is down to the upgrade in the coaching staff.  A D a healthy Peppers and CB's that can play man coverage are big factors, too.

So how much of MSU and OSU's unimpressive first 5 weeks is down to losing key coordinators?

OSU lost Herman and MSU lost Naducci.

OSU's offense was supposed to be unstoppable, but so far looks merely 'good.'  They have talent everywhere.  Great RB, lots of speed, and two supposedly great QBs.  But their offense is far from the juggernaught we were told to expect, or that we saw last season in November and January. 

MSU's D has dropped off a lot so far this year (ranked no. 64 in average yards allowed) .  Certainly their inability to replace key DB's is a part of the MSU's mediocre D this year.  But how much of is down to losing Narducci?

Fact: Narducci suddenly has Pitt rated as a top 5 D so far this year.  Pitt is no. 4 on total defense, with Michgan no. 2 and NW no. 5 (based on average yards allowed per game).

link: http://stats.ncaa.org/rankings?sport_code=MFB&division=11

Coaching?  Player turn-over?  How much of each?

Actually, MSU this year reminds me of some of Lloyd Carr's Michigan teams:  Wiin with a mature roster, a good QB, and a balacned offense, but play down to the level of inferior competition and, therefore, never cover the spread. 

 

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alum96

October 4th, 2015 at 3:38 PM ^

MSU it hurts losing a NFL 1st round corner.  A guy who takes away half the field is probably the most important part of a defense IMO.  Even more than an elite DE who you can double team all game.

Their front 7 is still in good shape - their back 4 has been LOL and they have actually faced a bunch of QBs who are better than most in the Big 10 (WMU, CMU).  Due to the newbie CBs they are not playing press as much and they live off press.  Also Montae Nicholson has not exploded out this year like most assumed after a stellar freshman year.  So their Ss have not been as good either.

OSU I agree it hurts a bit but Meyer has used many OCs at many spots and always been successful.  I just dont get going with Cardale Jones over JT Barrett myself.  Jones is boom or bust while Barrett might not have the huge arm but he looked great up to 20-25 yds throws all year once they got past game 3.

I made that same point in another thread about MSU this year playing like a typical Carr team - lots of talent but playing close(r) games vs inferior competition.  Unfortunately unlike those Carr teams they havent suffered the typical wtf loss yet!

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buckeyejonross

October 4th, 2015 at 6:00 PM ^

In my opinion, the promotion of the OL coach to OC has lessened his impact on the OL (because he spends less time focusing on them) and made that unit worse, and hurt the offense as a whole because he's 1. Inexperienced as a play caller and 2. The line is underperforming. Experience at balancing the workload for the OC will improve everything. It's already showing. 500 yards against Indiana, that lost 14 points after a fumble in the red zone and a penalty that subtracted a TD, followed by a missed FG. By November, the offense should look fine.

Joined: 07/27/2010

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Michigan4Life

October 5th, 2015 at 7:34 AM ^

The offense is different this year as opposed to last year. They were a power based offense with ton of zone read and had Devin Smith as their deep threat. This year, they kind of don't have an identity. The fact they kind of refused to ride on Zeke who's clearly their best player is puzzling.



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Ghost of Fritz…

October 4th, 2015 at 5:43 PM ^

the Narduzzi factor is de minimus, and that MSU D(ecline) is almost all the loss of shut down corners?

The inabability to re-load with new shut down corners is huge becasue it completely changes the way they have to play D (or means that they can play the same aggressive style but get burned on passes a lot more than in the past).

Still, Narduzzi having Pitt at the number 5 defense in the nation is interesting.  No way Pitt has better personnel on defense than MSU right now.  Yet MSU is mired in the low 60s and Pitt has a top 5 D.

All the caveats about not enough data yet w/just 5 games and different opponets apply.  Even factoring all that in, one team being a top 5 D, and another being no. 68, cannot be mostly statistical anomolies.  Pitt has a strong D, and MSU's D is just average, so far.

So I really don''t know, but I still am left wondering if losing Narduzzi is a big factor.

Even if MSU's D really tuirns out to be pretty good in big games, and right now MSU is sort of sleep-walking through the easier games, Narduzzi did not really foster a culture of sleepwalking though any games at all. 

Anyway, MSU's D will be a much bigger challenge for Michigan than opponent , save Utah, so far.

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TheCool

October 4th, 2015 at 6:29 PM ^

A corner is the most important player on defense? A great corner may take away a third of the field, but throw away from him or run and he's basically eliminated. A great DL can absorb blockers and free other rushers or require coordinators to keep a TE or RB in to block which leaves 4 receiving options instead of 5. Cumong man.

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alum96

October 4th, 2015 at 3:07 PM ^

If interested UMs range is 11 to 23.  Highest distribution is 20, 17, 23 in that order.  No problems with that as BYU is the lone quality win thus far.  BYU beat Uconn yest by the way by 17.

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Eye of the Tiger

October 4th, 2015 at 3:23 PM ^

Our one loss is to a very good team (Utah) and we have one win against a quality opponent (BYU), though of course that win was pretty emphatic.

I'm also glad that Northwestern is ranked higher than us; though I think we are going to beat them next week, they have objectively accomplished more than us so far. I like when rankings take that into account more than subjective "feelings" about relative quality.

(Unfortunately, "the feels" do drive some of the other rankings in this poll.)

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Der Alte

October 4th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^

Everyone should hold his or her respective horses. NU matches up against M as well as any team since Utah. NU's strength is its D, its O is a little suspect (sound familiar?) It will be a tough, low-scoring, hard-fought game. If M emerges from that game with a W, then Sparty comes calling. If that game also goes M's way, then people can begin talking about the polls.

Joined: 07/30/2010

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alum96

October 4th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^

These 3 guys I cant argue with much - I think A&M on resume actually may be "#1" in terms of quality of wins.  ASU domination now looks better with ASU cleaning out UCLA.  I might be near agreement with Josh Kendall on resume.

  Josh Adam Joel
  Kendall Zucker Klatt
1 A&M  Baylor Baylor
2 Baylor Utah Utah
3 Utah TCU TCU
4 Clemson OSU Clemson
5 OSU A&M LSU
6 LSU LSU OSU
7 MSU MSU Oklahoma
8 TCU Clemson MSU
9 Bama Bama FSU
10 Oklahoma FSU A&M
UM #11 #13 #13

 

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turtleboy

October 4th, 2015 at 3:34 PM ^

Personal gripe about poll results: ranking teams who played fewer games ahead of relatively equal teams who played more games. This weeks example 4-0 Baylor over 5-0 Sparty, and 3-1 USC over 4-1 Michigan. I know this weeks examples happen to slight teams from Michigan, but it always bothers me. If Baylor had done something like beat the #1 team, or win a lopsided gave against a great opponent I'd understand, but they really haven't. Same with USC. Their only win of any quality was @ unranked ASU.

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UofM626

October 4th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^

Baylor or TCU is not in the final 4 if they win out. Both those schools were totally screwed last year and I cannot see it happening again. 1 of them is getting in no matter what happens if they win out.

Side note - how long before Strong is fired at Texas? It may be tomorrow from what I'm hearing, so they have a half a year to find his replacement!!

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Perkis-Size Me

October 4th, 2015 at 8:17 PM ^

I think he gets another year.

If he gets fired this year, especially mid-season, then UT will have an unholy firestorm of shit come down on it from everyone who thinks Strong got fired due to the color of his skin. It'll be bad, bad PR that they don't need. Also, if UT is going to fire someone after only a year and a half of results, no good coach in his right mind will want to come within 100 miles of Austin.



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