September 12th, 2010 at 3:33 PM ^
It's good to be back in the Top 25 but until we start 6-0, I am not buying into rankings.
September 12th, 2010 at 3:43 PM ^
The minute we become bowl eligible - with a victory over MSU no less - I will relax and consider possibilities.
BTW - Coach Rod is still listed as the coach on the 3rd hottest seat at NBC sports (Kelly is 16 already - ND fans lol) - at least this talk has gone from a roar to a murmur.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:50 PM ^
if I am not mistaken, because it's a I-AA team.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:56 PM ^
They changed that rule when they added the 12th regular season game. The Umass game will count toward bowl eligibility.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
Incorrect. You can count one win against an FCS opponent toward bowl eligibility. So we're fine.
September 12th, 2010 at 5:02 PM ^
September 12th, 2010 at 5:05 PM ^
One win over a 1-AA per year can count towards bowl eligibility.
September 12th, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^
year's collapse still aren't quite healed yet. Beating Sparty is a must.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:51 PM ^
is very realistic. I consider 5-0 as a given. I honestly can see Michigan going undefeated until Wisconsin game.
September 12th, 2010 at 3:34 PM ^
...dramatic 38-24 victory at Notre Dame.
D'oh. I wish that was the score.
September 12th, 2010 at 3:37 PM ^
I don't know. I think I'll wait until we play a few serious conference games before I start thinking we should be ranked.
September 12th, 2010 at 3:48 PM ^
name 25 teams with a better resume than Michigan.
25 teams have to be ranked just be happy.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:00 PM ^
OK...I can live with that. What happened last year still has me walking on egg shells, but that was then and this is now and we have a QB who may well be the biggest difference maker in college football.
September 12th, 2010 at 3:46 PM ^
It's great to be back in the top 25. This can only help with recruits, and our current confidence level. This team does deserve to be ranked. We have taken down 2 very solid BCS teams, one of which in a hostile environment. It's great to be a Meeeeeechigan Wolverine!!
September 12th, 2010 at 6:05 PM ^
well said. Go Blue!
September 12th, 2010 at 3:47 PM ^
this is exactly how it should be...i know rankings are based a lot on hype and reputation, but the team has arguably had one of the toughest schedules to date...so 2 wins over high-ish bcs level teams deserves a ranking compared to maybe playing one ok team while crushing a terrible team...
September 12th, 2010 at 3:49 PM ^
Right now, we should be ranked, and we deserve to be. If we weren't in the rankings right now I'd be disgusted. Not because I think we're the 20th best team in the country, but because our record so far says that we're the 20th best team in the country so far this season.
That said, I hope we can continue winning and work our way up even a little bit more.
Also, this doesn't hurt with recruiting. Bring on Dee and all his friends!
September 12th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^
I have mixed feelings on this. I think part of my problem is when I think of "ranked Michigan team", I think back to the 10-2 or 9-3 teams that Carr produced. We're definitely not at that point. However I've watched a lot of ranked teams play and I've been underwhelmed by the caliber of their play. We have our weaknesses, but I'd have trouble naming 25 teams I think are markedly better than us.
At the end of the day, making it to 2-0 and getting ranked doesn't mean a lot to me until I see some solid B10 wins to go along with it. The ranking becomes meaningful when we go into conference play and hold it. UConn and Notre Dame were both solid wins, but neither of them stands out as a signature win. We should get up to 5-0 easily now, but we made it to 4-0 everyone was lauding us last year and look how that turned out.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:44 PM ^
I don't think our problems last year had to do with us being lauded too much when we were 4-0. I think they had more to do with our starting QB, tailback (and his backup) and center getting injured.
September 12th, 2010 at 6:32 PM ^
In last year's final polls, Central Michigan was ranked.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:04 PM ^
to enjoy. In the meantime, all of the people who have used it as a religion will be off finding something else to OMG about, being the pathetic human beings they are. In fact, some of them must surely be scurrying around in a bit of a panic right now like little cockroaches.
Especially with a young team, I'd almost rather stay unranked for a while. That is tempered by the collection of young players we have, though. Their play isn't eclipsed by their behavior, but that behavior is exemplary enough to stand out.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:15 PM ^
Wow....Top 20 already. I really thought we'd have to wait until after a 4-0 start to be ranked that high.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:32 PM ^
Wow. I was not expecting a ranking unless we started 4-0 or 5-0. I didn't think the pollsters would care about a win over the Irish. Oh well.
It's nice. But rankings mean nothing this early in the season so I'm not focused on that right now.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:38 PM ^
CBS has Michigan at #14 in their rankings.
September 12th, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
It goes to show, once again, that we are always one of the most respected programs in the country. The pollsters have consistently given us the benefit of the doubt. And - just like the Big Ten's decision to split up UM-OSU - is a vote of confidence for the program. Embrace it.
September 12th, 2010 at 5:02 PM ^
I don't know that we are the 20th best team in America yet, but we are definately up there for best "quality" wins thus far.
September 12th, 2010 at 5:21 PM ^
If I'm not mistaken I believe Michigan was ranked #26 before the Notre Dame game. So I knew if they beat Notre Dame they'd be ranked. Whether they're a true #20 team or not, it doesn't matter to me right now. All I know is Michigan just won two huge games that many people thought they weren't capable of winning both.
So I think we're having the right mental outlook. We're happy as heck that Michigan is 2-0. We pretty much know we'll go at least 4-0 with wins over Massachusetts and Bowling Green.
If we assume this it is a huge mistake! So we're keeping things in perspective, just being grateful we're 2-0. Take one game at a time. Do not consider Massachusetts a pushover this week. That's when slips happen. We should prepare for Massachusetts the way we prepared for Connecticut and Notre Dame.
September 12th, 2010 at 5:55 PM ^
I think that probably both ND and UConn were a bit overrated going into the season. Michigan played great against UConn but not very well against ND. Granted, they still won, but I think ND is still probably around a .500 or so team this year. I'm still worried about Indiana, I'm still worried about MSU and the rest of the Big Ten. I think this team still has holes and a lot of areas for improvement. I'm not saying that they won't be a good, solid top 20 or so team by the end of the season, but I think the gravy-hype train is rolling in really strong right now.
Hopefully this doesn't feel like "mission accomplished" to the players and coaches. I would figure not, especially after last year, but it is obvious that this team still has a lot to improve on. They've played well against what I think are two solid to good teams, but not great teams. I'd probably put them between 25-30 myself.
September 12th, 2010 at 9:10 PM ^
I am happy for the recognition, but I don't think this is a top-25 team quite yet. Once UM gets to 6 wins and is bowl eligible, then I'll start to believe that they have really turned the corner. But when the team gives up 500+ yards (and yeah, about a quarter came on the long TD toss and the last ND drive), I am inclined to withhold some excitement until they show they can keep winning and/or improve that effort against better teams.
September 12th, 2010 at 10:23 PM ^
I think Michigan deserves to be ranked, and I think Michigan will remain in the rankings for the rest of the season.
This year's 2-0 is more impressive than last year's 4-0. The best team UM defeated in last year's 4-0 start was an inferior ND team in a game played at the Big House. None of the other three teams were as good as UConn.
The offensive improvement anticipated from Michigan has materialized and I think the defense has been a little better than expected. I think this team is good enough to win 4 or 5 Big Ten games and finish with a ranking somewhere between #15 and #25.
September 13th, 2010 at 6:39 AM ^
If anything, I thought we should have been ranked last week. We did handle Kirk Herbstreit's "Big East Champions." Add on to the fact that we have the #1 QB in the country right now too. I think CBS has it right with us around #14.