21 in AP poll

Submitted by WestQuad on

Michigan is down 7 to 21 in the AP poll.  MSU dropped 4 to 15 and PSU dropped 3 to 13.   OSU went up 1 to 4 and Wisc. went down 1 to 5. 

 

ND went up 4 to #8. 

ijohnb

September 4th, 2018 at 3:23 PM ^

Why?  There were few ranked v. ranked games this weekend and they looked pretty good in all facets.  Despite what you have been reading on this blog, Michigan doesn't like actually suck and they got a big win against us.  That is about where I expected them to be.

lhglrkwg

September 4th, 2018 at 4:56 PM ^

Despite our 180 turn from predicting national titles to predicting 6-6, we probably still have a top 5 defense, probably have a decent run game, and will probably float around the 15-20 range much of the season. ND looked good and #8 seems ok for a team like that with an arm punting QB, at least for now

mGrowOld

September 4th, 2018 at 3:22 PM ^

No complaints here.  21 is fine given the outcome and if we are fortunate enough to go on a sustained run with wins over quality opponents we'll have plenty of time to move back up.

 

mGrowOld

September 4th, 2018 at 3:45 PM ^

It's also possible that he, being 59 years of age and driven by facts, not emotions, sees things for what they are.  #21 IS a realistic position for us.  If we win our remaining games we DO have the opportunity to move up.

I'm not a contrarian at all.  I'm a realist and we are VERY hard to come by here on this blog.

The Fugitive

September 4th, 2018 at 3:24 PM ^

I didn't think we'd drop that far.

Washington lost by a score on "the road" and dropped 3 spots.

Oh well, Michigan should be able to climb near the top 10 by the time Wisconsin comes to Ann Arbor.

mGrowOld

September 4th, 2018 at 3:29 PM ^

My guess is the people voting probably watched both games.  Washington was playing a very good Auburn team and lost late in a reasonably (for first game of season) well played game.  Michigan on the other hand lost early in a poorly played game that wasnt as close as the final score would indicate. Think MSU-Michigan 2016.

I think the voters got both exactly right.

charblue.

September 4th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^

Not really. I saw Auburn-Washington, and Washington deserved the defeat, while Auburn did enough to win. The game followed the script of all the weekend titls given major billing. Just because they are on national TV doesn't mean the participants are the best the nation has to offer.

BraveWolverine730

September 4th, 2018 at 4:52 PM ^

MSU at no point in the 2nd haf of that game had the ball within one possesion. In fact I dont think it was single digits the entire 2nd half

Michigan had it at the 50 with 55 sec left with a chance to tie.

The two games arent really comparable. Michigan dominated MSU and never was in danger. ND beat us in a relatively even game where they made the plays necessary to win.

Bodogblog

September 4th, 2018 at 5:12 PM ^

Michigan was winning that game 27-10 at half, 27-10 at the beginning of the 4th quarter, and then went up 30-10 with seven minutes to go in the game.  They scored a legit touchdown, then scored again with 30 seconds left.  They never at any point had any chance to win the game. 

Michigan had the ball at midfield with a minute left, down 7.  

These are much, much different animals. 

garde

September 4th, 2018 at 3:33 PM ^

And Washington is above an LSU team that smacked around #8 Miami. Yeah they jumped up from the 25th ranking, but that was an impressive display with a new QB. It's not like Washington are 'Bama with years of domination and suffered a lost in a tough opening game.  Also, they are ahead of Stanford after a loss. That would be like Wisconsin lost and was still ahead of MSU or PSU.

garde

September 4th, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^

They lost a huge talent in Chaisson, but that D is good with Aranda. No glaring weaknesses overall, but if the offense continues to grow, and Burrows can manage games like he did against Miami, they will be a tough opponent. They can run, pass, and play D. They also play hard, tough and fast. Heck, even their D2 kicker looked good.

And I hate to admit this, but they reminded me of a Michigan team from the 80s/early 90s.

bdneely4

September 4th, 2018 at 3:33 PM ^

The Week 1 AP poll means nothing similar to the preseason polls, but how in the world does OSU jump Wisconsin after week 1?  Granted they put up 77 points but they also gave up 31 points to a terrible Oregon State team where Wisconsin dominated an also not so good Western Kentucky team 34-3.  It almost as if they could not wait to get the favorite 4 in the top 4 (Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and OSU).  IMO there is not another team ranked 5th at the start of the year that would have jumped Wisconsin.

B1G Winning

September 4th, 2018 at 4:08 PM ^

The AP also found out that Meyer is now back in a coaching role with OSU as of the week 1 poll. Whereas his punishment was still up in question during the preseason poll.

They put up 721 yards and 77 points with an interim head coach and a sophomore QB who threw for 350 yards and 5TDs.  Everyone who watched the game saw that OSU very likely upgraded in a very big way at QB.

Ohio State started substituting in a lot of young guys on defense after Bosa's TD put them up 42-7 in the late 2nd quarter.  I'm pretty sure they had an all-freshman D-Line in on Oregon State's final drive before the half.

charblue.

September 4th, 2018 at 3:34 PM ^

Yeah, and there are step-up games throughout the season. You just gotta win them all to get to the magic kingdom that only four teams get invited to. It always helps to be voted near the top at the beginning because you always get the benefit of the doubt until you don't. And in the case of the Clemsons, Alabamas and Ohio States of the CFB world, you get lots of lingering benefit even when you score 77 points and give up 31 to a bad team at home.

Oh well, sucks to be us  So we're at 21 and have to hope we'll grow as the season grinds on.

michgoblue

September 4th, 2018 at 3:36 PM ^

Can't believe that I am saying this, but I agree with ALL of those.  We belong in the top 25, but towards the back.  First game and all of that, but we showed serious issues on our offense, which are a continuation of almost identical issues from last season.

ND definitely deserves to be top 10.  They beat a ranked top 15 team.  Add to that their level of returning talent from last year and the ranking is more than justified (and none of the teams behind them are remotely convincingly better).  MSU and PSU both won, but struggled against what should be relatively low-level competition, so their drop makes sense.  And finally, while OSU played a nobody, they did (at least) what a top team does to a nobody and demolished them into the ground.

The good thing for us (and also the bad thing) is that we have a gauntlet ahead of us.  Do I expect 11-1?  No, but if we can somehow string together wins over the next few, we should find ourselves top 10-13 come Wisco as other teams stumble.  After that, we have every opportunity to take out the teams that stand between us and the B1G CG.  

 

lilpenny1316

September 4th, 2018 at 3:48 PM ^

I'm pulling hard for Northwestern the next two weeks.  If we can beat a ranked NW, that would give us a road win against a ranked team.  That would be a nice jolt for the team.

BornInAA

September 4th, 2018 at 3:51 PM ^

For reference, season ending AP polls (top 25):

2017 NR

2016 10

2015 12

2014 NR

2013 NR

2012 24

2011 12

2010 NR

2009 NR

2008 NR

2007 18

If you score the NR as 26, our average is 21.09.

 

markusr2007

September 4th, 2018 at 3:53 PM ^

Michigan is going to probably demolish the next three opponents, including Nebraska.  So 3-1 going into the next ranked opponent, which will likely be Northwestern (on the road). 

However, I do think Northwestern might get Cutcliffed next weekend in Evanston.

MaizeMN

September 5th, 2018 at 1:25 AM ^

Not so sure about demolishing Nebraska. I think Frost has that game circled as an early season opportunity for a signature win in his inaugural season with the Huskers. He seems like a good coach and has arguably better talent than the last time his team "out hit" Michigan.

0590

September 4th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^

Sounds about right.  Interesting article in the WaPo today.  While we looked terrible in that game and I am frustrated by that, the data cited in the article points to longer term success:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2018/09/04/michigan-football-has-improved-under-jim-harbaugh-seriously/?utm_term=.2c8e6f53f15f

 

 

 

WestQuad

September 4th, 2018 at 5:12 PM ^

Harbaugh is 28-12

Dantoino was 22-17 his first three years.  23-17 if you count the first game of his fourth year which I assume they won against a cupcake.  

We had the worst 8 years of our history before Harbaugh came.   The O-line is maddening, but we're now worried about having mediocre seasons instead of losing seasons.   

I'm jumping on the Pep sucks train even though I don't really know.  Between Harbaugh and McElwain we should be able to figure something out on offense.  

Neversatisfied

September 4th, 2018 at 8:43 PM ^

Dont give a shit about rankings at this point. If we win the games we need to on this journey then everything will work itself out. If we dont, then whatever ranking we end up with will largely become irrelevant. Love Blue no matter what. Hopefully the team gels and we finish better than we started.