So where will we be ranked?
It feels like we will probably be 12. Jump Kentucky, Auburn, and Stanford. We really should jump Washington as well, they struggled against a winless team and our loss is better, especially now that Auburn lost another. I also think our loss is better than LSU and Oklahoma, but we don't have any quality wins. I can't imagine Texas leaps us, especially since we now have a common opponent.
So I'm thinking 11 or 12. Beat Wisconsin next week and we're most likely in the top 10. Sound about right?
October 7th, 2018 at 12:13 AM ^
Don't jinx the Utah-Stanford game. Pac-12 at Night (TM) has only worked one half of magic so far.
October 7th, 2018 at 12:53 AM ^
Stanford should have dropped past us last week...
October 7th, 2018 at 8:17 AM ^
Exactly as the got pummeled by nd.
October 7th, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
October 7th, 2018 at 2:09 AM ^
That's a bold move, Cotton.
October 7th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
It's almost as if this is a message board and discussing relevant topics is the point of its existence.
But it's not so I guess you're right.
October 7th, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
13
*Well, whaddaya know: the coaches' poll has us at #13.
October 7th, 2018 at 12:17 AM ^
Who cares?
Beat Wisconsin.
October 7th, 2018 at 8:36 AM ^
please change your handle name!
October 7th, 2018 at 12:20 AM ^
Sounds about right, but I wonder where sparty will be ranked??? Might tune into valenti's show just to hear him lose what is left of his mind talking about their debacle.
Can't wait to play them in 2 weeks as they have ped state next who will have there way with them.
Still can't figure out if northwestern is any good?
October 7th, 2018 at 1:44 AM ^
October 7th, 2018 at 8:48 AM ^
I think they have a decent defense, a pretty good passing game, but they can't run the ball consistently. Probably the 2nd best team in the west.
October 7th, 2018 at 10:06 AM ^
Lol, they might not be the 2nd best team in the state of Michigan
Edit: thought you were talking about Sparty. Didn’t realize you said West
October 7th, 2018 at 8:49 AM ^
The AP should expand its rankings to the top 60 this week, just to see if Sparty still makes it.
October 7th, 2018 at 9:26 AM ^
I swear they lost this game just so they could continue the “Michigan hasn’t beaten a ranked team on the road since X” narrative.
October 7th, 2018 at 9:58 AM ^
This is a ridiculous and yet entirely plausible thought.
October 7th, 2018 at 9:33 AM ^
You watch the Sparty voodoo rationale he employs. He will spend the rest of the year hammering home how terrible they are so that he can then argue how Michigan only beats “bad Michigan State teams.” That is the level of their obsession.
October 7th, 2018 at 12:31 AM ^
It's bullshit, but I think Texas will jump us. They went from unranked to 18 in one week just for beating TCU, who ended up not being that tough at all. I can't imagine how much the media will hype them up for beating a top ten rival. But beat Wisconsin, and we are back in the top 10
October 7th, 2018 at 1:16 AM ^
Perhaps, but that doesn’t really matter at this point in the season anyway. We have plenty of games to jump them in the standings. Besides, we have a common opponent - Maryland. That did not end well for them.
October 7th, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^
"Texas is back!! I'm serious! For real this time!!"
-[sports media types]
October 7th, 2018 at 12:34 AM ^
11 is my guess.
October 7th, 2018 at 12:41 AM ^
I’m thinking 13 because that’s lucky right? Just keep winning and rankings will come. Win all the games and Go Blue!
October 7th, 2018 at 12:49 AM ^
Might seem crazy but I could see Texas and Florida jumping us they're going to say we don't have a quality win Florida just beat a top 5 team and Texas beat a top 7 and they both have the same record as us Wisconsin and Oklahoma stay in front of Us too but it'll all work itself out in the end
October 7th, 2018 at 8:08 AM ^
Wisconsin was already behind UM...no way they jump them after both teams won and they struggled against a team UM blew out.
October 7th, 2018 at 9:30 AM ^
That is a somewhat generous definition of struggle.
October 7th, 2018 at 8:29 AM ^
I actually expect both Texas and Florida to jump UM. Texas has beaten three ranked opponents (TCU, USC, and top ten OU), even if two of those three are not as good as initially thought. Florida has a similar resume to Michigan (one loss to a ranked opponent, granted Kentucky is no ND) but does have at least one huge win and their win against an MSU squad who just knocked off #8 Auburn is looking better.
At this point, Michigan just doesn't have the resume that the other two have, but that's just a function of scheduling. Michigan's chances for high profile wins ramp up significantly in the next month. Win and they'll move up.
October 7th, 2018 at 11:04 AM ^
2 of those 3 ranked opponents are now 3-2. Hence, they're not ranked anymore.
At the end of the regular season, we'll have the benefit of hindsight and see how many quality wins each ranked team has.
October 7th, 2018 at 2:11 PM ^
Sure, any ranking in the first half of the season is a lot of guess work about which teams are good or bad, but right now both Texas and Florida have better resumes than Michigan and deserve to be ranked ahead of Michigan. But the quality of Michigan's opponents take a big step up over the next few weeks, which is when Michigan can build their resume. Assuming Michigan beats UW and PSU, then they should be ahead of Texas and Florida at that time.
October 7th, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
Send me your address, I'll FedEx you some punctuation marks.
October 7th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^
Yes, the SEC circle jerk is already full in effect this year. When they beat each other it shows the strength of the conference. When the Big Ten does, it's because all the teams suck.
October 7th, 2018 at 12:54 AM ^
I like us for top 10 already. I think we OUGHT to be #7, but that's not going to happen...
I also think that Wisconsin is overrated, and we are going to kill them.
Same with MSU. But rivalry game? But anger. Lots of anger. Like... winning by five scores worth of anger.
October 7th, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
This is my view also. FWIW, S&P+ and Sagarin will show Michigan in the top ten when they come out later today.
Based on 6 games of data, as long as M plays well and avoids turnovers and bad penalties at key moments, M should beat both Wisconsin and MSU.
Penn State and OSU offenses are a different challenge, and Michigan's offense will have to continue to get better in order to win those games.
Offense is getting better as the season progresses. But it will have to continue to improve in order to win those games.
There are a zillion iterations of M-Wisc and M-MSU 2018 games where M wins with 28 points. 24 points for Michigan may even be fairly safe in those games (especially against MSU).
But Michigan scoring 28 points against Penn State or OSU would probably generate a less than 50% win probability for M.
Michigan really does have a top 5 D (again). But even with a top 5 D (maybe top 3?), JH should try to have an offense and an offensive game plan that could plausibly get to 35 points against OSU or against Penn State, depending on how the games unfold.
October 7th, 2018 at 1:02 AM ^
This is so stupid but what can you do. Michigan gets a bye week NW on the road and that team plays their ass off yet that's not a good win. NW waltzes into Lansing as a so called mediocre team and spanks sharty. That's not good enough though. Let's see the SEC schedule a home and home with that school then. Yeah, won't ever fucking happen. Their are only two teams in the SEC that would give this Michigan team all they can handle when they are playing at their best and that's Georgia and Bama. LSU loses to 22nd ranked Florida but they'll be ahead of Michigan yet which will be wrong. Bama will smoke LSU. Easily. Kentucky is a fucking joke. Auburn isn't shit. Oklahoma loses to the 20th ranked longhorns that got beat by Maryland. Yet, they'll be ahead of Michigan. Michigan should be in the top ten but that would only be logical. They get no higher than 12 or 13.
October 7th, 2018 at 1:12 AM ^
Don't forget Oklahoma nearly lost to Army but it just is a sign of a good team that pulls out a win at least that's what they say about all teams except Michigan they said the same thing about Clemson when it came back against Syracuse and then Syracuse goes out and loses to Pitt today
October 7th, 2018 at 1:13 AM ^
Stanford is ranked in front of us when they got blown out by Notre Dame the same team we lost to by 7 go figure
October 7th, 2018 at 8:14 AM ^
I agree. The polls are illogical for the most part. That’s why, after years of stressing the polls, I take what we get and care about the end.
October 7th, 2018 at 1:52 AM ^
I'm guessing 9 or 10.
October 7th, 2018 at 2:34 AM ^
13 feels about right. Win next weekend and it'll shimmy the team into the top 10.
October 7th, 2018 at 2:39 AM ^
Many years, I have cared and thought that we had an excellent team and were slighted in mid--season rankings and it has pissed me off.
But now we have an unproven team (that might be good), and it all comes out in the wash anyway, with the full regular season and the Big Ten championship game.
So I don't really care.
October 7th, 2018 at 2:40 AM ^
It doesn’t matter.
October 7th, 2018 at 2:55 AM ^
Dicker put it through the posts for the Horny win, so they might jump us too.
October 7th, 2018 at 3:08 AM ^
Im guessing little, if any change. Quality wins rewarded more than "quality" losses.
October 7th, 2018 at 6:42 AM ^
I can't get too excited about this win. We beat a so-so team by about the expected point spread. I believe we are at our high water mark for ranking this year. No way we go better than 3-3 the rest of the way. Reality will start setting in next week.
October 7th, 2018 at 7:34 AM ^
Ha. Did you watch the game.
Get the Fuck out of here.
October 7th, 2018 at 7:46 AM ^
Well aren't you all sunshine and... Rainbows.
This is awkward.