SI: Top 25 Preseason Rankings
I think SI did a decent job with this list. They seem to have done their research. Here's a bit on their player to watch for Michigan:
Player you need to know: Junior defensive end Chase Winovich is a former high school quarterback who started two games last season and had eight TFLs and five sacks while playing in the shadow of the now NFL-employed Taco Charlton on a loaded defensive line. Ask Wolverines team leaders who they expect to have a breakout 2017—aside from defensive tackle Rashan Gary—and a lot will stump for Winovich. In hopes of becoming more than primarily a third-down edge rusher, Winovich bulked up in the offseason, adding 10 pounds, so that he now checks in at 6' 3", 245. Offensive tackle Mason Cole, who faces Winovich at practice every day, said of his seemingly tireless teammate, “He has the best motor I’ve ever seen.”
The full article is here.
EDIT: Michigan ranked 11. Other notable rankings include:
OSU-3
PSU-8
Wisconsin-12
Florida-18
August 9th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^
August 9th, 2017 at 11:18 AM ^
Overwhelming favorite to win the West (maybe NW as a challenge) and very easy schedule - no OSU or PSU, toughest games at home, and OOC weak = good chance they are undefeated when M comes to Madison.
I think they will be worse than last year but have a shinier record due to the schedule. Sort of the polar opposite of what people are saying about MD.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:39 AM ^
They lost one great offensive lineman, and should be as good or better this year. I haven't done extensive research, but this is what I've been hearing. They always have a good OL so this isn't the hottest of takes.
Significant losses are Ramczek (LT), Beigel (OLB), and Watt (OLB) and CBs. So they lost some great players and OLB/ability to get pressure on QB will be biggest question, but have to think an extra year of experience for nearly everyone else outweighs those losses. It would be a shock if they didn't make the title game.
August 9th, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^
Their schedule is a complete joke.
Michigan is the only game in which Connelly (S&P+) gives them less than a 71 percent chance to win. That game? @ Indiana which almost certainly doesn't account for the loss of Wilson. Yes, IU is considered UW's 2nd toughest game. Let that sink in.
August 9th, 2017 at 12:45 PM ^
Until Wisconsin fields an actual good QB and good passing attack, I'll always believe their ceiling is around the top 7-10. They usually have good defenses and a good rushing game, but they rarely seem to find actual national title contending teams
I think they'll look really good this season largely based on how easy their schedule is. Their only real benchmark this year appears to be our game with them
I'd point out that the UM-UW game last year was only close in the final score. UM whipped UW all day long but the offense kept stalling in the red zone and Kenny Allen missed 3 easy FG attempts. UM outgained UW by about 200 yards IIRC.
should not have been as close as it was at the end. We moved into scoring territory regularly, only to miss FGs (3) or throw an interception. I'm pretty sure their TD drive was the only one in which they were on our side of the field. Our defense dominated so thoroughly in that game.
Allen missed two of the field goals. Tice missed the other.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^
Where's Notre Dame at? Don't they usually start every year in the top 5?
August 9th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^
I know he was listed as a DT coming out of high school, but I don't understand why Gary keeps getting mentioned there. He is the anchor/SDE at Michigan. Has he even played a snap at DT?
August 9th, 2017 at 11:16 AM ^
SI writers in that piece consistently have MSU as "a tough out" or "part of a brutal stretch" which tells me that they're opining based on reputation rather than closer looks at the teams.
Whatever. Can't wait for the actual games.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:19 AM ^
Thanks for sharing but the ads they continually shove down your face are intolerable.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
It's hard to find articles without it in this day and age. I think I've learned to suffer through it. It's better than the top 25 lists that make you click through every ranking.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:24 AM ^
Because I see this argument has been made in this thread a few times and elsewhere infinity times, a helpful tip:
You cannot be overrated/underrated because of the strength/weakness of your schedule.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:32 AM ^
You telling me that WI would be ranked the same if they were playing OSU & PSU this year?
August 9th, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^
Um, yes? Why shouldn't they be?
You might think a team will rise or drop in the rankings based on their schedule but that doesn't mean they are overrated/underrated preseason. A preseason ranking (should be) a snapshot of where a team is now, not a prediction about where they will finish.
For example, if you think Alabama is the best team in the nation, AND you think they have the toughest schedule, would you rank them 4th based on the schedule?
August 9th, 2017 at 12:24 PM ^
This makes zero sense.
August 9th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
Wisconsin doesn't appear to have a significant game until they play us. They might catch a top 25 NW or Nebraska but otherwise it's likely they'll roll into our 11/18 game undeafeated and probably top 5. If they had to play OSU or PSU prior to that, or if they played a top 25 team in the non-con, it's unlikely that Wisconsin would still find themselves undefeated and in the top 5 on November 18th
You are making an argument for being overrated based on your schedule, after the fact. Which I would agree with. I am making an argument that you can't be overrated/underrated in the preseason based on your schedule. A preseason poll is not meant to predict wins and losses.
Since no one seems to understand the argument, I will make this the last post about it. It's not a very important topic anyway. Oh well.
What you want the poll to be and the way pollsters treat it are not the same, unfortunately. Preseason rankings absolutely do take into account schedule difficulty, whether they should or not.
I am not sure that is true, though you may be right.
My impression is that the polls in the middle of the season are not predictive, so I am not sure why the preseason poll would be. I feel like most preseason poll analysis is based on returning starters, and where teams ended up last year (though potential is certainly a factor, too, ie. Texas being ranked).
Maybe I am just arguing a semantics issue anyway.
The ranking just says how good they think you are now. if anything the weaker schedule can project them ending up higher. At this point none of it means much anyway.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^
So many great early September matchups. More than I've seen for a looong time.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^
Agreed. One of the strangest ones I saw was OSU vs. Indiana. How is it they have a Big Ten game during non-conference play?
Big Ten used to start the season with a conference game all the time in the 90's. I believe Michigan has opened with Northwestern in the past.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:52 AM ^
The only thing that preseason ratings do is provide entertainment prior to the start of the season. How many times have the preseason ratings from ANY news service come close to accurately predicting the final poll? Can anyone find any information on this, please?
August 9th, 2017 at 11:58 AM ^
August 9th, 2017 at 11:59 AM ^
I think in 1997 we also started at around #17 on one of the other preseason rankings.
August 9th, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^
August 9th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^
Did you drink some very good beer and stay up listening to Queen?
That's what I did, when I was 17.
right?
August 9th, 2017 at 12:18 PM ^
August 9th, 2017 at 12:30 PM ^
One time Michigan commit, David Reese, is the Player To Watch for Florida. I can't help but think that he's one that got away a little bit. Still, Michigan seems to be pretty well stocked at LB going forward.....especially for the style of D that they play.
I also thought it was strange that McSorley (PSU) was in SI's Top 10 but Mason Cole was not. I guess that OL doesn't necessarily get a lot of recognition but surely Cole is the better football player (4 year starter, versatility.....).
August 9th, 2017 at 12:56 PM ^
The write-up for Florida also features one of our all-time favorites: Chauncey Gardner!
It's hard to compare OL to QBs and say who is the better player because both positions require vastly different things. But I'm not at all surprised that McSorely made the list and Cole didn't.
1) As you mentioned, OL gets nowhere near as much recognition as QBs do. They don't change the game like a QB can.
2) Whether he arm punts or not, the fact is McSorely threw for quite a lot of yards last year and he's the QB of the defending conference champions. A lot of people think he'll be even better this season, and considering he shares the backfield with another Heisman candidate, that makes him all the more dangerous. Sure, he throws up a lot of Hail Marys and there's legitimate questions about how sustainable a gameplan that is over the long haul. But hey, so far it's worked....
3) Cole is very good and offers a lot of versatility, but he still struggles a little bit against top-tier competition. I'd consider him one of the ten most valuable players in the conference, but not one of the ten best.
August 9th, 2017 at 12:35 PM ^
I hate how a bunch of sites have gotten into this lower-righthand corner pop-up video that often gets past my flash blocking and Disable HTML5. No one wants to watch your dumb video SI, Bleacher Report, etc.
Excellent! SI is always wrong!
For our true ranking, just drop one digit from SI's ranking of us.
August 10th, 2017 at 1:26 AM ^
Such an absurd opinion.
Alabama has a favorable schedule, would expect them to go 12-0 heading into the SEC title game. (if they beat FSU in the first game).
Do we once again have one of the top 3 d-lines in college football this year? Last year I would say it was UM, Bama, and FSU in some order and we probably had the most depth.
This year, I think the Mone, Hurst, Gary, Winovich front 4 is elite, but how much will lack of depth hurt us here? How much will be determined by true frosh Solomon filling in?