USA Today ranks Michigan preseason #4
At times like these, it’s easy to nitpick through the negatives — and yeah, Michigan has a few. But every program, good and bad, loses players every offseason; every major program has to deal with early departures to the NFL. So instead of focusing on where Michigan may be lacking, consider a few things.
One, how Jim Harbaugh and his staff have been through this before. Two, that there are still more than enough pieces on both sides for this team to be highly successful. And three, how this program is very clearly rocketing into the upper echelon of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Maybe having faith in Harbaugh and his plan makes more sense than simply focusing on issues the Wolverines’ must address before kickoff in September.
FSU, Bama, OSU, and Washington round out the top 5.
Nope. Too high.
Is it out the realm of possibility that the team will be that high when the season is over? Nope.
But they have a lot to prove before that ranking is justified.
How many times have we seen OSU and little brother over achieve? Hell, even last year with PSU winning the Big Ten?
The talent is there to win 10-11 games. Is there any team on our schedule leaps and bounds better? Its time to start over achieving.
It's a trap! I mean, c'mon, appreciate the enthusiam unless they're settin' us up.
Naw
The beauty of Michigan and the new playoff committee is that we would be given a little boost due to our gigantic fanbase. Lets be honest, the playoff committee defintely picks matchups based on how the NCAA can make the most money. Michigan is a moneymaker therefore they wont screw us. We just need to get CLOSE and theyll do the rest
Shoot they were seriously contemplating putting us in last year with 2 losses
Theres no matchup the NCAA playoff committee would want more than Saban vs Harbaugh, Michigan vs Alabama in the playoffs. That would be one of the most viewed games ever
A few close games go our way? Maybe Wisconsin (which was not as close as the score suggested), but as far as I can tell, we had three close games that did NOT go our way. Two games specifically that cost us a chance at the playoff.
Maybe since they're willing just ignore our offseason losses they'll also just ignore out in-season losses and keep us at #4 regardless.
You should have your MGoCard revoked.
And the next. And the next.
'Til there are no more games.
Then it really will not have mattered who ranked us where in the preseason.
Because everyone will rank us #1 post-post-season.
(Do we actually have to say that we are homers? I'd be disappointed with anyone who isn't!)
I would say #13
Nope...ain't buying it...8-12 range...yes...#4...no
Though, I like starting out ranked lower and let people get surprised. I think there will be 4 close games and if we win them all we are in the playoffs. If we lose them all then it will be a rebuilding year and the spine will get more steel for the 2018 season.
In 1997 Michigan was ranked # 17 in the preseason. Griese and Dreisbach were fighting for the starting position and a young sophomore named Tom Brady was nipping at their heals to start. Even though I knew the Defense was great, the offense was a big unknown. I was thinking another 4 loss season may be improving to 3 losses.
I mean, sure, I think we'll be pretty good by the end of the year. But #4 preseason, when we only have 6 returning starters? Theoretically possible but highly, highly unlikely.
Top 10? Maybe.
IIRC, the 2016 preseason AP poll had OSU at #6 and they had exactly 6 returning starters as well.
If Michigan is ranked similarly, I feel like that would show that Michigan has become respected as equally as OSU in the eyes of the voters. At least in the preseason haha.
Finally, an organization who can see past the graduation losses and look at who is coming to play. We haz dudes. We haz Harbaugh. We comin'.
Even for a Wolverine whose maize and blue is dyed-in-the wool, a #4 preseason ranking seems a bit of a stretch. No truly elite RB, three new OL starters, green but talented receivers, new CBs to replace a couple of the better ones M has had in recent decades, and so on and so on.
But the D-line? Solomon's arrival and another year for Gary and others make it (somewhat) comparable to last year's. LBs and safeties should be fine. If the CBs come through at all this D should keep M in a few close games, such as in Happy Valley and Camp Randall.
So who knows? Florida will tell us a lot about how the season will turn out. Go Blue!
in Harbaugh, but it's foolish to just overlook the issues of having to replace as much as we do. I think Harbaugh and staff will have players ready to go, but there can still be some growing pains with so many young players and knowing there will still be youthful mistakes made in games.
I know rankings are usually useless until about October or so, and those rankings are meant to just generate clicks, but ehh, its the offseason. I'll bite:
#4 is overly generous in my opinion. I'd expect somewhere between 10-15 to start off. As much as I hate to say it, the only coaches in the country who could lose virtually their entire team and still be considered top 5, bona fide national title contenders are Saban and Meyer. Those two have earned the full benefit of the doubt. Not to say Harbaugh can't get there, but this is a LOT to replace.
I think the ceiling of the players on the roster, collectively, is higher than what was there last year and the year before. There's a LOT of talent, but its mostly young and very unproven. I do think youth will cost us at least 1 game that we'd otherwise win (like @PSU, @ Wis), but 2018 should be the year where the team really starts to take off.
Seems high, but I would be ok with a top four finish.
Playing Ohio State in the Big House is a deciding factor.
A little too high IMO considering we're looking at a possible 3 game losing streak.