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The Michigan football team started the season ranked #2 in the country as this is Jim Harbaugh's most hyped team ever. The Wolverines were behind only Georgia football, who has won the past two national championships. Through seven weeks of the college football season, we have seen changes from #3 and on, but Georgia and Michigan have held steady in the top two spots. The Bulldogs and Wolverines are both 7-0 so far.
At the beginning of the season, Michigan football was without head coach Jim Harbaugh because of a self-imposed three-game suspension that was given because of minor violations. The Wolverines looked good in those first three games and they easily cruised to a 3-0 record, but since Harbaugh made his return, this team has looked completely different, and completely dominant.
Jim Harbaugh made his return to the Wolverines in week four in the Big Ten opener against Rutgers. Michigan won that one 31-7, and they have put up three impressive performances since then as well. The Wolverines beat Nebraska on the road 45-7 the next week, and they beat Minnesota last week 52-10. Michigan put up a second straight 50-point performance this weekend in a home contest against Indiana, and that got them win #7.
Shifting gears to Georgia football, the Bulldogs have a similar resume. Neither team has played a very good team yet, but Georgia does have a 51-13 win over then #20 Kentucky. That ranked blowout win looks good, but outside of that game, the Bulldogs haven't looked as dominant so far as people were expecting. They were losing by 11 at halftime against a subpar South Carolina team, and they also went down to the wire with Auburn, another struggling program. That's been the difference between Michigan and Georgia. The Bulldogs do have that win over Kentucky, which is a lot better than any of the Wolverines' wins, but Michigan is dominating in every facet of the game against every opponent. Because of that, Michigan has been getting more and more first place votes as the season goes on.
Can Michigan jump Georgia in the rankings?
The debate between these two teams pegs an interesting question: What does Michigan have to do to jump Georgia in the rankings? While it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, brand names and past seasons certainly play a big role in the rankings. If this was the first ever season of college football and no school had built any reputation, would Georgia be ranked #1 in the country based on this season's results alone? Probably not. This team certainly could be the best team in the country, but they haven't looked like the best team in the country. Even though Michigan hasn't played a very good team yet, they have passed the eye-test better than Georgia has this year.
So why isn't Michigan football ranked #1? Because Georgia football has won the last two national championships, and that does mean something. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, there is nothing that they can do right now to jump Georgia in the rankings. The only thing that would make that happen is if the Bulldogs lose a game, and with the way their schedule looks, that doesn't seem very likely. At the end of the day, the Bulldogs earned their spot at the mountaintop of college football, and until they lose a game, they will be ranked #1 in the country.
Another important thing to consider in this debate is that the AP Poll means absolutely nothing. It is a meaningless filler until the College Football Rankings come out on Halloween night. Those are the only rankings that matter, and they could look completely different than the AP Poll. We will see that first release soon, and unless the Bulldogs lose a game before then, they are going to be ranked #1 in those rankings as well.
At the end of the day, both of these teams are terrific and they very well could be the two best teams in the entire country this year. Michigan and Georgia are both the favorites to win their conference and make the College Football Playoff, and if they both keep winning, the debate will settle itself in the national championship game. They met in the CFP two years ago, and they are on a collision course yet again.
