You know the college football season is close when the preseason AP Poll is released, and that happened on Monday. The start of the college football season is less than two weeks away, and we now know where each team stands headed into the season. The Michigan football team ended last year as the number one team in the country after winning the national title, but they no longer claim that top spot as Georgia is the top team. The Wolverines are ranked number nine to start the season.
Being ranked number nine after winning the national championship isn't very common, but it does make sense for the Michigan football team. Yes, the Wolverines were the best team in college football last year. That doesn't matter for these rankings. They have a new head coach, and they lost 10/11 offensive starters. This is a completely different football team, so the number nine ranking makes sense.
Michigan is still ranked in the top-10, so they are in a good spot to start the season. At the end of the day, these rankings mean nothing. Win the games on your schedule and you will end up with a good ranking. Simple as that.
The Wolverines will be able to move up in the polls quickly if they take care of business. Michigan has one of the hardest schedules in college football as they play the three teams ranked 2-4 in the preseason AP Poll. One of those teams is Texas, and the Wolverines will play the Longhorns in week two. Then, conference play will begin shortly after, and Michigan will be tested there as well. In fact, there are three Big Ten teams ranked ahead of the Wolverines. Let's take a look at each of those teams.
#2 Ohio State
No surprise here to see Ohio State come in at #2 in the AP Poll. The Buckeyes have one of the most talented rosters in college football, and they are a popular pick to win the national title this year. Ohio State has lost to Michigan three years in a row now, so they are desperate to pick up another win in the rivalry. They seem to have everything in their favor heading into that game this year, and they are big preseason favorites. The two teams will square off on November 30th in Columbus.
#3 Oregon
Oregon is certainly the most dangerous of the four new Big Ten additions. The Ducks were close to making it to the College Football Playoff last year, but they came up a little bit short. However, they are expected to contend for the Big Ten title this year. If the Ducks can improve on defense to match their offense, they should be one of the best teams in the country. They will travel to Ann Arbor to play Michigan football on November 2nd.
#8 Penn State
Penn State is the last Big Ten team ranked above Michigan. The Nittany Lions have been a really good team in the Big Ten, but they have always lived in the shadows of Michigan and Ohio State. With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, it seems like finally have a chance to make it. They should have a very good defense again this year, but they need their offense to be better in big games. They do not play the Wolverines this season.
The defending national champions will likely have a bit of a chip on their shoulder seeing these three conference foes ranked ahead of them to start the season.
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