College football is officially right around the corner. The preseason AP Poll was released on Monday, and that is the biggest sign that the new season is almost here. The Michigan football team should be pleased with its ranking in the AP Top 25 as the Wolverines came in at No. 14. Sherrone Moore and Michigan went 8-5 a year ago after winning the national championship in 2023, and the team is expected to be a contender this season. Here are the full rankings:

1. Texas (25)
2. Penn State (23)
3. Ohio State (11)
4. Clemson (4)
5. Georgia (1)
6. Notre Dame
7. Oregon (1)
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami FL
11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13. South Carolina
14. Michigan
15. Florida
16. SMU
17. Kansas State
18. Oklahoma
19. Texas A&M
20. Indiana
21. Ole Miss
22. Iowa State
23. Texas Tech
24. Tennessee
25. Boise State

While the Michigan football team is ranked slightly lower in the AP Poll compared to the Coaches Poll, the Wolverines should still be feeling good about their ranking. Obviously, no one has played a game yet and this poll means essentially nothing. The play on the field will settle the rankings. Still, this shows that most people are expecting Michigan to be a contender again.

After losing a ton of talent and much of the coaching staff to the NFL after winning it all, it was hard to know what to expect from Michigan last year. All things considered, it wasn't a bad year. It wasn't good either, but the Wolverines beat Ohio State, and they were decent quarterback play away from probably being a College Football Playoff team. They should have the QB this year, so expect Michigan to be in the mix.

In terms of the schedule, this also gives us some good insight into how difficult the Wolverines' slate is. Right now, there are only two teams ranked inside the AP Poll Top 25 on Michigan's schedule. The Wolverines will travel to play #18 Oklahoma in Week 2, and then #3 Ohio State will come to town for The Game at the end of the season. The schedule is very manageable, but expect Michigan to end up with more than just two top 25 matchups.

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