Michigan Football: What To Look For In Updated Week 1 Polls

It’s usually difficult for highly ranked teams to move up in the beginning of the season, but Michigan football could do that after beating Florida.

After what just happened on Saturday, Michigan football fans have reason to be pleased.

Michigan is likely to move up a bit this week, not solely because it grabbed a win over Florida in the first week, but because the Wolverines passed the sniff test; pollsters saw a legit playoff team on the field on Saturday, and particularly took note of a well coached defense that actually looks faster than last season’s celebrated defense.

Bleacher Reports put it this way:

“While there wasn’t a poll-shattering upset despite Western Michigan’s best efforts against USC, there will naturally be a shakeup in the next Associated Press and Amway coaches rankings. Alabama and Michigan all but assured it by handling Florida State and Florida, respectively, and close calls elsewhere will flip the script in the early going.”

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Whether Michigan comes out as 6th, or 8th or 10th, its first game tested both offense and defense against a big-time program, as did the battle between Alabama and Florida State. As for the rest, there’s not much to be said about lopsided wins against notably less ambitious programs, but something to say about a few barely missed upsets.

For example, there is something to be said about Ohio State’s first half performance in the win over Indiana. The Buckeyes had something to prove after the 31-0 loss to Clemson last season; something to prove if they were to maintain the kind of momentum that pulls a team through the toughest games; something to prove if J.T. Barrett, the quarterback who has seemingly been at Ohio State since Archie Griffin graduated, was to establish himself as a passing threat.

Barrett and Ohio State dominated Indiana in the second half, in part because Ohio State has deep athletic talent and in part because freshman running back J.K. Dobbins churned out 181 yards on the ground, exhausting Indiana’s defense and opening up the air attack in the second half. The question for pollsters should be: Where does OSU match up against defenses that can bottle up Dobbins and the Ohio State running game? Are they a top five team after struggling in the first half?

Obviously, next Saturday’s game with Oklahoma will help clarify the relative strength of both teams.

Anyone who watched USC, a 27-point favorite, struggle against Western Michigan came away with an appreciation of the work done at Western Michigan in the last five years. P.J. Fleck, the youngest coach in FBS Division I, weathered a 1-11 season in his first year, grabbed two and three star athletes not recruited by bigger programs, and by the end of the 2016 season compiled a 13-0 record, national ranking, and a place in the Cotton Bowl.

Fleck’s now head coach at Minnesota, but new coach Tim Lester inherited a healthy program and an impressive group of athletes. However, let us not forget that USC was a big favorite with a pre-season Heisman hopeful quarterback (thanks Sports Illustrated!) lucky to survive its opening game with a win.

All other issues aside, the other observation a viewer would be compelled to make is that USC apparently can’t tackle. Next week’s game against Stanford should tell us whether the Broncos were lucky to hit USC on an off-game, or whether the coaches and the AP have been bamboozled by Hollywood hype.

It’s fun to quibble about polls at this point, but the real money is on the table when the contenders get into conference play. Michigan has a tougher schedule than any other team in the East Division, facing Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. Ohio State does not play Wisconsin, Penn State does not play Wisconsin, so, obviously, Wisconsin does not play Penn State or Wisconsin.

Next: Top 10 running backs in Michigan history

Next Saturday’s tilt with Cincinnati gives the Blue an opportunity to showcase the depth of the newly appreciated defense and the effectiveness of a balanced offense. Will a win against the Bearcats affect ranking? A big win probably brings a jump of one or two spots, a thin margin of victory could be unfortunate, and a loss … well … not quite Appalachian State, but not good.

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