Michigan Football: Media poll favors Buckeyes, Badgers over Wolverines

The yearly Cleveland.com Big Ten football media poll is out and Michigan football is predicted third in a crowded Big Ten East.

Just a year ago Michigan football was picked to win the Big Ten outright in a surprise to many, but this season’s prognostication is aiming to be a bit more accurate.

The East tends to have a clear-cut leader in the clubhouse, while the West is a skosh more wide open according to the pollsters. Below are the variety of results to how the voters tallied their respective responses for 2020.

No suspense at the top as the Ohio State Buckeyes were all but unanimously voted as the team to beat for the sixth time since 2012. The writers then got asked to tally their votes by ranking the schools (1-7) in both the East and West, with the first-place squad receiving votes worth a total of seven points, while the runner-up garnered six points and that trend followed all the way to the bottom of the conference.

East Division Prediction

1. Ohio State 237 points (33 out of a possible 34 first-place votes)

2. Penn State 204 points (1)

3. Michigan 169 points

4. Indiana 134 points

5. Michigan State 94 points

6. Maryland 76 points

7. Rutgers 38 points

West Division Prediction

1. Wisconsin 221 points (19)

2. Minnesota 209.5 (14)

3. Iowa 157 points

4. Nebraska 117 points

5. Purdue 105 points

6. Northwestern 87.5 points (1)

7. Illinois 55 points

Championship Game Predictions

Ohio State over Wisconsin (19)

Ohio State over Minnesota (13)

Ohio State over Northwestern (1)

Penn State over Minnesota (1)

Analysis for Michigan football

The poll itself has been quite useless in the previous eight seasons as they have only correctly picked the outcome of the league champion two times.

That happened in 2017 and 18 with the Ohio State Buckeyes taking home the trophy. The Wolverines have only been selected twice to win the conference since 2012.

They finished second in the old Legends division in 2012 behind then newcomer Nebraska and third in 2019.

With Ryan Day’s group bringing back so many returnees, it’s no wonder why they are the heavy favorites to run the Big Ten once again.

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As it stands now, Michigan football has a manageable road schedule with sneaky tough trips to Minnesota and East Lansing.

Meanwhile, the path to Columbus is on a whole different level of concern. Two of the three though appear winnable, while the other one simply does not.

That could mean that Jim Harbaugh’s bunch has a real shot at winding up in second place rather than third on the Eastern side.

With the recent track record of taking down Penn State and Wisconsin at home, it may just vault them into a spot where the showdown in Columbus would potentially be for all the marbles.

That’s assuming there is going to be a season and they can muster past the aforementioned opponents on the gauntlet in the first place.

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