Michigan Football: AP Top 25 reactions for Week 9
By Alex Hinton
Breaking down where Michigan football sits in the latest college football polls heading into the showdown with Michigan State.
After a slow start, Michigan football used a big third quarter to pull away from Northwestern for a 33-7 win.
The Wolverines improved to 7-0 and maintained at No. 6 in the AP Top 25. Next up for the Wolverines is a trip to East Lansing to battle the rival Michigan State Spartans.
Michigan State was idle last week and moved up a spot to No. 8. The top 10 showdown will be the set of both FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’s College GameDay.
The big news, both in the Big Ten and around the country, was another top 10 upset. Penn State was stunned by Illinois 20-18 in 9OT, the first 9OT game in college football history.
Penn State was unable to get anything going offensively with Sean Clifford still limited with his injury. However, the real shocker was Illinois running all over Penn State’s defense to the tune of 357 yards rushing. That may be an area Michigan can exploit when it visits Happy Valley in a few weeks.
Where Big Ten teams are ranked heading into week 9
Penn State fell 13 spots to No. 20 in the rankings this week. The loss also may end Penn State’s hopes at a Big Ten Championship.
Though Penn State does not have a division, it now has two losses in conference. With games remaining against Ohio State (this week), Michigan, and Michigan State still remaining, running the table will be a tough task. It will be even more difficult if Sean Clifford does not get back to100% soon.
No. 3 Oklahoma had to survive a scare of its own at Kansas. The Sooners were dominated in time of possession in the first half and trailed 10-0.
The Sooners scored 35 points in the second half and won 35-23. If you ask me Oklahoma should have fallen down at least five spots for coming that close to losing to Kansas. However, the Sooners were jumped a spot by Alabama.
Georgia, Cincinnati, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State make up the top 5 heading into week 9. The Big Ten maintains four teams in the top 10 (Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Iowa).
With this being the last week before the CFP’s first ranking comes out, it will be interesting to see how differently the committee views things this season.
Next. What we learned against Northwestern. dark
If Michigan football knocks off Michigan State, it will have a case to be included in the top five of those initial rankings.