Earlier today, much to the shock of football fans, Michigan was reported to have jumped all the way to #11 in the coaches' poll and #12 in the AP poll. Michigan was ranked #19 last week in the USA Today poll, but after a huge 58-0 blowout victory in the Little Brown Jug game and losses by teams above Michigan in the rankings, they jumped 8 spots.
Last week I ran an article analyzing why Michigan was #19, but had a great shot to move up in the rankings (article: here). Obviously, this was proven correct when several teams sitting above Michigan in the polls including USF, Baylor, and Texas A & M lost.
Although I personally think Michigan is probably a bit overrated based on a schedule consisting of 2 MAC teams and Minnesota (1-4, 0-0), I see no reason to complain about the rankings love. For example, if Michigan were to theoretically lose 1 of the next 2 games, they would probably still remain in the rankings, which didn't happen last season when Michigan fell to Michigan State (Michigan did appear as #25 in the coaches poll, but this was after a bye week and only lasted 1 week).
Michigan has not been ranked this high in over 4 years since the season opener in 2007. Quite astonishing for Michigan's tradition, but also surprising considering the team's recent past (4-0 in 2009 and 5-0 in 2010) of late-season collapses. Regardless, it's a very exciting time to root for Michigan and Go Blue!
