Michigan Falls Out of the AP Top 25

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Michigan’s AP Top 25 stay lasted exactly one week.

The Wolverines opened the season at No. 16 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. In the polls released Tuesday, Michigan is out of the AP Top 25 entirely, sitting among the others receiving votes with 69 points, and has slid to No. 24 in the Coaches Poll.

The reason is not complicated. Saturday night, Sept. 5, Michigan escaped the Big House by the narrowest of margins against Western Michigan, 13-12, on a 47-yard Hail Mary with one second left. The Wolverines were 27.5-point favorites.

Michigan’s AP Top 25 Fall, by the Numbers

Bryce Underwood struggled mightily as Michigan’s quarterback. Outside of an efficient opening drive and the second Hail Mary heave, hauled in by J.J. Buchanan after the first one was ruled dead with a second left on the clock, the second-year quarterback did not look the part against a team he was supposed to overwhelm. Underwood finished 12-of-22 for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Michigan turned the ball over three times, took nine penalties for 80 yards and held the ball for under 20 minutes.

Wisconsin and Rutgers Were the Big Ten’s Only Losers

Michigan is 1-0, and so is every other Big Ten team but two. Wisconsin was slaughtered by Notre Dame, now No. 3, 41-13. Rutgers imploded as a 29.5-point favorite, losing to UMass, 37-21. Every other team in the conference came out of Week 1 a winner.

That does not mean everyone looked good doing it. Michigan State trailed Toledo 20-19 early in the fourth quarter before pulling away for a 30-20 win, and No. 6 Oregon needed to hold off Boise State, 34-27. Nobody wobbled quite like Michigan.

Michigan and Ohio State Draw the Only Real Tests

As Wolverine fans learned against Western Michigan, no win is a given. Even so, every ranked Big Ten team should be comfortable this week except two: Michigan and Ohio State.

The No. 1 Buckeyes travel to No. 4 Texas at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 12, and Ohio State goes in as a 1.5-point underdog.

Michigan has its own problem. The Wolverines host No. 11 Oklahoma that same Saturday, and the line has flipped hard. Michigan opened as a 2.5-point favorite in the lookahead number. By Monday, the Sooners were road favorites of 6.5.

Oklahoma enters the Big House riding a 51-0 shutout of UTEP on Friday, Sept. 4. After what the Wolverines showed in Week 1, they will need something closer to a miracle than a tune-up to start the season 2-0.

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