Last week, Michigan football managed to come in at No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, but yet another poll had yet to be released.
The Wolverines return nearly everyone on offense, but the media at-large has had a lot of questions about the defensive side of the ball considering the losses of Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, and Dax Hill. Though the maize and blue has a lot of returning experience on that side of the ball (though not starting experience), 2021’s success is being credited much to those players who departed.
On Monday, the preseason AP top 25 was finally released, and the Michigan Wolverines came in ranked at No. 8.
In addition, Ohio State is ranked No. 3, MSU is ranked No. 15, and Wisconsin (who Michigan doesn’t face) is ranked No. 18.
Here is the full ranking:
| RANK | TEAM | PV RANK | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (0-0) | 2 | 1,566 (54) |
| 2 | Ohio State (0-0) | 6 | 1,506 (6) |
| 3 | Georgia (0-0) | 1 | 1,455 (3) |
| 4 | Clemson (0-0) | 14 | 1,292 |
| 5 | Notre Dame (0-0) | 8 | 1,242 |
| 6 | Texas A&M (0-0) | 1,212 | |
| 7 | Utah (0-0) | 12 | 1,209 |
| 8 | Michigan (0-0) | 3 | 1,203 |
| 9 | Oklahoma (0-0) | 10 | 956 |
| 10 | Baylor (0-0) | 5 | 884 |
| 11 | Oregon (0-0) | 22 | 831 |
| 12 | Oklahoma State (0-0) | 7 | 814 |
| 13 | North Carolina State (0-0) | 20 | 752 |
| 14 | USC (0-0) | 711 | |
| 15 | Michigan State (0-0) | 9 | 631 |
| 16 | Miami (FL) (0-0) | 476 | |
| 17 | Pittsburgh (0-0) | 13 | 383 |
| 18 | Wisconsin (0-0) | 365 | |
| 19 | Arkansas (0-0) | 21 | 348 |
| 20 | Kentucky (0-0) | 18 | 332 |
| 21 | Ole Miss (0-0) | 11 | 324 |
| 22 | Wake Forest (0-0) | 15 | 303 |
| 23 | Cincinnati (0-0) | 4 | 265 |
| 24 | Houston (0-0) | 17 | 263 |
| 25 | BYU (0-0) | 19 | 234 |
Others receiving votes:
Tennessee 180, Texas 164, Iowa 163, Penn State 160, LSU 55, Fresno State 32, Minnesota 31, UCF 27, Purdue 17, Mississippi State 15, Auburn 15, Florida 14, Kansas State 14, North Carolina 9, Boise State 5, Air Force 4, Appalachian State 4, South Carolina 2, UCLA 2, San Diego State 2, Utah State 2, Nebraska 1
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