3. The Most Overrated Thing Was …
Michigan in the latest round of polls.
Penn State 28, Michigan 21.
It’s not like it happened all that terribly long ago.
On October 19th, Penn State was able to get by a Michigan that got hammered in the first half, came out roaring in the second half, and lost.
The Wolverines have been fabulous since then, ripping apart a Notre Dame team that seems to have found its groove, destroying a miserable Maryland team, rolling by a meh Michigan State, and blowing out a WAY overloved Indiana team that hadn’t beaten anyone who’s all that great at college football.
But this isn’t about that – Michigan, right now, probably is better than Penn State – i’s about the rankings process and why the system needs to find a way to teams can play their way in.
It’s time to be done with the human voting aspect of this, at least in the court of public opinion.
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Let’s wait until we see what happens on Tuesday night, and maybe the College Football Playoff committee will get this right after the AP and Coaches polls fumbled.
Last week, Penn State was No. 8 in the AP and No. 9 in the Coaches. Michigan was 12th in both. All Penn State did was go into Columbus, battle hard – yes, the Buckeyes dominated, but they were stress-tested for the first time all year – in what turned out to be a tough fight.
That means the two losses this season were on the road to Ohio State and Minnesota teams that are each still in the College Football Playoff hunt – and Penn State beat the Iowa team in Iowa City that beat the Gophers – and …
PENN STATE BEAT MICHIGAN.
So how does Penn State get punished for a 28-17 loss on the road to what’s been the most complete team in the nation so far – instead of this being the week it gets, say, a layup against Purdue or Rutgers? It’s 12th in both polls, with Michigan now 10th in the AP and 11th in the Coaches.
Week 13 Roundup
Winners & Losers | Most Overrated Thing
Most Underrated Thing | What It All Means