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What to make of ESPN’s FPI ranking for Michigan football

The ESPN FPI was updated after the spring and here is where Michigan football ranks and what we think about it.

Published

9 months ago

on

Michigan football, Sherrone Moore
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The ESPN FPI hasn’t been kind to Michigan football over the past few years and in the updated ranking after spring practices across college football, the FPI still seems a little down on the Wolverines.

The FPI basically gave Michigan football zero chance of winning the Big Ten championship in 2021 and the Wolverines did it anyway. So it’s not the end all be all. But it’s interesting that Michigan football is ranked 12th in the updated FPI rankings after the spring.

Thoughts on Michigan rankings in ESPN FPI

Georgia is No. 1 and Ohio State is No. 2. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s also not shocking that Michigan football is ranked outside the top 10. On paper and in real life, the Wolverines lost a ton of starters on both sides of the ball.

Colston Loveland is the only returning starter on offense. The entire offensive line is basically new, even though Myles Hinton started at tackle and Josh Priebe was a third-team All-Big Ten selection for Northwestern.

The questions at quarterback are also causing Michigan to drop. There just isn’t a proven player at that position so it’s hard to know how good the Wolverines are going to be until we see Alex Orji or someone else play in a real game, against a real opponent like Texas.

USA Today ranked Michigan football 14th in its post-spring update. For the record, I think Michigan should be ranked in the top 10 but the truth is none of this matters. If the Wolverines win 10 games, they’ll be in the 12-team playoff.

But if Donovan Edwards can produce a 1,000-yard season on the ground and if the defense is elite, which it should be, 12th feels like the floor for Michigan.

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Chris has worked in sports journalism since 2005 writing for multiple newspapers and websites such as the Bleacher Report and Fansided where he has covered the Michigan Wolverines since 2016. With family ties to Detroit, Chris has been a Wolverines diehard since the day he was born and attacks every blog with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Chris is also a Heisman Trophy voter.

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