FOOTBALL

Analyst excludes Michigan football from midseason top 4

Michigan football did not make the cut for this analyst’s midseason top 4.

Published

8 months ago

October 4, 2023

Chris

Sep 30, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh watches the Wolverines score a touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday, long-time college football analyst Paul Finebaum — who has been quite critical of Jim Harbaugh over the past decade — announced his midseason top 4. Despite Michigan football being the No. 2 team in the nation and even earning No. 1 votes heading into Week 6, Finebaum has Ohio State as the Big Ten’s CFP representative right now, excluding the Wolverines entirely from his field of four.

Paul Finebaum excludes Michigan football from midseason top 4

Michigan football is on a roll right now — the Wolverines are 5-0 heading into this weekend’s game at Minnesota, most recently downing the Nebraska Cornhuskers 45-7. After an impressive Week 5 showing, Michigan earned 12 No. 1 votes in the newest AP poll and is garnering some extra national respect, especially as the Georgia Bulldogs continue to stutter early on.

That said, famed Michigan football hater Paul Finebaum of ESPN is not so optimistic about the Wolverines — instead of Michigan in his current CFP rankings, he has Ohio State, which is coming off of a bye week following their win over Notre Dame in Week 4.

Right now, Paul Finebaum has the following teams in his top 4:

Georgia Bulldogs (SEC)
Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten)

Florida State Seminoles (ACC)
Texas Longhorns (Big 12)

Obviously, Paul Finebaum and his rankings could be proven wrong, especially seeing as a number of these teams have a few tough games coming up. For Michigan football, a mid-November trip to Happy Valley to face Penn State will be the team’s first major test — the following weekend, Michigan will play at Maryland (5-0 right now) before returning home for a Week 13 game against Ohio State.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Publisher at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest-growing and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!