ESPN analyst suggests Michigan could finish season unranked

The Michigan Wolverines have not been getting much respect ahead of Sherrone Moore‘s first year at the helm. They will enter the season ranked ninth in AP Top 25 Poll. That marks the lowest ranking of any defending national champion since Auburn began the 2011 season ranked 23rd.

Greg McElroy recently suggested that the Wolverines could fall out of the rankings altogether. Speaking on Always College Football, the ESPN college football analyst stated:

There’s always a few teams every year that start the season in the top-ten that ultimately aren’t playing as ranked teams at the end of November. Couple of teams that could very easily be this year.

What if Alex Orji makes mistakes throwing the football? What if the offense sputters and if they have some turnovers woes? What if that happens? And you look at Michigan’s schedule, I mean, they could, in theory, be an 8-4 football team. Vegas, for the record, nine and a half was the win total for Michigan. That’s now moved down to eight and a half.

Schedule’s brutal and if they can’t get quarterback right, for whatever reason, they struggle on offense, tell me they couldn’t possibly play their way out of the top-25. It could absolutely happen.

While Michigan’s quarterback play is a somewhat of an unknown, they have a strong running game and offensive line. Furthermore, the Wolverines have had a top-ten defense in each of the past three seasons, finishing first last season. They are expected to once again be one of the top defensive units in the nation in 2024.

A small slide in the rankings was somewhat expected after losing head coach Jim Harbaugh and having 13 players drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft – the fourth most by one program in a single season since the draft was reduced to seven rounds in 1994. The suggestion that Michigan could fall out of the rankings, however, shows that the Wolverines are being overlooked.

Check out Greg McElroy’s comments below (starting at the 16:40 mark):

Michigan set to face a tough schedule in 2024

Conference realignment has drastically altered the college football landscape, with conference play expected to be much tougher. Four of the Michigan Wolverines 12 opponents received a ranking in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll – with three of those teams among the top-four teams in the nation.

The No.2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, No.3-ranked Oregon Ducks, No.4-ranked Texas Longhorns and No.23-ranked USC Trojans are all on Michigan’s schedule this season. Fortunately for the Wolverines, three of those matchups will take place at The Big House. Their only road matchup will come against Ohio State, who they have beaten three years in a row.

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