Michigan Lands Top 10 Ranking in Preseason Coaches Poll

With just a few short weeks until the opening weekend of college football, preseason rankings are beginning to come out.

In the first coaches poll of the new season, Michigan football is ranked No. 8. Following a National Championship, the Wolverines find themselves outside of the Top 5 nationally.

Analyzing the New Coaches Poll

In front of the Wolverines is Georgia, with 46 first-place votes. This almost seems like a given to them at the beginning of every season.

At No. 2 is Ohio State, who just suffered their third-straight loss to the Wolverines. Yes, they have a lot of returning talent, but even with the most talented teams the previous few years they still lost to U-M.

New Big Ten foe Oregon is ranked at No. 3, just ahead of Texas at No. 4 – both teams are on the 2024 Michigan football schedule.

Alabama is at No. 5, who lost their long-term head coach Nick Saban and a heartbreaker to U-M in the Rose Bowl.

Following the Tide is No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 7 Notre Dame.

Finally, that leaves Michigan at No. 8 overall where, of course, the Wolverines are no strangers to proving preseason rankings wrong.

A Full Look at the Coaches Poll

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Oregon
4. Texas
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Michigan
9. Penn State
10. Florida State
11. Missouri
12. LSU
13. Utah
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Kansas State
18. Oklahoma State
19. Miami (FL)
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. North Carolina State
23. USC
24. Kansas
25. Iowa

Why Is Michigan Ranked So Low?

Michigan being the reigning national champions makes most people think they should be ranked much higher. However, they lost most of their starters to the NFL Draft. So, while the 2024 team is less experienced, they are still filled with national talents like Will Johnson, Donovan Edwards, and Mason Graham, among others.

The program also lost Jim Harbaugh, who took a head coaching job with the Los Angeles Chargers. Still, with the head coach position being filled by Sherrone Moore, we know what the former OC is capable of. During Harbaugh’s suspension, Moore led the team to two Top 10 victories over Penn State & Ohio State.

Number of Ranked Teams Michigan Will Play

Michigan’s strength of schedule is absurd. Five of their 12 games will come against ranked opponents in Texas, USC, Washington, Oregon, and Ohio State.

Following recent themes, the Wolverines will be doubted by the media. But as we can see now, the coaches don’t view them as a Top 5 team either.

Luckily, the College Football Playoff is switching to 12 teams this season. So, if they finish at that spot, the Wolverines will make their fourth-straight trip to the postseason.

The next poll to release will be the AP Poll, which acts as the “official” rankings until the CFP Top 25 releases in late October.