Michigan Rises In AP Poll Following Blowout Win

After dropping in each of the first two editions of the AP Poll Top 25 rankings, Michigan’s 63-3 demolition of Central Michigan Saturday was enough to earn the Wolverines their first climb.

Rising two positions from its previous No. 23 rank, Michigan will begin Big Ten play ranked No. 21 to take on unranked Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are on the cusp of the top 25, receiving votes in each of the first four polls.

The Wolverines offense got back on track against the Chippewas. They didn’t punt once, as the only possessions that didn’t end with a touchdown were a result of a missed field goal and an interception.

Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood had an impressive bounce-back performance. The young signal caller didn’t let the noise surrounding his disappointing game against Oklahoma influence his play against Central Michigan. Underwood threw for 235 yards and a touchdown and tacked on 114 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.

Michigan’s defense strangled the Chippewas offense as well. Led by a stellar first half performance from senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham, the Wolverines held the Chippewas to just 139 total yards for the entire game.

For the second week in a row, the top 3 teams stayed put, with Ohio State, Penn State, and LSU occupying those positions. The Miami Hurricanes move up one spot to No. 4, and Georgia rounds at the top 5.

Notre Dame plummets 16 spots from No. 8 to land at No. 24 after dropping to 0-2 after a heartbreaking loss to No. 10 Texas A&M.

Here’s the complete AP Poll Top 25 football rankings for Week 3:

Other teams receiving votes: BYU, South Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi State, TCU, Arizona State, Tulane, Louisville, Nebraska, Baylor, Clemson, SMU, NC State, UNLV, Navy

With Big Ten play starting next Saturday, the answer for Michigan is simple: win. When it comes to conference play, the need for a ‘convincing’ win is mostly forgotten, especially when playing on the road. It doesn’t particularly matter how the Wolverines get it done as long as they come away with the win.

Year in and year out, Nebraska is a staunch opponent, and this year’s team looks like one of the best Cornhuskers squads in a while. With former No. 1 quarterback recruit Dylan Raiola under center, Nebraska escaped its non-conference slate unscathed.

The Cornhuskers offense has the ability to explode for a lot of points, and they prefer to do it through the air. Michigan’s pass rush and secondary coverage will have to be stout to silence Raiola and his offense.

Likely, the ground game with Underwood and junior running back Justice Haynes will have to be heavily involved. Nebraska’s defense has been much more vulnerable against the rush than it has against the pass, allowing the Wolverines a chance to show off its balanced attack.

Even as the visiting team, Michigan is a 2.5 point favorite according to FanDuel as of the time of this writing. This game will be the final of head coach Sherrone Moore’s two game suspension, and acting head coach Biff Poggi will man the sidelines once more.