After picking up its second loss of the season at the hands of Southern California Saturday night, the voters of the AP Poll Top 25 rankings saw enough to drop Michigan out of the top 25.
It wasn’t simply the fact that the Wolverines lost to the Trojans that made Michigan drop so far, it was how it lost. USC is a very good team, and especially facing them on the road, the committee would probably have afforded the Wolverines some grace had they lost a close game. Unfortunately for Michigan, not much went well, and USC dominated the game.
In the 31-13 loss, both the offense and the defense for the Wolverines had games to forget. The defense allowed the most points it had all season, and the offense tied its season-low in points. Those two paired together will almost never end in a favorable result.
Michigan’s strengths became its weaknesses, losing the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The Wolverines offensive line struggled with both pass protection and run blocking, and the defensive line couldn’t generate enough pressure to slow down Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava.
In the end, it all culminated in a big loss on the road at USC, and it cost Michigan its place in the AP Poll for the first time all season.
It was mostly small changes throughout the poll, and the biggest dropper other than the Wolverines was Oklahoma. The Sooners fell from No. 5 to No. 14 after a convincing loss to Texas, who reentered the poll itself at No. 21.
Indiana broke its program record for its highest position in the poll ever, jumping up to No. 3 after a massive win over then-No. 3 Oregon.
Here are the complete AP Poll Top 25 rankings for Week 8:
- Ohio State
- Miami (Fla.)
- Indiana
- Texas A&M
- Ole Miss
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- Oregon
- Georgia
- LSU
- Tennessee
- Georgia Tech
- Notre Dame
- Oklahoma
- BYU
- Missouri
- Vanderbilt
- Virginia
- South Florida
- USC
- Texas
- Memphis
- Utah
- Cincinnati
- Nebraska
Other teams receiving votes: Illinois, Michigan, Washington, UNLV, Navy, Mississippi St., Tulane, San Diego St.
What Can Michigan Do To Get Back In The Top 25?
The biggest thing any team can do to move up the ranks is win. Michigan wasn’t completely shunned by the voters, as it still received votes to be included, effectively sitting at No. 27 in the country.
The Wolverines are back at home next Saturday, but the opponent doesn’t get any easier. The Washington Huskies will come into Ann Arbor, sitting at 5-1 with its only loss coming at the hands of No. 1 Ohio State.
The Huskies, like Michigan, are another team that received votes in this week’s poll, sitting right behind the Wolverines at what would be No. 28. Regardless of the score, if Michigan can take down Washington, it will have gained a quality win and would most likely reenter the top 25.
The Wolverines and the Huskies have played three times since 2021, with Michigan winning two of those three. Most notably, the two programs met in the 2023 National Championship Game, in which the Wolverines came away victorious. Although Washington won the most recent matchup in 2024.
Michigan is currently a 5.5-point favorite against Washington as of the time of this writing, according to FanDuel. It should be a fairly even matchup, and the Wolverines will be eyeing a bounce back win.
You can hear the call of the game when Michigan takes on Washington on Oct. 18, on 94.7 WCSX. Here’s the full Michigan football schedule.
