Michigan may have beaten Michigan State for the third straight year, but ESPN’s FPI wasn’t impressed with the Wolverines’ performance. Here is where they’re ranked following the win:
It’s a victory Monday for the Michigan Wolverines , getting back on track over the weekend with an important win over the Michigan State Spartans . Keeping the Paul Bunyan Trophy in Ann Arbor may wind up being the most significant thing to happen for the program this season.
But ESPN’s FPI didn’t see it that way. In fact, Michigan actually fell a spot to No. 39 overall in the football power index, while Michigan State moved up from No. 62 to No. 61. Now, the Wolverines have an 88.7 percent chance of getting one more win this season to become bowl eligible. That number is up from just 68.2 percent a week ago.
Overall, the FPI believes Michigan will go 6.3-5.7, with three ranked matchups and Northwestern still on the schedule.
Next up for the Wolverines is a contest with the No. 1 Oregon Ducks . Despite an emphatic win over Illinois at home, the FPI still has Oregon as the No. 8 team. Michigan’s other remaining opponents include FPI’s No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers , No. 80 Northwestern Wildcats , and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes near upset loss at home to Nebraska moved them down from their No. 1 ranking a week ago, which was re-taken by the Texas Longhorns .
Eleven Big Ten teams are in the FPI’s top-50 and Michigan ranks No. 9 among them. Penn State is the third-best in the conference and will host Ohio State this weekend for one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. Somehow, despite four conference losses, USC is still the No. 4 team in the conference and No. 15 overall. Minnesota moved up 10 spots after taking down Maryland, moving ahead of Michigan to No. 35 overall and No. 8 in the conference.