The USA Today preseason Coaches Poll features a top-10 Michigan, with one coach giving the Wolverines a first-place vote.
The Michigan Wolverines are ranked No. 8 in the USA Today preseason Coaches Poll . That is third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State (No. 2) and Oregon (No. 3), the latter of which is going to take a while to get used to writing. Additionally, one coach gave the Wolverines a first-place vote.
Michigan amassed 944 points in the poll, which is 55 points ahead of the Penn State Nittany Lions at the No. 9 spot. The only other Big Ten team ranked is USC at No. 23, with Washington (123 votes), Wisconsin (17), Maryland (5) and Nebraska (2) all receiving votes.
Not surprisingly, the Georgia Bulldogs top the poll, coming in at No. 1 with 46 first-place votes. The Texas Longhorns, who come to the Big House on September 7, and the Alabama Crimson Tide round out the top five.
Per USA Today, the coaches that participated in this were determined by random draw, with the list of voters placed at the bottom of the article. How funny would it be if Ryan Day, who has yet to beat Michigan as Ohio State’s head coach, was the sole coach who gave Michigan a No. 1 vote?
In USA Today’s preseason coaches’ poll, Michigan is ranked No. 8, with one first place vote.
How funny would it be if the vote came from Ryan Day? pic.twitter.com/aOrJLmKU6C
— Kellen Voss (@Kellen__Voss) August 5, 2024
My initial reaction is that eighth for the Wolverines seems fair; yes, a ton of talented, future NFL players like Will Johnson and Mason Graham are still on the roster and plenty of players are getting preseason recognition , but the Wolverines lost a lot of key pieces from the national championship run and don’t have a clear answer at quarterback as of the first week of August.
What do you think of this initial ranking from coaches? Let us know in the comments.