Michigan Football Ranked No. 5 in Preseason Rankings by Pro Football Focus
By Matt Snyder
The Michigan football team finished the 2015 season outside the top ten but Pro Football Focus lists them at No. 5 in their early preseason poll.
The college division of football analysis site Pro Football Focus came out with an early preseason top 25 ranking. The Michigan football team checked in at number five.
Here’s what writer Steve Palazzolo has to say about the Wolverines:
"5. MichiganIt’s all about the defense at Michigan, as they’re poised to be one of the nation’s best. They return the nation’s top-graded cornerback in Jourdan Lewis as well as two of the top three graded interior defensive linemen in Chris Wormley and Maurice Hurst. It will be on the offense to find a way to score points, but the majority of the offense returns and the results of their wide-open quarterback race – led by Wilton Speight – will determine just how far this Michigan team will go."
Notably absent from the list are the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans have finished in the top six of both the Coaches and AP college football polls in each of the last three years and have beaten the Wolverines in seven of the last eight meetings (including three consecutive).
Michigan football is certainly a program on the rise after nearly a decade of obscurity, but it seems they’re too quick to be given the accolades and distinctions they’ve not yet earned.
Michigan State, on the other hand, has proven themselves to be a top program — both in the Big Ten and nationally — yet they’re quick to be counted out or left as an afterthought.
This particular set of rankings won’t go over well with Michigan State fans who also happen to be Lions fans.
Their anti-Lions bias is really annoying, both in how obvious it is and the lengths they go through to show it.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) June 27, 2016
Pro Football Focus has developed an anti-Lions reputation this offseason and have projected them to finish with an NFC worst 4-12 record.
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It might be reasonable to rank Michigan in the top ten (and ahead of Michigan State even), but it seems silly to do so while leaving the Spartans completely outside the top 25.