The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL 2010 Preseason Rank: None Finished: Unranked (7-6) Michigan entered Rich Rodriguez's third and final season unranked, but vaulted up to No. 18 in the polls following a 5-0 start. A 34-17 home loss to No. 17 Michi- gan State Oct. 9 knocked U-M out of the top 25, however, and the Wolverines never re-entered it. The loss to the Spartans caused the sea- son to spiral out of control, with Michigan proceeding to lose five of its final seven games from that point on. The Maize and Blue ended 2010 with three straight blow- out defeats to No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 21 Mississippi State by an av- erage of 29.3 points, causing Rodriguez to be fired and Brady Hoke to be brought in. 2011 Preseason Rank: None Finished: No. 12 (11-2) Expectations were not high for the Wol- verines entering Hoke's first season on the job, but a 6-0 start helped U-M to climb to No. 11 in the polls before a huge rivalry showdown at No. 23 Michigan State Oct. 15. The Spartans won 28-14, but unlike 2010 Michigan kept its season on the tracks and proceeded to win five of its final six contests. The best stretch of the year occurred in the final three tilts when U-M took down No. 16 Nebraska in blowout fashion, Ohio State in the regular-season finale and finally No. 11 Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. 2012 Preseason Rank: No. 8 Finished: No. 24 (8-5) Hoke's wildly successful debut campaign caused the Wolverines to enter 2012 ranked No. 8, but the hype proved to be a bit premature when a 2-2 start saw U-M fall out of the top 25. It quickly re-entered, however, and remained ranked through the second half of October, before a disheartening 23-9 loss at Nebraska Oct. 27 saw it drop out once again. A three-game winning streak to kick off November allowed Michigan to climb back into the top 25, though, and despite dropping its final two games of the year — to No. 4 Ohio State and No. 11 South Carolina — U-M found itself ranked No. 24 to finish the 2012 campaign. 2013 Preseason Rank: No. 17 Finished: Unranked (7-6) The 2012 season was viewed by many as nothing more than a sophomore slump for Hoke, especially when considering the club's final four losses oc- curred by an average of just 7.7 points. U-M rose to No. 11 following a 41-30 victory over No. 14 Notre Dame Sept. 7, but then dipped all the way down to No. 18 following lackluster victories over Akron, Con- necticut and Minnesota. The Wolverines held a 6-1 record and No. 23 rank- ing heading into a Nov. 2 contest at No. 24 Michigan State, but fell out of the polls for good following a 29-6 loss. The club then proceeded to lose four of its final five games to finish with a disappointing 7-6 record. 2014 Preseason Rank: None Finished: Unranked (5-7) The dismal finish to the 2013 season didn't provide much optimism heading into Hoke's fourth and final campaign and, unfortunately for the Wolverines, the team picked up right where it had left off. A 31-0 loss at No. 16 Notre Dame Sept. 6 was an early sign the club may be in for a long year, and that's exactly how it played out. U-M finished 5-7, never sniffed the AP top 25 and Hoke was fired just three days after the Nov. 29 loss at No. 7 Ohio State. 2015 Preseason Rank: None Finished: No. 12 (10-3) Even though enthusiasm surrounding the Michigan program was at its highest point in recent memory heading into Jim Harbaugh's first season, prognos- ticators expected a gradual rebuild in Ann Arbor following the disastrous conclusion of Hoke's tenure. Harbaugh hit the ground running, however, with his Wolverines entering the top 25 following a blow- out of No. 22 BYU Sept. 26 and staying there the rest of the year. A 41-7 destruction of No. 19 Florida in the Citrus Bowl capped off an immensely successful debut campaign for Harbaugh, whose club exceeded all preseason expectations the media had set for it. 2016 Preseason Rank: No. 7 Finished: No. 10 (10-3) Michigan came into the 2016 campaign with sky-high hopes following its 10-3 season in 2015, and for the most part they lived up to the hype. The Wolverines started 9-0 and sat at No. 2 in the polls before suffering an upset loss at Iowa Nov. 12, but were still in position to make the Big Ten championship and potentially go to the College Football Playoff head- ing into the Nov. 26 showdown at No. 2 Ohio State. The Maize and Blue fell in double-over- time in Columbus and then proceeded to lose to No. 10 Florida State 33-32 in the Orange Bowl, capping off a second consecutive 10-3 campaign. 2017 Preseason Rank: No. 11 Finished: Unranked (8-5) A 4-0 start saw U-M climb to No. 7 in the AP poll before falling out of the rankings entirely after a home setback to Michigan State Oct. 7 and a blowout loss at No. 2 Penn State Oct. 21. The Wolverines went on a three-game winning streak following the loss to the Nittany Lions and re-entered the top 25 at No. 24, but once again fell out just as quickly as they had entered. U-M ended the year on a three-game losing streak and finished the season unranked for the first time under Harbaugh. 2018 Preseason Rank: No. 14 Finished: No. 14 (10-3) The 2018 Maize and Blue caught fire after a sea- son-opening setback at No. 12 Notre Dame, ripping off a 10-game winning streak and ascending all the way to No. 4 in the AP poll by early November. Michigan headed to No. 10 Ohio State Nov. 24 with a 10-1 record and hopes of locking up a spot in the Big Ten championship game, but instead were blown out to the tune of 62-39. A lifeless performance against No. 10 Florida in the Peach Bowl resulted in a 41-15 loss, and Har- baugh's crew concluded the season in the AP poll right where it had started — at No. 14. 2019 Preseason Rank: No. 7 Finished: No. 18 (9-4) The preseason No. 7 ranking tied 2016 as the highest the Maize and Blue had entered a campaign under Harbaugh, but unlike that year, the 2019 crew didn't quite meet the hype. The club endured a blowout defeat at No. 13 Wisconsin Sept. 21 and plummeted to No. 20 in the AP poll, and remained ranked in the teens for the rest of the year. The highest U-M ascended from that point on was No. 13 following a 39-14 victory at Indiana Nov. 23, but concluded at No. 18 after season-ending set- backs to No. 1 Ohio State and No. 13 Alabama. — Austin Fox U-M's Preseason And Postseason Ranks In The Last 10 AP Polls Jabrill Peppers and the 2016 Wolverines started 9-0 and ascended to No. 2 in the national rankings, but could not fend off an upset bid by Iowa and ended up finishing 10-3 and No. 10 in the AP poll. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL