The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/178977
football Notebook In The Mix In his weekly column appearing every Sunday during the season, SI.com's Stewart Mandel said that Ohio State is the Big Ten favorite heading into the conference season while Wisconsin, Northwestern and Michigan are in the mix. "Michigan (4-0) has been iffy at best, narrowly escaping Akron and UConn, but I'm not ready to rule the Wolverines out just yet," Mandel wrote. The Sports Illustrated columnist had also predicted Michigan would play in the Orange Bowl, but has changed his tune. "Michigan had previously occupied the Orange Bowl at-large spot, but would you have confidence in the Wolverines after watching Devin Gardner throw five interceptions and Michigan commit eight turnovers the past two weeks against Akron and UConn? Coach Brady Hoke's team has managed to simultaneously improve to 4-0 and drop seven spots in the latest AP poll." Odds & Ends • Even after beating Akron and Connecticut, the Wolverines dropped in the polls. The went from No. 11 to No. 15 in the Associated Press top 25 after besting the Zips 28-24 and then fell from No. 15 to No. 18 after the win over the Huskies. U-M actually fell one spot in the top Junior cornerback Raymon Taylor (No. 6) led the Wolverines in 25 last year after tackles after four games, with 25 total stops. Photo by bill panzica beating Massachusetts, but until then hadn't fallen in the polls following a win since 2006, going from No. 10 to No. 11 following a 41-17 week-two win over Central Michigan. • In its win over Connecticut, Michigan finished with only 97 yards passing, marking the first time it failed to reach triple digits since the Nebraska game in 2012 (93 yards). In 2011, the Maize and Blue had three contests without 100 yards passing, with a low of 93 against San Diego State. • After four games, junior cornerback Raymon Taylor led the Maize and Blue