The Blue Board

I know that. But let's say a team who was ranked #3 in the preseason loses to an unranked team. Also, a team who is ranked #21 in the preseason loses to a unranked team.

They both lost to unranked teams, but who is the team that is more likely to remain in the polls?

The preseason polls have an effect on what the polls look like right now.

If that were the case USC would be ranked ahead of LSU. They're not.

The polls are a joke. Jut not sure which one is funnier to laugh at.

We're talking about a 3-2 team with wins against AF, Purdue, and UMass. I think it's odd that they're ranked and are likely ranked because of their name. We can break down the Purdue win or the ND loss but really, we're still talking about a 3-2 squad with wins over nobodies. I don't know. I feel that there are probably more deserving teams. That's just me though.

Good troll effort.

You brought up the Big East reference. That's a pretty solid slam since the Big East is on life support.

You even glanced over the fact that OSU only put up 17 against us, but while only bringing up our score against them of 16, makes it look worse. A game that came down to the wire with a blown call that would have given us a TD with just a couple of minutes remaining now appears to be a blow out with your framing.

Really solid effort. I give it a 7/10. I think if you added a Little Brother reference or something about Dantonio's heart condition or maybe like a racist reference to William Gholston by calling him an Uncle Tom like that racist Taylor Lewan, then I would bump you up to like an 8 or even a 9. As always, keep trying.

Which of your 4 wins do you see them not winning?

I would say 0, IMO.

LOL...so many excuses.

Definitely 0. They aren't impressive wins.

So, now where do we go from here. Did that prove to you that Michigan is worthy of the 25 ranking or...

I mean, I can sit here and make excuses too. Oh, Denard threw picks and lost to ND in a close game? Alright. MSU also lost a close game to a top 10 team. We had a TD removed from the board because some official blew the whistle after a fumble when our DB was running it in for a TD. Oops. Really one of the strangest sequence of events I've witnessed on a football field.

Oh, Michigan State got beat down by ND? Michigan got beat down by Alabama, another top 10 team like ND.

None of this proves anything though. It's just that traditional teams get a bump in rankings. This isn't new. It's not even worth debating. You can look at so many teams around that 20-30 range that don't have much separation because we're 5 or 6 games in depending on bye weeks. You'll notice that the traditional team gets the bump. Am I shocked? No. I watched OSU and Wisconsin get a bump in rankings a few years ago during the last week of the season. They go to the Sugar and Rose bowls respectively. Even though we had beat Wisconsin. Derp. Then last year I saw MSU drop like a sack of rocks after losing in the final moments to Wisconsin in the BTCG. UM gets the bump and goes to the Sugar Bowl.

These things happen every year. It's just that the majority of fans on here are fans of big time programs so you're just used to it. Teams like MSU have to earn it on the field. Others just put on a helmet.

Is that like when UM was in a dogfight (pun intended) against Air Force?

Man, this is like the ultimate pot calling the kettle black. Do you just ignore your own losses and wins?

The fact that a program like Michigan with all of their history has to use a close loss to Notre Dame as a reason why they should be ranked is hilarious. This would be like MSU fans claiming our close loss to Ohio State should help us out. It's just stupid. It's a loss. It doesn't matter if it's pretty, you lost. It happens, accept it.

Read the entire sentence don't just pick out words, not sure if that's how you were taught.

I am not ignoring turnovers, I'm pointing out that when things don't go well we usually have 2 or 3, not 5. It is an outlier. In statistics you tend to ignore those. If we played ND 10 times, we would not have 50 turnovers. Those games we play poorly we would typically have 3, and if we had 3 two weeks ago we probably would have won. Our O/Denard played miserably.

The talent gap is not as big as the score differential. And you're a dumb ass if you think that's why you lost as big as you did. Michigan was not even competitive in that game because the scheme on offense relies on one player(Robinson).

Time has told...Michigan is just not a very good team, let alone one of the top-25 teams in the country.

I think we are splitting straws here honestly. Michigan and/or Michigan St were all along with Ohio, Baylor, and Iowa St as the possibles for #25. Michigan had the most impressive win and got the nod. I don't think anyone would think anyone in that 21-30 range has really proved anything major.

Yes, both have been beaten down by top 10 teams. If you compare the only other thing we know, their common games went very differently, even though both were losses. Don't think it is anything to worry about. Both teams are playing for standings now. The rankings don't matter for each right now..

I completely agree with you about the Sugar Bowl. Those last 1 or 2 at large picks are always popularity contests. Michigan won out because they were going to bring more people and bring more money to the game. The same thing was the case between Virginia Tech and Kansas St or Baylor. It came down to $$. There may be bias in the voters, but it's not nealy the same as with these bowl selection committees.

I didn't mention AF. In fact, I didn't mention Michigan at all. I was simply mocking the idea that you think MSU would be ranked if you just had a better pedigree. No, you wouldn't. You are a fraud and the curtain has been lifted. It has nothing to do with the design on your helmet or how many decades you've been mediocre. It has to do with the fact that you are mediocre right now and the AP voters have watched you play six games and not play well in more than one of them. If you lose to Iowa next weekend (and you might), you will be lucky to reach six wins.