After earning a huge win over the USC Trojans this weekend, it feels like there is a little bounce back in the step of the reigning national champion Michigan Wolverines. While it was far from the perfect performance, the Wolverines did enough to earn a win in the Big House over a top-15 opponent for the first time in the Sherrone Moore era.
However, ESPN’s FPI was not as convinced about the possible improvements. The Wolverines moved up just one spot this week to No. 20 overall. They also got a slight bump in expected record, going from 6.9-5.2 to 7.5-4.6. Their odds of winning the Big Ten also only earned a single percentage point (2.8 percent) while their shot at making the College Football Playoff doubled to 12 percent.
Meanwhile, USC stood pat at No. 12 in the FPI. LSU, which lost to USC in Week 1, leaped past Michigan to No. 19 after beating UCLA at home. Needless to say, the FPI doesn’t like the Wolverines’ style of play and questions if it is sustainable for the rest of the year.
It feels like Michigan should have a strong chance this week in the battle for the Little Brown Jug. After losing to Iowa in Week 4, the Minnesota Golden Gophers fell 14 spots to No. 57 in the country, per ESPN’s FPI. The model suggests P.J. Fleck’s squad wins only 4.9 games this season. They were the largest fallers in the FPI rankings this weekend.
Iowa earned the most recognition instead, moving up to No. 24. Seven Big Ten teams sit in the top-25, matching last week’s record. After losing to Illinois, Nebraska fell outside the top-25 to No. 36. Yet, the Fighting Illini are still ranked behind them at No. 40 despite the head-to-head win and being 4-0.
The Indiana Hoosiers continue their dominant run and are up to No. 15 on the FPI. They’re up another four positions this week and have a 27.4 percent chance of making the CFP. That’s the fourth-best odds in the conference behind only Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State.
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