Yeah--look, I put Michigan here despite what I see as an unimpressive start. They are here because they are Michigan. Same with Oregon, Penn State, and USC--heck, even Ohio State. Everyone--national media included--puts these teams here at this point in the season because of what they've done before. It's not illogical. It's the same reason I think the Badgers will finish in the top half--because it's what I'm used to. And in the current world of NIL money and unrestricted transfers, the rich are getting richer. Michigan is rich. So are Oregon, USC, Penn State, and Ohio State (and probably Washington to some degree, but they lost to Wazzu in Seattle, so that's going to knock you down a peg).
If Michigan had beaten Texas, they would be at 1 or 2, but they got smoked, so they move down (and their other wins haven't been that good--but the win over USC looks nice...right now).
The rest of the teams, per someone's comment above--ELA, maybe?--are even harder to guage in the current environment. Yeah, maybe Indiana and Illinois are going to finish really strong, but you and I (and most of the other folks here) have been watching this sport long enough to maintain a healthy level of skepticism.
Is Nebraska really that much better than they have been since they joined the conference? Or are they still Nebraska--a helmet team with an old following of fans and media who are used to seeing Nebraska play at a high level--even if they haven't for over a decade. As a Big Ten West guy, I'm leaning into the "show me" line of thinking.
My point is only that based on what I've seen this season (which is a little more than usual for the last few years, but still not that much), I'm not convinced by any of these teams, but I am ready to keep the wealthy helmet schools in an order that makes some semblance of sense based on the current results. And the rest of them, it's a toss up, but I'm not letting go of my memories/biases on them, either.
So yeah, do I think Michigan is better than Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana...yup. I've got too many memories to dispel that notion. But do I think Michigan is better than Penn State, Oregon, or Ohio State? Not yet, but they might be. Ohio State is acting the most like we expect these teams to act at this point in the season--which, again, comports with my long-lasting memory of how these teams finish. Michigan has an obvious blemish that Oregon and Penn State don't have. But don't you worry, when they rack up the wins, I'll give them credit for it.
But I do like needling Michigan fans. There is that. :-)
