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Pollin' It: Michigan Out of the Top-25, Deservedly

A loss in East Lansing drops Michigan from the polls and sets up a showdown between two likely unbeatens in either division.

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today Coaches Poll

RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS FIRST PLACE VOTES PREVIOUS RANK CHANGE HI/LOW
1 Alabama
Crimson Tide
8-0 1540 54 1 1/1
2 Oregon
Ducks
8-0 1475 5 2 2/3
3 Florida State
Seminoles
8-0 1436 3 3 3/12
4 Ohio State
Buckeyes
9-0 1369 0 4 2/4
5 Baylor
Bears
7-0 1299 0 5 5/NR
6 Stanford
Cardinal
7-1 1222 0 7 1 4/13
7 Clemson
Tigers
8-1 1121 0 8 1 4/10
8 Oklahoma
Sooners
7-1 971 0 9 1 8/18
9 Missouri
Tigers
8-1 961 0 10 1 7/NR
10 Auburn
Tigers
8-1 959 0 11 1 10/NR
11 Oklahoma State
Cowboys
7-1 864 0 12 1 11/20
12 LSU
Tigers
7-2 835 0 13 1 6/13
13 Texas A&M
Aggies
7-2 800 0 14 1 6/15
14 Miami
Hurricanes
7-1 747 0 6 8 6/NR
15 South Carolina
Gamecocks
7-2 722 0 16 1 6/20
16 Louisville
Cardinals
7-1 569 0 17 1 6/17
17 Fresno State
Bulldogs
8-0 567 0 18 1 17/NR
18 UCLA
Bruins
6-2 494 0 19 1 10/21
19 Michigan State
Spartans
8-1 446 0 24 5 19/NR
20 Northern Illinois
Huskies
9-0 409 0 20 20/NR
21 Central Florida
Knights
6-1 340 0 22 1 21/NR
22 Wisconsin
Badgers
6-2 333 0 23 1 18/NR
23 Texas Tech
Red Raiders
7-2 217 0 15 8 9/NR
24 Arizona State
Sun Devils
6-2 130 0 NR 23/NR
25 Notre Dame
Fighting Irish
7-2 108 0 25 11/NR

AP Poll

Rank Team Record Votes Previous
1 Alabama (52) 8-0 1,491 1
2 Oregon (2) 8-0 1,418 2
3 Florida State (6) 8-0 1,409 3
4 Ohio State 9-0 1,315 4
5 Baylor 7-0 1,234 5
6 Stanford 7-1 1,214 6
7 Auburn 8-1 1,082 8
8 Clemson 8-1 1,059 9
9 Missouri 8-1 956 10
10 LSU 7-2 863 11
11 Texas A&M 7-2 861 12
12 Oklahoma 7-1 816 13
13 South Carolina 7-2 769 14
14 Miami (FL) 7-1 737 7
15 Oklahoma State 7-1 662 18
16 UCLA 6-2 515 17
17 Fresno State 8-0 493 16
18 Michigan State 8-1 478 24
19 UCF 6-1 472 19
20 Louisville 7-1 385 20
21 Wisconsin 6-2 342 22
22 Northern Illinois 9-0 322 21
23 Arizona State 6-2 197 25
24 Notre Dame 7-2 164 NR
25 Texas Tech 7-2 102 15
Others Receiving Votes: Texas 34, Georgia 32, Brigham Young 28, Mississippi 17, Houston 9, Minnesota 7, Michigan 6, Washington 6, Ball State 4, Duke 1

And then there were three.

Michigan's brutal execution at the hands of Michigan State Saturday has removed yet another team from the polls, capapulted the Spartans into the top-20, and set up the Big Ten championship game with — and it kills me to say it — the best game the Big Ten could muster this year.

Ohio State's offense has been incredibly good this year, laying wasted to all manner of defenses.  Michigan State's defense this year looks to be the best unit that Mark Dantonio and Pat Narduzzi have put together while in East Lansing.  The undercard of MIchigan State's quietly effective offense vs. OSU's stout defense will probably be less entertaining.  The Buckeyes got what they wanted.  Ohio State will have one more marquee opponent before the final BCS poll.  Now it just needs some help.

As for Michigan, the Wolverines still have three winnable games left before what should be a very tough game against OSU.  A nine win season is still very much there for the taking, and three straight wins would probably put Michigan in the back end of the polls by the time The Game rolls around, also setting Michigan up to be the fourth team chosen for a bowl tie in.  And if there was anything that could get Michigan fans over the losses to PSU and MSU, it would be an upset in game 12.