Where Michigan football ranks in the eyes of the media in preseason poll

Michigan football is the defending national champion and three-time Big Ten champion, yet when it comes to continuing the streak of winning the conference and more, the regional media is not exactly enthusiastic about the Wolverines’ chances.

The annual Cleveland.com media poll came out on Monday morning, and after having not picked Ohio State to win the conference for one year (2023), the media went back to choosing the Buckeyes to be atop the Big Ten once more. But the maize and blue did not come in second, nor third in the poll. The Wolverines were picked to come in fourth in the conference once everything is said and done in 2024.

Michigan is behind not only Ohio State, but Oregon and Penn State. Likely, some of the trepidation comes on the heels of the personnel losses as the Wolverines broke a school record in NFL draft picks earlier this year. That’s also in conjunction with Sherrone Moore leading the charge with Jim Harbaugh having left for the NFL. Additionally, OSU and Oregon are expected to be loaded this year, while Penn State returns the three-headed monster of Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, and Kaytron Allen on the offensive side of the ball.

Regardless, Michigan was picked against in two of the last three years, but won the conference anyway.

Of the eight times that Ohio State has been picked to win the conference, it has won only three times. Two other years, when other schools were chosen to win (2015, Michigan State; 2019, Michigan), the Buckeyes ended up winning. Michigan, conversely, won in 2021 and 2022, OSU was predicted as the eventual winner.