Michigan in updated college football rankings: Wolverines No. 10 after surviving Minnesota
After bouncing around like a pinball machine the past four weeks, Michigan football has held relatively steady in this week's rankings.
The Wolverines (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) did enough to impress at times and show reasons for concern in others in their 27-24 victory over Minnesota (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten), and Michigan moved up two spots to No. 10 in this week's US LBM Coaches Poll released Sunday afternoon.
The top of the standings got a shake up after Alabama edged Georgia 41-34 in its first game as a home underdog since 2007. Texas, the only team the Wolverines have lost to in the regular season since 2021, sits at No. 1 after a 35-13 win over Mississippi State. Alabama moves up two slots to No. 2 and Ohio State remains No. 3. Tennessee and Georgia round out the top five.
Big Ten foes Oregon (No. 6) and Penn State (No. 7) are also ahead of the Wolverines.
As for U-M, it was a shockingly similar game to the week prior against USC, only this time people didn't leave with the warm fuzzies inside. Against the Trojans, Michigan seemed the warrior-team when it built a two-scores lead only to see it collapse and then storm right back with a game-winning drive courtesy of Kalel Mullings.
Saturday, in the battle for the Little Brown Jug, Mullings once again was the star as he ran 22 times for 107 yards and the game's opening two touchdowns and it looked like it would be a run-away victory after a blocked punt set up a second-straight short field and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Alex Orji to Tyler Morris.
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Instead, The Gophers came storming back late which included three fourth quarter touchdowns. The first, on a 12-play, 76-yard drive that ended when former Walled Lake Western star running back Darius Taylor scored from four yards out. On the next drive, Minnesota only had to go 17 yards.
That's because after a three-and-out on offense, the Gophers returned the punt 60 yards to set up the offense inside the redzone. Taylor scored three plays later to make it 24-17. Fortunately for the maize and blue, that' when the offense put together its best drive of the half.
Mullings converted a pair of third down rushes on the march as Michigan chewed 6:32 off the clock and banged home a 35-yard field goal after a 14-play, 58-yard drive to make it a 10-point game. However once more, without All-American cornerback Will Johnson and reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Josaiah Stewart available, the defense couldn't come up with a stop.
Minnesota put together a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and got within a field goal for the first time since the game was in a scoreless tie after Max Brosmer found Daniel Jackson on a 12-yard strike, even with Zeke Berry being flagged for pass interfernce.
The game seemed to reach critical mass when Minnesota appeared to recover the ensuing onside kick, but a Gophers special teamer was flagged for offsides on a bang-bang call, the play was re-kicked and Mullings recovered the ball for the hands team to seal the game.
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"Yeah, you know, we practice that," Mullings said of the play. "After the first one I knew he was probably going to do the same thing so I was a little more aggressive with it, got it before it even got to 10 (yards) and just called it a day."
After five consecutive home games to start the season, Michigan (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) hits the road for the first time in its 2024 campaign to take on Washington (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten), the team it last saw when it played a game outside of Michigan Stadium; a 34-13 victory in Houston to win the 2023 national championship.
Below is the rest of the top 25.
US LBM Coaches Poll top 25, Week 6, Sept. 29
First-place votes in parentheses.
Texas (29)
Alabama (19)
Ohio State (7)
Tennessee
Georgia
Oregon
Penn State
Miami
Missouri
Michigan
Ole Miss
LSU
Notre Dame
Clemson
USC
Iowa State
Oklahoma
Utah
BYU
Kansas State
Texas A&M
Louisville
UNLV
Indiana
Illinois
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan moves up in college football rankings for Week 6
