Curse of #2

Does it exist? Michigan will find out soon enough, but let's take a look at why the #2 teams this season have fallen...

Texas
There's a few reasons for the fall here. First, Texas should not have been ranked that high. Their rank was inflated to created the enticing #1 vs #2 matchup vs. OSU. Seeing that kind of game is so much more fun than watching a #1 vs #3 or #4 matchup because there's just so much more on the line. It's like getting a Christmas present for Labor Day.

The Longhorns are the defending National Champions, but when you lose a player like Vince Young who is so integral to the offense, there's bound to be a drop off. Then there's Ohio State. If you haven't noticed, the Bucks are a damn good team. Coming from a Michigan Man like me, that's some pretty high praise. I doubted their defense this summer, but they've played extremely well. There aren't many teams (read 1 or 2) that can beat them. Texas was beaten by a very good team.

Notre Dame
Notre Dame was also overrated. Everyone jumped on the Brady Quinn-Charlie Weis bandwagon. The fact that ND was even ranked in the top 5 exposed one of the major flaws of the poll system - teams with the media spotlight tend to get a favorable ranking. Brady Quinn was supposed to be the second coming of Joe Montana and Tom Brady. Charlie Weis was supposed to be a genius who could outcoach anyone. What happened? Quinn looked like Ryan Leaf in the NFL. Weis was outcoached by Lloyd Carr and had no answers for what happened.

Why were they overranked? First, the media spotlight and superstar mania. Second, they had a pretty good record last year. However, that record was against a pretty mediocre schedule. The best team they beat was Michigan (barely), which was without Mike Hart for most of the game. They got whalloped by Ohio State in their bowl game, and their secondary looked like swiss cheese. Yes, they won their first two games this year. Who'd they beat? 1) Georgia Tech, which simply didn't know how to use Calvin Johson, and 2) Penn State, which was still struggling to find its identity after graduating Michael Robinson. Michigan exposed Notre Dame's weaknesses and kept Quinn and his recievers off the field with a dominating running game. Michigan's run defense made the Irish offense predictable and impotent.

Auburn/Florida
These two teams are both worthy of a top 5 ranking, Auburn moreso than Florida. They just have the misfortune of playing in the toughest conference in America. It's amazing if an SEC team can make it out undefeated. If I were voting I would have these teams ranked ahead of West Virginia, Lousiville, and USC. They both have punishing and quick defenses. Kenny Irons for Auburn, when he get going, he runs like an animal. Brandon Cox is great at managing a game, and while he might not be able to win a game singlehandedly, he won't make the mistake that loses it. For Florida, Leak and Tebow are a two-headed monster that can just eat up opposing defenses.

Auburn is probably the more talented team, but is not as well-coached. Why do I say this? Talent wins games. Coaching loses it. Superior talent wins out. Coaching is only as good as the players listening. However, the inability to properly utilize talent (i.e. coaching) will lose games. Auburn had the talent to win their game against Florida. I think they would beat Arkansas if the two played again today. They just got caught looking ahead to the big matchup by a very well-coached Razorback team. They found their hunger after losing (you don't appreciate some things until you lose them) and came out spirited against the Gators. Florida could not overcome the energized Tigers.


So how does this bode for the Wolverines? Will they fall into the same mindset as Auburn? Are they overrated like Notre Dame? Are pollsters inflating their ranking to get another #1 vs #2 matchup?

Michigan is not overrated. They deserve to be in the top five. Why? Because they have risen up from #14. They were underdogs early, and beat quality opponents to get to where they are. It is harder to rise to the top than to stay there. Is there ranking inflation? Sure. But it doesn't change the fact that Michigan deserves a high ranking. Will Michigan get caught looking ahead to OSU? That's a question that'll be answered this weekend. Iowa has a very good team looking to come back from an embarrassing loss to Indiana. They would like nothing more than to ruin Michigan's season. It's up to what Coach Carr is telling his players, and if his players have the right attitude.