Michigan football's spot in first AP Poll of 2023 revealed
Michigan football’s spot in the first AP top-25 poll of the 2023 season has been revealed with the Wolverines debuting at No. 2. Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama and LSU round out the top five.
The preseason ranking of No. 2 is the program’s highest since the 1991 season. This is the fourth time since head coach Jim Harbaugh arrived that the Wolverines are ranked inside of the top 10 and the first time inside the top five.
The rest of the top ten includes USC, Penn State, Florida State, Clemson and Washington. Five Big Ten schools were included in the first poll of the season in Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Michigan is at +180 to win the Big Ten, second behind Ohio State at +165 according to Fanduel’s most recent odds. The Wolverines are at +850 to win the national championship. Michigan is coming off back-to-back wins over Ohio State, two Big Ten titles and a pair of appearances in the College Football Playoff.
Here is the full AP Poll released on Monday afternoon ahead of the 2023 season.
1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. LSU
6. USC
7. Penn State
8. Florida State
9. Clemson
10. Washington
11. Texas
12. Tennessee
13. Notre Dame
14. Utah
15. Oregon
16. Kansas State
17. TCU
18. Oregon State
19. Wisconsin
20. Oklahoma
21. North Carolina
22. Ole Miss
23. Texas A&M
24. Tulane
25. Iowa
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Michigan facing ‘championship or bust’ season?
With major expectations around the 2023 season for Michigan, some have labeled this a potential “championship or bust” campaign for the Wolverines. Members of the program have pushed back against that assertion, but still embrace the high expectations.
“Championship or bust? What does that mean? That doesn’t mean anything to me,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said at Big Ten Football Media Days. “Same as we always are, the way we go into every year — our goals are to win the (Big Ten) championship, win the national championship, to beat Michigan State, to beat Ohio State, to beat Penn State. I mean, we have so many good teams that we play, so many football fights.
“I haven’t heard one football player say that ‘It’s championship or bust.’ I’ve heard that media-driven slogan but that means nothing, that word bust.”
For now the attention is on Michigan’s fall camp, which enters its third week on Monday. Two more weeks of camp are on the horizon before a game week to prepare for the season opener on Sept. 2 against East Carolina. Harbaugh is expected to be on the sidelines for the opener and throughout the 2023 season while his saga with the NCAA investigation into recruiting violations continues.
