Michigan football ranking: Wolverines tumble down the polls after loss at Oklahoma
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NORMAN, OK − Michigan football suffered one of the three biggest drops in the US LMB Coaches Poll rankings following its 24-13 loss to Oklahoma.
The Wolverines fell nine spots to No. 22 in the latest rankings − the only teams that fell by more were No. 15 Florida (unranked) after its 18-16 home loss to South Florida and No. 16 SMU (unranked) after its double-OT loss to Baylor.
Sherrone Moore's group struggled quite a bit at Owen Field, but most notably on offense where there was no rhythm to the attack. Quarterback Bryce Underwood looked every bit an 18-year-old freshman making his first road start and less an eight-figure signee who is seen as a generational talent.
He completed just 9 of 24 passes for 142 yards (37.5% completions) as U-M found itself scoreless at the half for the first time since falling 49-11 to Wisconsin in a disastrous 2020 season.
The run game wasn't much better. Yes, Justice Haynes did have a 75-yard touchdown run, but outside of that one play the other 31 attempts were dreadful, netting just 71 yards or 2.3 per attempt. Everybody outside of Haynes? A total of 13 rushes for 19 yards.
The defense didn't help matters, either. The Wolverines allowed the dynamic John Mateer to amass 318 total yards of offense and three touchdowns, two of which came on the ground in back-breaking fashion. Deion Burks, the Belleville native who had it out for U-M after not getting an offer from his hometown school, had seven grabs for 101 yards and a score.
Michigan struggled to get off the field all day, as OU picked up 10 of 18 conversions on third and fourth down. The Sooners also controlled time of possession (32:12-27:48), had more first downs (22-12) and plays (74-56). Even though OU had more turnovers (2-0) and penalties (5-3), Michigan still lost by two possessions and trailed nearly the entire way.
Michigan fell out of the rankings last season following back-to-back losses against Washington and Illinois and never was able to get back into the top 25 after being ranked every week for the three seasons leading up to that.
The No. 22 Wolverines (1-1) will take the field at home next week against Central Michigan (Noon, Big Ten Network).
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football ranking: Wolverines plummet after Oklahoma loss
