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CBS Sports writer has both Michigan, Michigan State on list of overrated teams
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The USA TODAY Coaches Poll came out Thursday and according to the coaches, Michigan should be ranked No. 7 in the country, while Michigan State should be ranked No. 20.
That’s fair, right?
Absolutely wrong. Well, according to Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports, the poll is absolutely wrong. He actually believes that both the Wolverines and Spartans are overrated.
Fornelli made a list of the five most overrated teams and at No. 5, he has Michigan. Here’s what he has to say about the Wolverines, which, doesn’t seem to make the most amount of sense:
“Listen, I am fully on board with Michigan heading into the regular season. I think this is the season that the Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh will get over the hump, beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten. Because, seriously, if not now, when?
“All that said, it’d be dishonest of me while writing a post like this to ignore that Michigan is slightly overrated to start the season. The Wolverines will start at No. 7 while Florida, the team that beat them 41-15 in the Peach Bowl in December, starts at No. 8. Does that seem right to you? Plus, during Harbaugh’s tenure with the Wolverines, they’re 1-9 against top 10 teams. So while I believe Michigan is going to finish in the top five and possibly reach the CFP, I have a hard time putting it this high when it has performed so poorly against teams of this caliber in recent years.”
Again, Fornelli almost praises Michigan here and says they should win the Big Ten and finish in the top five.
Anyway, moving on to Michigan State, who Fornelli is certainly down on. He has the Spartans as his most overrated team going into 2019:
“You see, I can’t get past last season. The Spartans have a lot of returning production from 2018’s offense, but did you see the 2018 Michigan State offense? It wasn’t very good! This is an offense that averaged 18.7 points per game and scored 14 points or fewer in six of its 13 contests. Furthermore, Michigan State is still in one of the more difficult divisions in college football and has to play Northwestern, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan all on the road. There are also challenging home dates with Arizona State and Penn State. If this team wins 10 games again, it will have earned them, but I have a difficult time believing that’s going to be the case. I don’t know that Michigan State will be a top 40 team in 2019, let alone a top 20 team.”
Fornelli doesn’t only believe that Michigan State belongs outside the top 20. He believes that won’t even be a top 40 team in 2019.
Ouch.
Fornelli’s entire article can be read here.
Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.