College Football Rankings: Is Michigan Worthy of Their Top 25 Ranking?

The Michigan football program has come into this season with a vengeance.

That sounds oddly familiar to 2009 and 2010 when the Wolverines began those campaigns with 4-0 and 5-0 marks to start the season. This season the Maize and Blue are once again 5-0; the future looks bright in Ann Arbor.

But what else do those two years have in common with 2011? 

None of those opening wins have come against ranked opponents.

Furthermore, Michigan has not beaten a ranked team since picking up a 38-24 win over No. 18 Notre Dame on Sept. 12, 2009. Since then, the Wolverines have dropped their last eight decisions against ranked programs.

Is Michigan worthy of its No. 12 position in the latest college football rankings? Could the Wolverines fall into the same trap of overhype and underperformance?

The answers: yes and yes.

As Woody Paige would say, "If you would just look at the schedule..."

Michigan has played well and deserves some praise, especially in its gut-wrenching 35-31 win over Notre Dame in the first night fixture at the Big House.

But Western Michigan? Eastern Michigan? San Diego State? Minnesota?

These programs hardly make up a convincing argument for why the Wolverines are to be on the same level as Clemson or Arkansas. Credit first-year coach Brady Hoke for getting Michigan on the right foot, but more needs to be done.

Most teams with talent as deep as Michigan should put up bloated offensive numbers against the cupcakes that contribute to the MAC.

As it stands now, Michigan won't play a ranked opponent until Nov. 12 when they take to the road against No. 19 Illinois. The weekend after, the Wolverines host No. 14 Nebraska.

Additionally, Michigan State—if the rest of the field plays accordingly—could work its way back into the top 25 after its idle week.

Chalk it up as three potentially ranked opponents to round out the second half of the season.

What does it mean?

If you are a Michigan fan, you would have to approach tough conference match-ups with cautious optimism.

Denard Robinson may be one of the most explosive playmakers in college football, but he won't win every game. (Can you imagine if he did? Yikes!)

It took Michigan an insane 90-second comeback in the fourth quarter to edge out a marginal Notre Dame team at home.

The Wolverines have yet to go on the road and apart from the game against the Irish, Michigan has yet to win a meaningful game that can hold some water for argument's sake.

Given the number of losses within the top 25 this weekend, Michigan and other programs like Texas and Georgia Tech took bigger leaps than usual. So while the Wolverines are completely deserving of a No. 12 spot, it is a situation that should be approached with a few ounces of trepidation.

Come back in two weeks when the Wolverines are through with consecutive conference road tests and reassess their worth.