Wolverines Ranked No. 9 in Final Media and Coaches Polls
1/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
U-M was listed as high as No. 7 this season and fell no lower than 15th in either poll. The Wolverines will enter the 2003 season having appeared in the top 25 of the last 78 Associated Press polls, the longest streak in the nation, a streak that spans 57 straight games.
Ohio State was the unanimous 2002 national champion after beating defending champion Miami (Fla.) 31-24 in two overtimes in the Fiesta Bowl last night (Jan. 3) in Tempe, Ariz. The top five remained unchanged in both polls, with Miami finishing No. 2, followed by No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Southern California and No. 5 Oklahoma.
All three setbacks by the Wolverines came against teams ranked in the final Top 20 of the polls, losing to national champion Ohio State, No. 8 Iowa and No. 17 Notre Dame. In addition to the three top 10 teams from the Big Ten, Penn State finished No. 15 in the coaches poll and No. 16 in the AP to round out the conference's representation.
Associated Press National Ranking Notes
This is the 35th time that the Wolverines have finished in the top 10 of the AP poll since its inception in 1936.
Michigan has been ranked in every poll for the past three seasons and has been listed in the national rankings every time since Oct. 24, 1998, the longest streak in the nation.
Since the preseason 1988 poll, U-M has been ranked in every poll but three in 1993 and four in 1998.
The Wolverines have been ranked in the top 25 for all but four of Lloyd Carr's 99 career games (all during the 1998 season).
Michigan has been listed in the top 10 of the polls 44 times during Carr's tenure.
This is the 51st time since the inception of the AP poll in 1936 that Michigan has finished in the final top 25 rankings.
U-M has finished in the top 25 rankings each of the past 18 seasons and 33 of the past 34 years (was not ranked in 1984 and did not receive a final AP ranking in 1982).
The Wolverines rank No. 2 all-time in composite AP final football polls, trailing only Notre Dame (1936-2002).
Final Associated Press Poll (Jan. 4)
Rank, Team Record Points Prev 1. Ohio State (71) 14-0 1,775 2 2. Miami, Fla. 12-1 1,693 1 3. Georgia 13-1 1,598 4 4. Southern Cal 11-2 1,590 5 5. Oklahoma 12-2 1,476 8 6. Texas 11-2 1,363 9 7. Kansas State 11-2 1,356 6 8. Iowa 11-2 1,334 3 9. MICHIGAN 10-3 1,182 12 10. Washington State 10-3 1,085 7 11. Alabama 10-3 988 13 12. North Carolina State 11-3 943 17 13. Maryland 11-3 844 20 14. Auburn 9-4 821 19 15. Boise State 12-1 692 18 16. Penn State 9-4 675 10 17. Notre Dame 10-3 657 11 18. Virginia Tech 10-4 544 21 19. Pittsburgh 9-4 520 24 20. Colorado 9-5 307 14 21. Florida State 9-5 291 16 22. Virginia 9-5 250 NR 23. Texas Christian 10-2 231 NR 24. Marshall 11-2 201 NR 25. West Virginia 9-4 195 15
Final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Jan. 4)
Rank, Team Record Points Prev 1. Ohio State (61) 14-0 1,525 2 2. Miami, Fla. 12-1 1,451 1 3. Georgia 13-1 1,378 4 4. Southern Cal 11-2 1,362 5 5. Oklahoma 12-2 1,244 8 6. Kansas State 11-2 1,230 6 7. Texas 11-2 1,140 9 8. Iowa 11-2 1,105 3 9. MICHIGAN 10-3 1,011 11 10. Washington State 10-3 932 7 11. North Carolina State 11-3 876 17 12. Boise State 12-1 808 15 13. Maryland 11-3 803 18 14. Virginia Tech 10-4 644 19 15. Penn State 9-4 619 10 16. Auburn 9-4 579 22 17. Notre Dame 10-3 525 12 18. Pittsburgh 9-4 486 23 19. Marshall 11-2 333 24 20. West Virginia 9-4 486 23 21. Colorado 9-5 291 14 22. Texas Christian 10-2 274 NR 23. Florida State 9-5 219 16 24. Florida 8-5 145 20 25. Virginia 9-5 141 NR
Tracking Michigan in the 2002 Polls
Associated ESPN/ Date Press USA Today Preseason 12 10 Aug. 26 13 10 Sept. 2 7 7 Sept. 8 7 6 Sept. 15 14 14 Sept. 22 14 14 Sept. 29 14 13 Oct. 6 13 10 Oct. 13 11 9 Oct. 20 8 8 Oct. 27 15 13 Nov. 3 13 11 Nov. 10 12 10 Nov. 17 12 9 Nov. 24 12 14 Dec. 1 13 11 Dec. 8 12 11 Final 9 9
Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
