Wolverines Eighth in Preseason Associated Press Poll
8/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The University of Michigan football team will begin the 2004 season listed No. 8 in the preseason Associated Press media poll released today (Saturday, Aug. 14), one spot lower than its No. 7 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll released July 30. The Wolverines received 1,223 points from the media after finishing the 2003 season as the Big Ten Conference champion with a 10-3 record and No. 6 final ranking in the AP poll.
Southern California earned the top spot in the preseason media poll by receiving 48 of 65 first-place votes and 1,603 points. After spending most of last season as the top-ranked team, Oklahoma begins the year No. 2, followed by No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Louisiana State, No. 5 Florida State, No. 6 Miami (Fla.) and No. 7 Texas. The Sooners received 11 first-place votes, the Bulldogs grabbed five and the Tigers got the remaining first-place vote. The Wolverines were the top-ranked Big Ten Conference team at No. 8, one spot ahead of rival Ohio State, with West Virginia rounding out the top 10.
The Big Ten leads all conferences with six teams in the preseason poll. The Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference each has five teams. The Big Ten's representatives are: No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 19 Iowa, No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 24 Purdue and No. 25 Minnesota.
U-M enters the 2004 season having appeared in the top 25 of the 92 Associated Press polls, the longest streak in the nation, a streak that spans 70 games.
Michigan opens its 125th season against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Sept. 4, at Michigan Stadium. The game will be televised regionally by ABC Sports starting at noon EDT.
Associated Press National Ranking Notes
U-M has been ranked in every poll for the past four seasons and has been listed in the national rankings every time since Oct. 24, 1998, the longest streak in the nation.
The Wolverines have been ranked in the top 25 for all but four of Lloyd Carr's 112 career games (all during the 1998 season).
Since the preseason 1988 poll, U-M has been listed in every poll except three in 1993 and four in 1998.
Michigan has been listed in the top 10 of the polls 57 times during Carr's tenure.
U-M ranks No. 1 all-time in composite AP final football polls (1936-2003), passing Notre Dame for the top spot after last season's No. 6 final ranking.
The Wolverines have finished in the top 10 of the AP poll 36 times since its inception in 1936.
Michigan has finished in the final top 25 rankings 52 times since the inception of the AP poll in 1936.
U-M has finished in the top 25 rankings each of the past 19 seasons and 34 of the past 35 years (was not ranked in 1984 and did not receive a final AP ranking in 1982).
Following is the Associated Press preseason top 25 poll:
School W-L* Points Prev 1. Southern California (48) 12-1 1,603 1 2. Oklahoma (11) 12-2 1,529 3 3. Georgia (5) 11-3 1,480 7 4. Louisiana State (1) 13-1 1,446 2 5. Florida State 10-3 1,291 11 6. Miami, Fla. 11-2 1,287 5 7. Texas 10-3 1,236 12 8. MICHIGAN 10-3 1,223 6 9. Ohio State 11-2 1,005 4 10. West Virginia 8-5 937 NR 11. Florida 8-5 836 24 12. Kansas State 11-4 763 14 13. California 8-6 744 NR 14. Tennessee 10-3 658 15 15. Clemson 9-4 638 22 16. Virginia 8-5 627 NR 17. Auburn 8-5 540 NR 18. Missouri 8-5 525 NR 19. Iowa 10-3 518 8 20. Utah 10-2 446 21 21. Wisconsin 7-6 328 NR 22. Maryland 10-3 310 17 23. Oregon 8-5 200 NR 24. Purdue 9-4 153 18 25. Minnesota 10-3 142 20
First-place votes in parentheses; * 2003 season final record
