Football Ranked 15th in Preseason Coaches Poll
8/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The University of Michigan football team will begin the 2006 season ranked 15th in the USA Today Coaches poll released today (Aug. 4). The Wolverines are the second-highest ranked Big Ten Conference team, trailing preseason No. 1 Ohio State, and is listed just ahead of No. 17 Iowa and No. 19 Penn State in the poll.
U-M received 778 points from the coaches after finishing unranked at the end of the 2005 season, the school's first appearance outside the top 25 of the final polls since 1984. This is the first time in the past nine seasons that Michigan will enter the season outside the top 10 of the national polls.
Michigan opens its 127th season of gridiron action on Saturday, Sept. 2, against Vanderbilt at Michigan Stadium. The game will be broadcast nationally by ESPN at noon EDT.
Following is the preseason top 25 coaches poll:
| | School | W-L* | Points | Prev |
| 1. | Ohio State (28) | 10-2 | 1,487 | 4 |
| 2. | Texas (11) | 13-0 | 1,378 | 1 |
| 3. | Notre Dame (9) | 9-3 | 1,348 | 11 |
| | Southern California (1) | 12-1 | 1,348 | 2 |
| 5. | Oklahoma (13) | 8-4 | 1,320 | 22 |
| 6. | Auburn (1) | 9-3 | 1,206 | 14 |
| 7. | West Virginia | 11-1 | 1,202 | 6 |
| 8. | Florida | 9-3 | 1,054 | 16 |
| 9. | Louisiana State | 11-2 | 1,037 | 5 |
| 10. | Florida State | 8-5 | 1,014 | 8 |
| 11. | Miami, Fla. | 9-3 | 839 | 18 |
| 12. | California | 8-4 | 798 | 25 |
| 13. | Louisville | 9-3 | 785 | 20 |
| 14. | Georgia | 10-3 | 784 | 10 |
| 15. | Michigan | 7-5 | 778 | NR |
| 16. | Virginia Tech | 11-2 | 591 | 7 |
| 17. | Iowa | 7-5 | 519 | NR |
| 18. | Clemson | 8-4 | 493 | 21 |
| 19. | Penn State | 11-1 | 406 | 3 |
| 20. | Oregon | 10-2 | 373 | 12 |
| 21. | Texas Christian | 11-1 | 270 | 9 |
| 22. | Nebraska | 8-4 | 261 | 24 |
| 23. | Tennessee | 5-6 | 216 | NR |
| 24. | Alabama | 10-2 | 210 | 8 |
| 25. | Texas Tech | 9-3 | 198 | 19 |
First-place votes in parentheses; * 2005 season final record
