The Michigan Wolverines wasted a stellar defensive performance on Saturday, losing 13-6 to the Indiana Hoosiers. In part due to the struggles of first-time starting quarterback Tommy Carr, the offense repeatedly stalled out, failing to reach the end zone once in the contest. Still, Michigan had a chance thanks to a suffocating pass defense that held Indiana signal-caller Josh Hoover to just 81 yards and forced an interception, but the offense fell short again in overtime.

Next weekend's trip to Piscataway looks considerably less imposing. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights have won just two games so far in 2026, beating FCS Howard back in September and defeating a Maryland program that fired its head coach following the contest. Accordingly, if Michigan emerges victorious on Saturday, the victory probably won't help much in the national polls.

All of which provides the backdrop to this week's national polling.

No one should feel shocked that the AP poll continues to ignore Michigan. The AP hasn't ranked the Wolverines since Week 4 and hasn't given them any votes since Week 5. While taking the defending champs to overtime sounds nice on paper, the near-complete lack of offensive production won't win over voters anytime soon.

After holding steady a week ago, Michigan fell four spots in the ESPN SP+ rankings following the loss to Indiana. The Wolverines still have a highly regarded defense (third overall by SP+), but neither the offense nor the defense rank inside the top 80 nationally.

As with SP+, Michigan fell slightly in ESPN's Football Power Index, dropping two spots to No. 34 overall. Because the Iowa Hawkeyes dropped a game in the Twin Cities this weekend, the Wolverines actually managed to slip ahead of them in the Big Ten FPI rankings. Still, that says more about Iowa than anything else.

A week after moving up two spots to No. 33 overall in The Athletic's rankings, Michigan dropped right back to No. 35. That feels about right for a program that can't seem to get out of its own way.

CBS Sports must have taken notes from The Athletic, as Michigan dropped by the same number of spots as it moved up a week earlier. Currently, the Wolverines come in at No. 45 on CBS Sports' rankings, just behind one of their upcoming opponents, the Oregon Ducks.

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