Michigan Football jumps up ESPN’s FPI rankings after win at Rutgers – Maize n Brew

Following the close win over Rutgers on Saturday, Michigan Football moved up ESPN’s FPI rankings once again:
It may not have been pretty (it so rarely has been in 2026), but the Michigan Wolverines picked up the win at Rutgers on Saturday, 28-21, advancing to 5-3 overall (2-3 Big Ten) on the year.
As a reward for its performance, the ESPN FPI rankings bumped Michigan one single spot to No. 33 in the country with an Index score of 10.7.
The Wolverines are projected for 6.7 wins — a boost that feels more telling of No. 2 Ohio State’s (26.2) and No. 12 Oregon’s (17.4) recent downward trajectories than anything Michigan has done. However, there is still that brief glimpse of hope with a 1.4 percent chance of running the table.
Yet for all us dreamers, the FPI gives the Wolverines a 0.2 percent likelihood of reaching the College Football Playoff and virtually no odds of winning anything significant. This is no surprise, but those aforementioned contests and one with No. 28 UCLA (12.2) could provide bright spots for what has been a frustrating campaign.
Michigan also has an upcoming date with No. 68 Michigan State (0.8) to look forward to this weekend.
Do you believe the Wolverines can squeeze any more life out of this season, or is it already time to start thinking about 2027? Let us know in the comments.
All of your communities in one place.
This is the title for the native ad
Here are 3 things we learned from Michigan Football’s win at Rutgers from over the weekend:
A look at the Michigan vs Michigan State betting odds.
On today’s Out of the Blue podcast, Jared and Andrew break down Michigan Football vs. Rutgers:
Michigan squeaked out a win over Rutgers on Saturday and dropped two spots in ESPN’s SP+ rankings as a result. Here’s where things stand heading into Week 10:
Michigan’s offense bounced back behind freshman QB Tommy Carr, who graded out very highly against Rutgers. Here are all the PFF grades from this week’s game:
Michigan earned the win on Saturday, but now quickly turns the page to the “dirty” rivalry game against Michigan State:
This is the title for the native ad
Be respectful in your interactions with contributors and fellow fans. Go here to read our community guidelines. Trolling of any sort, especially going to rival sites and trolling, is expressly against the rules. If you do it, you'll most likely be permanently banned.
• Go to the My Profile tab for your comment history
• C key scrolls forwards through comments / shift-C scrolls backwards
• Z key jumps to Next Unread / shift-A marks all comments on your screen as read
More tips here. If you’d like to report a bug, email us at support@sbnation.com. If you have a moderation issue, please email moderation@sbnation.com.
Download the new SB Nation app: iOS | Android
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537). Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support (MA). Visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). Call 877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 21+ (18+ D.C.) and present in select states (for KS, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino). Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT) or visit FanDuel.com/RG.
SB Nation is a part of PMX Global, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Media Corporation.
© 2026 VM Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

source