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Michigan comes in at 17th in ESPN FPI Projection

On Thursday, ESPN released their FPI projection of all 130 teams. The Big Ten came in the top 25 as follows:

1. Ohio State

8. Penn State

10. Wisconsin

17. Michigan

Other rankings: 29. Northwestern, 39. Iowa, 55. Minnesota, 58. Nebraska, 59. Michigan State, 61. Indiana, 72. Maryland, 84. Illinois, 88. Rutgers, 99. Purdue

Per ESPN, “The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”

Ohio State came in with an FPI index of 29, with No. 2 Alabama the closest at 25.9, No. 17 Michigan at 13.7.

Michigan was predicted to win 8.3 games and lose 3.7 for 2017, so somewhere between 8-4 and 9-3 overall. Last year, the FPI projected Michigan to go 11-2 and end No. 11 nationally. The Wolverines finished 10-3 and ended No. 10 in the fin AP Poll.