Michigan running back Justice Haynes (22) runs for a touchdown against Central Michigan during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Where Fox Sports has Michigan in Big Ten power rankings heading into conference play

Originally posted on Michigan Wolverines on SI
By Seth Berry | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 6:15 PM ET

No. 21 Michigan football (2-1) has completed its three out of conference games and is set for Big Ten play when it travels to Nebraska (3-0) to take on the Huskers on Saturday afternoon to open the conference season.

That means in a sense, Michigan can start with a clean slate as none of the previous games mattered as it relates to the conference standings. With many expecting the Wolverines to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff spot heading into the season and be a top four team in the conference, falling too much outside of the top four would likely be considered a disappointment compared to expectations coming in.

Heading into conference play, Fox Sports' Michael Cohen listed off his power rankings for teams in the Big Ten and placed the Wolverines at No. 6, behind Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Illinois and Indiana (from 1-5 in order).

"This was the kind of performance Michigan fans have always wanted to see from true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood," Cohen wrote about the team's performance from last weekend against CMU. Sure, Underwood had moments of brilliance with his arm in the season-opening win over New Mexico in which he threw for 251 yards and a touchdown. But fans and analysts alike were puzzled by his — or the coaching staff’s — apparent aversion to incorporating quarterback runs through the first two weeks, the kind of dual-threat plays that Oklahoma signal-caller John Mateer used to topple the Wolverines last Saturday on a night when Underwood only completed 37.5% of his passes.

Nebraska checked in at No. 7 just behind the Wolverines in Cohen's rankings. The rest of the analyst's rankings for teams in the Big Ten after Week 3 looks like this:

8. USC

9. Washington

10. Michigan State

11. Iowa

12. Minnesota

13. Maryland

14. Rutgers

15. Wisconsin

16. Purdue

17. Northwestern

18. UCLA

It's fair to say that Michigan will need to get off to a quality start in Big Ten play and find a way to beat the Huskers on the road to avoid a situation where the team would have little margin for error moving forward if they start the year with a 2-2 record.