By the Numbers: Where the computers rank Michigan after Week 5

Michigan football passed its road test against Iowa, a consensus top 40 team by the computers.

Various rankings come out each week, including the AP & Coaches Polls.

In this weekly segment, we'll get away from human polls, go into the computers, and see what the various analytical-based rankings had to say about U-M each week.

Heading into its Week 6 matchup at Indiana, where do the computers rank the Wolverines?

What is FPI?

ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) is a predictive rating system designed to measure team strength and project performance going forward. The ultimate goal of FPI is not to rank teams 1 through 128; rather, it is to correctly predict games and season outcomes. If Vegas ever published the power rankings it uses to set its lines, they would likely look quite a lot like FPI.

Rank: 4th

Previously: 4th

Notable rankings: Georgia (3rd), Texas (6th), Utah (7th), LSU (8th), USC (11th), Penn State (12th), Maryland (21st), Purdue (29th), Michigan State (32nd), Illinois (38th), Iowa (42nd), Indiana (79th)

Michigan stayed put in the FPI, and Texas is still garnering love from ESPN's system, while Penn State remains a mid-tier top 25 team, according to this system.

What is ESPN SP+?

In a single sentence, it's a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. SP+ is intended to be predictive and forward-facing. That is important to remember. It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling — no good predictive system is. It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.

Rank: 4th

Previously: 4th

Notable rankings: Ohio State (2nd), Texas (5th), Oklahoma (6th), Minnesota (10th), Penn State (14th), UCLA (16th), Clemson (18th), Purdue (25th), USC (27th), Iowa (29th), Indiana (83rd)

Michigan is cemented at the four-spot in the human and computer polls, which is a rare consensus among a group of polls that almost always disagree on the order of top four teams in college football.

Somehow, Oklahoma (3-2) is better than undefeated Clemson but welcome to the SP+, where something crazy, like Michigan being a top 10 team through three games in 2021, ends up coming to fruition before it's all said and done.

What (who) is Sagarin?

Jeff Sagarin made a rating and predictive system, then named it after, well, himself! It's an excellent way to look at ratings and determine scores in games by how closely or not close two teams rank. Sometimes, it can predict closer games in lopsided matchups or blowouts in closer games on paper.

Rank: 5th

Previously: 5th

Notable rankings: Utah (4th), Clemson (6th), USC (9th), LSU (13th), Penn State (16th), Maryland (34th), Iowa (36th), Michigan State (50th), Indiana (86th)

Utah replaces Oklahoma in last week's fourth-spot on Sagarin, while Michigan's road win at top 40 Iowa leaves it at 5th.

Elsewhere, Penn State remains a mid-tier top 25 team in all three compute rankings while Maryland continues to rise and Iowa still ranks 14 spots ahead of MSU.

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