The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/589596
INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS A t 2-0 in conference play — with victories over Maryland and Northwestern — Michigan was the odds-on favorite to win the Big Ten with a 43.7-percent chance, accord- ing to data analyzed and posted by teamrankings.com. However, following its loss to Mich- igan State Oct. 17, the Maize and Blue have fallen three spots. They now boast the fourth-best chance to cap- ture the Big Ten title at 14.5 percent. No. 1 Ohio State, which remains undefeated at 7-0 overall and 3-0 in league competition following its 38- 10 dismantling of Penn State Oct. 17, has the best chance to win the confer- ence, up 15 percentage points from the previous week to 40.1. Big Ten West-leading Iowa, which like the Buckeyes is 7-0 and 3-0 in conference action, checks in second at 24.2 percent, followed by Michigan State (7-0, 3-0) at 15.0 percent. The site also projects won-loss re- cords based on a team's strength of schedule and its odds of being fa- vored in its remaining games. U-M is forecasted to go 9-3 on the year, presumably with a loss to Ohio State; according to teamrankings.com, the Maize and Blue have the worst odds of beating OSU (53.8 percent) among its five final contests. Michigan has a 96.6-percent chance of defeating Rutgers Nov. 7, an 89.5-percent likelihood of topping Indiana Nov. 14, an 87.1-percent pos- sibility of beating Minnesota Oct. 31 and 78.6-percent odds of knocking off Penn State Nov. 21. The site indicates there is also a 40-percent probability that the Wolverines finish 9-3, a 30-percent chance of going 10-2 and a 20-percent chance of finishing 8-4. Win Win Proj. Conf. Conf. Team W-L Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Ohio State 11-1 25.3% 40.1% Iowa 11-1 10.4% 24.2% Michigan State 10-2 3.1% 15.0% Michigan 9-3 43.7% 14.5% Wisconsin 9-3 11.0% 4.8% Nebraska 7-5 0.8% 0.9% Northwestern 7-5 3.4% 0.0% Win Win Proj. Conf. Conf. Team W-L Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Penn State 7-5 1.5% 0.3% Illinois 7-5 0.4% 0.2% Indiana 6-6 0.0% 0.0% Minnesota 5-7 0.4% 0.0% Rutgers 5-7 0.0% 0.0% Maryland 3-9 0.0% 0.0% Purdue 2-10 0.0% 0.0% Student Athlete Of The Month Wrestling Fifth-Year Senior Ben Ralston Growing up in Oxford, Mich., Ben Ralston wasn't certain that he'd end up at the University of Michigan, but after a stellar senior season in which he won the 160-pound state title his path led straight to Ann Arbor. "I didn't really know where I was going to go to college," Ralston explained. "I