AP Top 25: Michigan Fully Embracing Underdog Role

The unranked Wolverines are looking to prove a lot of folks wrong by the time the 2021 season comes to an end.

The Associated Press released its first Top 25 poll of the 2021 season on Monday, with Alabama once again sitting at the top of the college football mountain.

No. 1 Alabama tops the preseason AP Top 25 while Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia round out the top five. Cincinnati, Iowa State and North Carolina all make the top 10.

Full poll presented by @askRegions: https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j pic.twitter.com/lQS5VIjDcU

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) August 16, 2021

Locally, the Big Ten conference features five teams within the AP Top 20 - including No. 4 Ohio State, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 17 Indiana, No. 18 Iowa and No. 19 Penn State.  Notably, both Michigan and Michigan State failed to make the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2010 - though Michigan did receive 12 votes.

Coming off of a horrible 2-4 season in 2020, the unranked Wolverines will look to get back on track in 2021.  With question marks remaining at several key positions, Michigan wont have much time to sort things out as No. 20 Washington is scheduled to arrive in Ann Arbor on Sept. 11 for a primetime matchup in the Big House.

In total, Michigan will face five of the preseason AP Top 25 teams during the upcoming season - No. 4 Ohio State, at No, 12 Wisconsin, No. 17 Indiana and at No. 19 Penn State.

Though the underdog role is not something the Wolverines are typically used to, senior captain Aidan Hutchinson says he's fully embracing it.

"One of the reasons I came back was to change this culture because I knew I was going to be a big part of it. I know guys see me as the leader. If you see a guy that's invested as much as me - and I'm the leader of the team - good things are only going to come out of that. That's why I've tried so hard this spring ball and this offseason to be this leader - its because I'm the leader of this team and I've got to set the example for these guys, and build a better foundation of culture just to get these guys fully invested in themselves and in the team."

"You look on social media, you look anywhere, and we're seen as...you can't find a single good thing about Michigan Football on social media anywhere. That's great and I love it. This is the first year for in Michigan Football for me that we've been seen as underdogs. Usually we're ranked top 15, top 10 sometimes, and this year we're not even ranked and I love it. I hope people continue to see us as the underdogs. Once we get rolling, you'll see the speed, the athleticism of this defense and our team. We're going to get rolling."

Below is a complete breakdown of the preseason AP Top 25 rankings:

Associated Press Top 25 By Conference

• SEC — 5 
• Big Ten — 5
• Pac-12 — 5 
• ACC — 3 
• Big 12 — 3 
• Sun Belt — 2 
• American — 1
• Independent — 1 

Associated Press Top 25

1. Alabama (47), 1548 points

2. Oklahoma (6), 1462

3. Clemson (6), 1447

4. Ohio State (1), 1393

5. Georgia (3), 1364

6. Texas A&M, 1223

7. Iowa State, 1160

8. Cincinnati, 1014

9. Notre Dame, 1009

10. North Carolina, 999

11. Oregon, 968

12. Wisconsin, 743

13. Florida, 728

14. Miami (Fla.), 663

15. USC, 660

16. LSU, 631

17. Indiana, 549

18. Iowa, 513

19. Penn State, 456

20. Washington, 449

21. Texas, 350

22. Coastal Carolina, 232

23. Louisiana-Lafayette, 208

24. Utah, 176

25. Arizona State, 125

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 107, Ole Miss 106, TCU 40, Liberty 36, Auburn 32, N.C. State 14, Michigan 12, Northwestern 8, Boise State 7, Nevada 7, Brigham Young 6, Ball State 6, Houston 5, Boston College 5, UCF 5, West Virginia 3, UAB 2, Army 2, UCLA 2