A week after a disappointing overtime loss to the defending champions, the Michigan Wolverines got back in the win column by defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 28-21. Freshman quarterback Tommy Carr rebounded from his previous outing, producing 266 passing yards and three total touchdowns, including the game-winner.

This upcoming Saturday, the Wolverines will look to stack wins for the first time since September when they host the Michigan State Spartans. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. If Michigan emerges victorious, perhaps the program will begin to make real progress in the polls.

All of which provides the backdrop to this week's national polling.

AP Top 25

A win over Rutgers had no real chance to win over AP Top 25 voters, let alone one with a mere seven-point margin of victory. As we have noted for a while, the AP has not ranked the Wolverines since Week 4 and hasn't given them any votes since Week 5. This Saturday's home matchup with Michigan State probably won't win many hearts and minds either.

The Wolverines' slow slide in the ESPN SP+ rankings continues. Over the last two weeks combined, they have fallen six total spots. Michigan now finds itself sandwiched between a non-Power Four program (the Liberty Flames) and a team that has already fired its head coach (the Baylor Bears).

While ESPN's other major program metric saw Michigan fall, the team actually moved up by the slightest margin in the Football Power Index, jumping one spot to No. 33 overall. Considering their three losses (and the near losses), that might not seem so terrible. However, the Wolverines rank behind nine other Big Ten schools, including one they beat last month (the Penn State Nittany Lions).

Once again, the Wolverines ping-pong in the 30 range of The Athletic's weekly rankings. Last week, they dropped to No. 34 overall. This time, they've jumped up to No. 32. Unless and until Michigan delivers a statement win (or suffers an embarrassing loss), don't expect the team's standing to change much here.

The Wolverines made a little progress on CBS Sports' weekly rankings, jumping three spots to No. 42 overall. Other than Michigan State, all of Michigan's upcoming opponents rank inside the top 30, and two currently reside among the top 10 (the Indiana Hoosiers and Ohio State Buckeyes).

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