I believe that michigan was ranked high because everyone WANTS to believe that they are good again. They are not.
Having them ranked in the top ten made for a lot of hype in that opening game. 2 top 10 teams going at it...woo...sell tickets, drag in the viewers. fail.
Michigan was not a great 11-1 team last year. Scheduling was in their favor, and this year that should come to light just a little.
But Bama is a freakishly good team. Freakishly is probably under rating them. I dont think they will lose this year. 2 years ago, at the end of the season, they were one of the top 2 or 3 teams in the country, and handed Mich State their butts in a tin can. It was ugly. That was a pretty good, but not great, michigan state team. And they had no chance.
This years michigan team is slightly above average. Denard is a slightly above average QB, and they didnt gameplan to his strength. So blame part of that loss on the coaches.
I just rambled and made very little sense, but basically it comes down to this.
Bama is freakishly good. michigan sucks.