Three-Point Stance: Biggest rankings questions, Dukes, Wolverines

Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman has thoughts on where Michigan goes from here, the biggest injustice of the season and a preview of some important rankings discussions.

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Hey Michigan, you're going to be fine.

Look, you got caught cheating. Someone employed by your football program broke the rules. Saying "it's a dumb rule" doesn't change the fact that the rule was broken.

Where did the information come from? Who tipped off the NCAA and Big Ten? It doesn't really matter who blew the whistle. I think we've all moved to the point where we can agree former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions was running a sign-stealing operation that was against NCAA rules. Stalions was clearly on the Central Michigan sideline for the Michigan State game. There's plenty of video showing coaches getting tips from him on the sideline during games. It sounds like every coach in the Big Ten knew this was happening for years. It was so well-known that the TCU coaching staff was tipped off ahead of time and we all saw what happened in that game. This was going to get out at some point.

But look, put all of that aside for a minute and think about this: The powers that be probably won't disqualify the Wolverines from the postseason and that's all that matters right now. Will coaches get suspended? Maybe. Will wins eventually be wiped from the record books? Possibly, but we will know who won those games just like we know Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy in 2005 and USC won the national title in 2004.

Does Harbaugh leave after the season? No? OK, so you've got your star coach back. Yes? You're Michigan. You've been to the College Football Playoff and you've got one of the most talented teams in the country so you're going to have your pick of coaching candidates.

Has the program lost some of the moral high ground? Yes, but how many national champions have been caught committing a major NCAA infraction at one point or another. Don't get banned from the postseason, win the national title and consider yourself part of the club.

By the way, there appears to be very little downside to being part of that club.

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Regardless of what happens with the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, the biggest injustice of the 2023 college football season is James Madison not being eligible for postseason play. The Dukes are undefeated in their second season as an FBS team, they're the best team in the Sun Belt conference and they're the best team in Virginia, home to four other FBS teams and two Power Five teams.

By NCAA rule, there is a two-year acclimation period for teams moving from FCS to FBS and during that period they are not allowed to play in the postseason but James Madison has played a tougher schedule than other teams that recently moved up and have had more success. The Dukes won the Sun Belt East Division last season and will likely do so again this season. The argument that they are not ready to compete simply does not hold water.

James Madison has seemingly met all the off-the-field requirements involved in transitioning to FBS, according to the AP. In fact, James Madison's athletic department revenue in 2022 ($57,800,447) was higher than any team in the Sun Belt and one of the highest of any Group of Five team.

The NCAA already denied James Madison's waiver request back in the spring and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is a JMU graduate, has brought up the possibility he might sue the NCAA.

Liberty University got a waiver from the NCAA to compete as a FBS team in the 2018 season but was seemingly much less qualified than James Madison, especially on the field. The Flames didn't have an FBS conference to go to and they only won more than nine games once in their entire history as a FCS program. James Madison moved directly into the Sun Belt and was one of the best FCS programs in the country, winning at least nine games every year (except the COVID season) since 2013.

So, apparently, the NCAA has decided to penalize the James Madison program by keeping it out of the postseason for two years in a row despite being more than qualified for competition, while not holding Liberty, a private university with deep pockets, to the same standard. At the same time, Michigan remains eligible for the postseason despite a staff member actively cheating for the last few years.

Do the right thing and let the Dukes play.

The postseason rankings update is less than a month away and there are some major questions that the national analyst team will need to address. Here are three of the biggest questions that will come up during rankings meetings.

1. What will the quarterback rankings look like?

It's been an ongoing discussion throughout the rankings cycle, but the quarterback position will be the first big debate when the national analyst team convenes for rankings meetings.

As it currently stands Georgia commit Dylan Raiola holds the top spot followed by Alabama commit Julian Sayin, Ohio State commit Air Noland, Notre Dame commit, CJ Carr, Michigan commit Jadyn Davis and then DJ Lagway, the Florida commit, round out the upper tier of quarterbacks.

We really like all of these quarterbacks but the bulk of the quarterback discussion will revolve around Raiola, Sayin and Lagway. Raiola hasn't done anything to drop but Sayin and Lagway have been upping their game and the analyst team has plenty to discuss on that front. It will be interesting to revisit this list once the postseason rankings update is released.

2. How many five-star wide receivers will there be?

The season Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith has turned in all but assures him the No. 1 ranking at the position and he's firmly in the conversation for No. 1 overall. There won't be much debate about Texas Tech commit Micah Hudson as a five-star. He's been very impressive this season. After those two, there are plenty of five-star candidates.

Tennessee commit Mike Matthews and Texas commit Ryan Wingo are both five-stars right now but there are others who could join or replace them. Texas A&M commit Cameron Coleman nearly landed his fifth star in the preseason rankings update. Also in the discussion will be Ohio State commit Mylan Graham, Clemson commit Bryant Wesco, Miami commit Ny Carr, Notre Dame commit Cam Williams, former Texas A&M commit Dre'lon Miller and Auburn commit Perry Thompson. Each of these prospects brings something special to the field and they can be virtually unguardable at times.

3. Will there be an offensive line rankings shuffle?

The Rivals250 currently does not feature a five-star offensive lineman but that will change with the postseason rankings update. Jordan Seaton will be moved to offensive tackle after showing impressive physical development. He is currently the top-ranked offensive lineman in the nation but will he remain at the top of the list and will he land that fifth star? The odds are good but he has some challengers.

Texas commit Brandon Baker, Ohio State commit Ian Moore, Notre Dame commit Guerby Lambert, Auburn commit DeAndre Carter, LSU commit Weston Davis, South Carolina commit Josiah Thompson and Grant Brix are all impressive prospects who could shoot up the rankings. The postseason rankings update for the offensive line should set the stage for a pivotal all-star evaluation season.