Things aren't going too well for the defending champions seven games into the season.

After losing to Illinois on Saturday, Michigan dropped out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in Sherrone Moore's first season at the helm. The Wolverines are 4-3 on the year after dropping games to Texas, Washington and now the Fighting Illini.

The Wolverines had what appeared to be a good win over USC in Week 4, but that victory has proved to not be as impressive in recent weeks as the Trojans are now 3-4 on the season. Michigan barely avoided an upset the following week with a 27-24 win over Minnesota.

Now the Wolverines have lost back-to-back games and find themselves nearly out of the Big Ten race and far removed from the College Football Playoff picture.

There's a chance that Moore and Michigan can redeem their season, but it will be tough. The Wolverines will face five straight Big Ten opponents to close out the year, starting next week against their rival Michigan State. Also included in that stretch is No. 1 Oregon, No. 13 Indiana and finally, No. 4 Ohio State.

It was somewhat expected that Michigan would take a step back after head coach Jim Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers following a championship season, but three losses through the halfway point in the year is a much steeper drop-off than fans likely anticipated.

With a tough schedule remaining, the Wolverines could be fighting for bowl eligibility in the final weeks of the season rather than fighting for Playoff positioning.