It’s July, the month of hot takes and bold predictions — or downright terrible takes. That’s what it’s been lately revolving around the Michigan football program. Not many outside of the building are giving the Wolverines much of a chance this upcoming fall season. After Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL and some star players left, Michigan is being predicted as the third or fourth-best team in the Big Ten behind Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State this season.
While that’s fair given the current circumstances and the unknown, some are just being downright disrespectful when talking about the reigning national champions. Just like former Ohio State O-lineman Kirk Barton has been doing. Barton’s Ohio State X(Twitter) account, Buckeye Scoop, has turned into a Michigan troll site. The latest thing to come from the fan account is saying “Michigan is going to have the biggest drop off in College Football History”.
He then lists four reasons as to why that’s true: 1. No more cheating 2. Star players transferred out/Left for draft 3. Super Seniors Graduated 4. Coaches Left — along with DraftKings over/under win total for Michigan in 2024 at nine wins.
Michigan is going to have the biggest drop off in College Football History.
1. No more cheating
2. Star players transferred out/Left for draft
3. Super Seniors Graduated
4. Coaches Left
If you disagree with me then bet on it!!!! LOL!! pic.twitter.com/ugmwcevpUT
— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) July 11, 2024
There are two things he said that are true: coaches did leave and the super seniors did graduate. But those other takes are just flat-out wrong. Let’s examine.
The NCAA notified the Big Ten and Michigan back on October 18 that they received allegations that the Wolverines were involved in some sort of sign-stealing scheme. There’s no reason to dive deeper into that hole when we all know what transpired. But the point of bringing that date back up is because it was a few days before Michigan was set to play in East Lansing at Michigan State. It was Week 8 of the 2023 football season and all teams were aware of what Michigan may have been doing.
The Wolverines, with MSU being careful of signing plays from the sideline, thrashed their rivals, 49-0. Michigan then beat Purdue. Jim Harbaugh was then suspended for the rest of the regular season. By that time, teams would’ve all changed their signs and signals before facing Michigan. But it didn’t matter, Michigan beat Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State. The Wolverines beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship. Beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl and then Washington to become National Champions.
Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh holds the National Championship Trophy as he celebrates after winning 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game against the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports / Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Every single opponent Michigan played, starting with MSU, was well aware of what the Wolverines might’ve been doing. If those teams kept the same signs when facing Michigan — they deserved to lose. Obviously, every team changed what they were doing, so Michigan going 15-0 in 2023 had zero to do with ‘cheating’. It’s okay to admit the Wolverines were the best team in the country last season, but some Buckeye fans go straight to the coping mechanism when talking about Michigan.
Now, moving onto players leaving Michigan. The whole ‘star players transferred’ is completely wrong as well. The fact is, the Wolverines did have 17 players transfer out this season. But only one player had an impact on Michigan’s national title run in 2023 — safety Keon Sabb who left for Alabama. A guy like DJ Waller Jr. was expected to play a ton in 2024, but he wasn’t a huge contributor in 2023 and the rest of the players wanted to go somewhere where they would play in 2024. So that narrative can be squashed.
Rival fans are correct when they say star players left for the NFL. But only two Wolverines left as juniors: J.J. McCarthy and Junior Colson. The rest were true seniors or fifth-year seniors when they left for the 2024 NFL Draft. It wasn’t a mass exodus like some were saying. Will it be hard to replace Blake Corum, the offensive line, Michael Barret, Mike Sainristil, and Josh Wallace?
Yes, but that leads into the next point. Michigan returns a ton of star power in 2024.
Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham looks to tackle Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. during the second half of U-M’s 34-13 win in the College Football Playoff national championship game in Houston on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. / Melanie Maxwell / USA TODAY NETWORK
Three Wolverines are already being honored as preseason All-Americans: Colston Loveland, Will Johnson, and Mason Graham. And four Michigan juniors are being projected as first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Michigan defense is absolutely loaded once again. The Wolverines have arguably the top defensive line in all of football with Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant being the best interior duo in the nation. Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart are potential upgrades at starting Edge this season. At linebacker, Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham are going to be tough to beat. Then in the secondary, Michigan returns the No. 1 player in the country, Will Johnson. The Wolverines went out and landed four starters in the secondary via the transfer portal to go along with their young, explosive defensive backs.
Offensively, the biggest question mark is obviously quarterback. Losing a game-changing quarterback like McCarthy isn’t an easy fix. But Michigan is confident in what it has at quarterback with Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, and Co. The Wolverines will once again lean on their rushing attack with Donovan Edwards as the lead back. Edwards has had some of his biggest games on the biggest stages such as Ohio State in 2022 and Washington in 2023.
Is it probable Michigan will have a decline in 2024? Absolutely. It’s going to be difficult to go undefeated. Michigan has a very tough schedule with teams like Texas, Oregon, USC, Washington, and Ohio State on the schedule. But saying the Wolverines are going to have a historic dropoff feels off, or still claiming Michigan cheated down the home stretch of the 2023 season is also flat-out egregious.
But it’s not the first time Barton has had a bad take on Michigan football. He is also the same one who believed Colston Loveland, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and Will Johnson were all leaving Ann Arbor for the transfer portal.
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Publish date : 2024-07-12 10:47:11
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