Michigan football is getting a fair amount of hype this offseason, coming off of two straight Big Ten Championships and College Football Playoff appearances. The Wolverines have the fifth-most returning talent in 2023, and are one of the few among the top schools that is bringing back its starting quarterback.
But the optimism, though palpable, is limited.
Projected matchup: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Michigan
This again? The Bulldogs and Wolverines played two years ago down in Miami and Georgia steamrolled Jim Harbaugh’s team. This marks Michigan’s third straight trip to the playoff and the Wolverines have not won a game yet. Georgia goes for a three-peat, unprecedented in the modern era. The more things change, the more they stay the same and we’re expecting the Bulldogs to get back to the final four as the top seed once again. Have you looked at their regular-season slate?
The writer, Brad Crawford, has Michigan as the No. 4 seed, with Ohio State coming in as the No. 2 seed. That indicates he anticipates the Buckeyes will win the head-to-head matchup in The Game. While that might appear disheartening, that’s been his prediction each of the past two years right up to the point the clock hit zero in the final Saturday of November. He also has the national championship game being a rematch between Georgia and Ohio State, so that tells you what he expects to happen in his projection, above.
In contrast to Michigan returning much of its talent, particularly quarterback J.J. McCarthy, neither Georgia nor Ohio State has an incumbent signal-caller returning. Generally speaking, having an experienced QB goes a long way to team success, especially considering you never know just how well they’ll acclimate once in a season.
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