Michigan football came in ranked No. 8 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the AP Top 25 this preseason, but you’d think the Wolverines have fallen off a cliff.
Given the departures — head coach Jim Harbaugh, the entire defensive staff, strength coach Ben Herbert, star players J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum and Mike Sainristil — it stands to reason that Michigan could take a step back. Meanwhile, Ohio State and Oregon are loaded with talent and the prevailing wisdom is that one of the two will win the new-look Big Ten.
However, Joel Klatt says not so fast.
Though he also has those two teams above the Wolverines, he understands what Michigan is and that it didn’t get to where it’s been the past three seasons by accident — or even by having a bunch of track stars at the skill positions. It won by being physical up front and it’s much different than any other team its opponents will see on the schedule.
Thus, don’t count Michigan out, even though it’s not the favorite to win the conference.
“If you’re a Michigan fan listening to this, you probably slapped the dashboard, threw something down, spit out your drink, and you’re like, ‘What do you mean? Who’s the threat? We’re the defending national champions. Who’s the threat to the team we just beat three times?’ I get it. I get it,” Klatt said. “And fair enough, that’s why Michigan is the biggest threat to those top two.
“I do believe that there is somewhat of a consensus that Ohio State and Oregon are at the top, and that Michigan, because of everything that they lost, is gonna have to be somewhat of an underdog this year. I think that that’s fair. It’s a fair sentiment. And yet, if you are a Michigan fan, or certainly inside of that building, you’re sitting there thinking to yourself, ‘What is this guy talking about? We just went 15-0. We did not change our culture. We’re building from within. We are developing from within, like we have this entire time.’ the last three years has been magical in Ann Arbor, and that’s why they are continuing, and that’s why they will be the biggest threat to Ohio State or Oregon.
“It doesn’t matter who has left, because they believe they’re the biggest threat. They believe they’re the kings of the hill. They believe that the conference goes through them. Might see that early in the year when they play Texas. The other part of this is not just this self-belief, which kind of lives in the air, but it’s also the tangible aspect of what Michigan does on the field, and that’s they put you in a bind. They just do. They play such a different style of football than most teams, and I think this year it’ll be even leaned into more because they don’t have J.J. McCarthy to throw the ball as much as they did or as efficiently as they did a year ago. They’re going to lean into, as their coach Sherrone Moore puts it, ‘smash ball’ — that’s going to be difficult for each of those teams. It’s going to be difficult for Ohio State. It’s going to be difficult for Oregon. It’s going to be difficult for Texas. It’s going to be difficult for USC, because it’s not what other teams do.
“And this has been really the secret of their toughness at the line of scrimmage over the course of the last few years. That’s why they’re the biggest threat. They’re going to be excellent on defense, very tough, very physical. The interior of that defensive line, you’re not going to be able to move them. And I understand that Ohio State has a great secondary. I understand that Ohio State has great edge rushers. But does that matter? If Michigan can run it 55 times — maybe not! See, for the last three years, they’ve said, ‘Great. Good for you. Look at all that skill on the outside, offensively, and even defensively.’ And then they said, ‘Come on in here, into a phone booth, and see if you can win a fistfight.’ And they’ve won the fistfight. They’ve won the fistfight.
“They believe they’re the king of the mountain. That’s why they’re the biggest threat. They believe it. You can walk around anywhere else in the country and everywhere else in the country, people are talking about Ohio State. People are talking about Oregon. In Ann Arbor, you walk into the building at Michigan, nothing’s changed. It’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Go there for the spring game. I’m walking around. I’m like, ‘Man, look at the new. New head coach, a new coordinator, new strength coach, new quarterback. All the new, new, new. And Donovan Edwards is looking at me like, ‘What do you mean new? Nothing’s new. Nothing’s changed. We are Michigan,’ like, OK, all right. So, they’re the biggest threat.”