Whenever Jim Harbaugh is your college coach there is going to be offseason speculation and drama.
But one thing Michigan fans should all agree on is he is putting a really good product on the football field. The Wolverines are the Big Ten champions in back-to-back seasons and lost just once in the regular season in those seasons combined.
Harbaugh has put together a really good staff and is developing players at a high rate which has led Michigan to the College Football Playoff two years in a row.
After Georgia beat TCU in the championship, Adam Rittenberg of ESPN talked with unnamed coaches around the conferences on what they expect to happen in 2023.
Some coaches in the Big Ten believe Michigan is now the king of the Big Ten — not Ohio State. While the Buckeyes made the playoff this season, Ohio State has not sniffed Michigan two years in a row. Going back to 2021, the Wolverines physically dominated Ohio State in Ann Arbor while winning, 42-27. Then this year in Columbus, Michigan dominated the second half and beat the Buckeyes, 45-23.
It’s fair for coaches to think Michigan will lead the conference once again in 2023 after the Wolverines return some key pieces from their 2022 season like Blake Corum, Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan, and others. The maize and blue also bring in a stellar haul from the transfer portal.
Here is the consensus from different coaches:
*Note this was written before Harbaugh said he was coming back in 2023.
For nearly two decades, Ohio State was the boss of the Big Ten. From 2002 until 2020, the Buckeyes won or shared 11 conference titles. They remain the only Big Ten team to win a national title (2002, 2014) or play for one (2006, 2007, 2020) this millennium. Most coaches still rank Ohio State as the league’s most talented team, some by a wide margin.
But the Buckeyes have dropped consecutive games to Michigan, which went on to win the Big Ten the past two seasons. Michigan returns arguably the nation’s best overall offensive backfield in quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Blake Corum, a Heisman Trophy candidate before suffering a knee injury Nov. 19. Although the future of Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh is worth monitoring, some Big Ten coaches now see Michigan in a different light.
“They’re the team in this league now,” an assistant said.
“Michigan’s going to find another good coach if Harbaugh leaves, and they’re still going to be good,” a Big Ten coordinator said.
Penn State also has identified 2023 for a possible breakthrough, as it returns many key players from an 11-2 team that won the Rose Bowl, and could have an upgrade at quarterback with Drew Allar, ESPN’s No. 51 overall recruit last year.
Ohio State, meanwhile, returns its standard star power, including national awards candidate Marvin Harrison Jr. at wide receiver. But coaches cited concerns on both sides of the ball: a running back group that couldn’t stay healthy and hamstrung the offense at times; an offensive line that struggled at times against Michigan and loses star tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and others; a defensive front that has fallen off; and a secondary that got beat too often in the biggest games.
The Buckeyes are also replacing CJ Stroud, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist who nearly lifted the team past Georgia in the semifinals.
“Ohio State will be interesting because who’s going to be the quarterback,” a Big Ten assistant said. “Here’s what’s amazing: Iowa’s defense has good players — they’re just not heralded. I love Cooper DeJean, Riley Moss, but there’s no reason that Ohio State D-line and secondary shouldn’t be as good or better.”
Coach Ryan Day told ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit that he could soon relinquish offensive playcalling. There are rumblings about some staff changes as well. An interesting offseason awaits Ohio State.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]
[listicle id=67731]