Last season, Michigan football was among those in college football with the least amount of returning, contributing players. Ranked No. 125 out of 130 teams, in retrospect, it’s no surprise that the Wolverines weren’t up to the task of competing for the Big Ten.
What about this year, however?
Just as important as Michigan football having a bevy of players hitting the field with experience is going up against teams that perhaps don’t have that luxury.
While we’ll be taking a look at the Big Ten in particular here, this is how the other teams the Wolverines are set to face in 2021 fare when it comes to returning experience:
- Washington: No. 15, 82% overall, 91% on offense (7th nationally), 73% on defense (61st nationally)
- Western Michigan: No. 103, 58% overall, 65% on offense (78th), 50% on defense (113th)
- NIU: No. 63, 70% overall, 53% on offense (105th), 87% on defense (10th)
With that in mind, here are the teams in the Big Ten who Michigan will either face or could face in a postseason crossover from least amount of returning production to most, and where the Wolverines rank on that front out of all 130 FBS teams, according to ESPN.com.
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