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We’ve already had our run of preseason top 25 rankings, including before the spring practice that never happened and after everything was all-but-canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Thus, some are looking even further into the future, beyond 2020 and what could happen on that front.
Take ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, who did a new kind of top 25 ranking. Instead of just looking at this upcoming season, he attempted to figure out the best overall teams in the next three years, and gave them rankings based off said prognostication.
That in mind, he doesn’t expect things to fare too well in Ann Arbor.
18. Michigan Wolverines
Future QB ranking: 24
Future offense ranking: 23
Future defense ranking: 11Scouting the Wolverines: There’s a lot of doom and gloom around the Maize and Blue, but Michigan just produced 10 NFL draft picks for the second time in five years. The program is 47-18 (32-12 Big Ten) under Jim Harbaugh, although failings against Ohio State (0-5) and in bowl games (1-4) stand out. Michigan’s roster needs upgrades, beginning at quarterback, where Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton compete, each with multiple seasons of eligibility. Until an elite QB emerges, Michigan likely won’t sniff the top 10 of these rankings. Running back and wide receiver project well, even after veteran wideout Nico Collins departs. Offensive line depth is a short-term concern, but Michigan already has three ESPN 300 juniors committed for 2021.
Michigan’s defense remains sturdy enough against Big Ten teams not named Ohio State. The line and secondary will be the unit’s strength in 2020, as end Aidan Hutchinson and safety Daxton Hill are among those with multiple seasons of eligibility. Veteran coordinator Don Brown seems entrenched at U-M, but what happens if his unit continues to struggle against Ohio State?
To us, this is recency bias. Michigan has had three ten win seasons in the past five years, and while 2019 was a disappointment with the Wolverines losing all of the big road games — Wisconsin and Penn State — at home to Ohio State and in the VRBO Citrus Bowl against Alabama, the first point was somewhat usual.
In Jim Harbaugh’s tenure, Michigan is winless on the road in Madison and 1-2 against the Nittany Lions. At home, however? The maize and blue are undefeated against those two teams.
But in the years that the Wolverines lose those games, suddenly Michigan is trending downward while those two are on the rise. Rittenberg has the Badgers at No. 13 and PSU at No. 10 in his ranking.
However, U-M does have an Ohio State problem it can’t seem to get over, that much Rittenberg is right about. However, that isn’t an issue exclusive to Michigan, no matter how much various entities try to make it so.