Michigan’s preseason standings were fairly consistent after the 2021 campaign in which Maize and Blue won 12 games, beat Ohio State well, destroyed Iowa in the Big Ten title game and at least made it to the College Football playoffs. Most outlets see Wolverines somewhere in the top ten, and a few even UM among the top five.
College football writer Bill Bender explains what he sees in Michigan number 6 on its last scale.
What has changed? Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis left for Miami, and defense coordinator Michael Macdonald returned to the Baltimore Ravens. Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss are the new co-offensive coordinators, and Jesse Minter takes over the defense. Jim Harbaugh was interviewed for a Viking job, but decided to return to Ann Arbor. Virginia center Olusegun Oluwatimi was a good buyer in the transfer portal.
low: Michigan needs to build on its first appearance in the College Football Playoff. A quarterback battle between Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy will heat up at the fall camp, but another timeshare is likely. Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum form a strong hinterland, and Ronnie Bell is back after failing last year with a torn ACL. The defense has big holes to fill, but a soft schedule at the start of the season helps.
Bender has only Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson and Texas A&M ahead of Wolverines, and Notre Dame, Utah, Oregon and Baylor behind UM round out the top ten. Obviously seeing Ohio State in 2nd and Georgia in 3rd place is interesting considering how Michigan went against them both last year, but both teams are extremely busy. Every team ahead of Michigan usually is, and has recently recruited better than the Wolverines.
Scroll to Continue
Michigan begins its 2022 campaign with four home games in a row against Colorado, Hawaii, UConna and Maryland. That should give the Wolverines a chance to start 4-0 as they smooth out some wrestling defenses, settle on quarterback and find their identity in attack under Moore and Weiss before traveling to Iowa City on October 1st.
Starting in 6th place would ensure UM is in the playoffs debate for most of the season as they are likely to be favored in almost every game until the big one at the end of November.