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Can Jim Harbaugh and Michigan finally win the Big 10?
Quarterback Shea Patterson is entering year two with the Wolverines, with the offensive schemes adjusting to his style of play more and all his receivers healthy. Despite having lost plenty of talent in the front-seven defensively with guys like Devin Bush, Rashan Gary, etc. their secondary should be equally as strong in 2019 and they had added one of the most productive pass rushers in the country with in-state transfer Mike Danna from Central Michigan. More importantly, however, this is the main competition Michigan will be facing:
Ohio State: Urban Meyer is finally gone and he is replaced by a rookie (or do we call it freshman?) head coach in Ryan Day, who without a doubt is a very creative offensive mind, but has yet to prove himself at leading a team to a conference title. Plus, for as good as Justin Fields is expected to be after a stellar high school career, he is not Dwayne Haskins, who was a Heisman finalist with 50 touchdowns without a dependable running game or defense like most guys had there recently.
Michigan State: Back in 2015 Sparty won the Big 10 and made the College Football Playoff. The year after that they fell off the map with a 3-9 record and were believed to be in a rebuild. That’s why winning double-digit games the following year was very surprising, with guys like quarterback Brian Lewerke and linebacker Joe Bachie accelerating that process. Last season they somewhat returned to reality, going 7-6 with Lewerke struggling mightily (54.3 completion percentage, 8 TDs, 11 INTs) and while Mark Dantonio’s teams are always tough, they don’t nearly have Michigan’s offensive talent.
Penn State: I know James Franklin has really turned these Nittany Lions back into a winner and there is a lot of talent defensively, but I think they have received too much love by the committee. Projected starting QB Sean Clifford is expected to continue that offensive success, but he has attempted seven total passes in college. He is not the proven warrior that Trace McSorley was for them, who always seemed to find a way to keep them in games, and he doesn’t have a star back like Saquon Barkley or Miles Sanders lining up next to him.
Two of these three teams, Iowa and Notre Dame are all coming to Ann Arbor, with their toughest road game being at Wisconsin, who they beat by 25 points last year. So if not now, when?
