Big Ten Preview: Same Old Michigan?
Dan Wetzel, Pete Thamel and Pat Forde from Sports Illustrated break down the Wolverines heading into the 2020 season. Make sure to tune into the Yahoo Sports College podcast two times a week on your favorite podcast app.
Video Transcript
DAN WETZEL: All right, let's get to the Wolverines. Michigan plus 550. Big question is what kind of quarterback play we're gonna get. Nico Collins opted out and signed with an agent. That doesn't help. The one thing Michigan does not have is great wide receivers or quarterback play.
Obviously, they got at Minnesota, they get Wisconsin, Penn State, and Ohio State. So a little bit of a gauntlet for the Wolverines. Pat, what do you think about that?
PAT FORDE: So much depends on Joe Milton at quarterback and whether Jim Harbaugh can coach him up. I had a stat in the "Forde-Yard Dash" this week-- and I think we might have even discussed it at some point here recently-- where Harbaugh's quarterbacks in his five years have been less efficient than Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez's quarterbacks. And Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez were run out of town and considered to be complete boobs.
But their pass efficiency in those five years, the last year under Rich Rod and all four under Hoke, was 133. Under Harbaugh in his five years, 128. And that's at a time that everybody's efficiency is going forward. They haven't been able to get a quarterback, and they haven't been able to put him in the right scheme.
So I think Joe Milton, everybody's high on him. Lot of hype. But we've heard that before about Michigan quarterbacks. We'll see what happens when they actually take the field.
PETE THAMEL: So Michigan's defense has been elite statistically. There's no question. But the fascinating part about Michigan's defense is the precipitous drop-off when they play elite competition. I mean, it's insane for all the number one rankings and all the stats that Don Brown has accumulated, when it matters against Ohio State, when it matters in Bowl games, they have been putrid.
And here's essentially the key to unlocking Don Brown's defense. He wants to leave corners on an island and press and beat you up out there. And if you have better talent than them-- and Michigan has recruited good but not great. If you have better talent than them, you can just blow them out, and Don Brown doesn't have any answers.
And we saw that-- remember all those crossing routes, Pat, in that Ohio State-Michigan game a couple of years ago? Was it Brandon Watson? That poor kid, a fifth-year senior, just like laying on the turf at Ohio Stadium just abused.
I think Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson are two of the best defensive line-- they're certainly the best defensive end pairing in the Big Ten, probably in all of college football. They are elite and excellent. And Michigan's really done a good job, especially on the defensive line. You look at what Chase Winovich has become in the NFL. Rashan Gary was obviously a big recruit there.
Where I'd be really worried if I were a Michigan fan right now is corner. Now Dax Hill, their safety, is the rare elite recruit. They flipped him from Alabama late. He's a safety. He's gonna play some nickel. He is your five-star guy.
The rest of that secondary is just OK. Ambry Thomas leaving is a huge blow to them. And if you really drill into the roster of Michigan, there's a lot more arguments for why this season could go sideways than for why it could go right. You have one upper middle class Big Ten receiver in Ronnie Bell, and then you have a pretty good tailback in Zach Charbonnet. He's a good Big Ten back.
Joe Milton's had accuracy issues. Had them in high school. He's had them when he's played at Michigan. That's gonna be concern on a 20-degree night, "GameDay" game, the whole thing. His starting debut. And then you got four new offensive linemen.
DAN WETZEL: They're gonna win four games. They do not lose to bad teams. The problem, 10 and 14 against ranked opponents for Michigan since Harbaugh got there first five years. Minnesota's a ranked opponent. This is gonna be why this game Saturday night, I think, has every kind of hardcore Big Ten fan just like, this is gonna be good.