It looks like some more sportswriters are starting to pump the brakes a little on all the Michigan hype this season. Just came across two more articles in which the writers are second-guessing Michigan as the favorite to win the B1G and go to the college football play-off.
Pat Caputo, of The Oakland Press suggests all the lofty expectations may be a little premature. From "Can lofty expectations match reality for Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football in 2016":
Yet, while the scenario presenting Michigan rising so rapidly isn’t impossible, it is more improbable than such lofty projections suggest. Michigan plays MSU, Iowa and OSU on the road. It’s three of the Wolverines four road games. Michigan had two convincing road wins last season - at Maryland and Penn State, but they lost at Utah and struggled at Indiana and Minnesota before close victories.
He concludes by saying:
Michigan plays three of its final five games at MSU, Iowa and Ohio State.
There is little doubt Michigan will have a “good” season. The Wolverines have talent and depth. The Harbaugh factor is real. But emerging as the best of these four teams remains a tall order for Michigan.
The schedule is set up for early hype, but a late fall.
It could be argued that (other than on the defensive line) Michigan is not particularly deep this year. But it's a worthwhile little read.
Then, there's this article by Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News, titled "It might be too soon for UM's lofty expectations". He makes a clever analogy:
Like the guy digging through his closet for an old favorite suit, Michigan is dressing up again. The thing is, getting dressed up isn’t far from getting set up, and six weeks before the season begins, it’s hard to fathom some of the predictions.Pundits and bettors believe the Wolverines will be really good, and there’s evidence to suggest they will. But good enough to win the national championship? Uh, let’s slow down a bit. Vegas odds list Michigan anywhere from second to fifth, with Alabama the consensus No. 1, which is staggering for a Wolverines program that hasn’t won the Big Ten since 2004, and isn’t even sure who its quarterback will be
And that's coming from a writer for a Detroit publication, folks. He went on to point out:
Mark Dantonio and Urban Meyer have experienced it all, while Michigan last won a true road game against a ranked opponent in 2006 at Notre Dame, a tidy 0-12 since.
Ouch! Maybe this guy isn't really that much of a homer, after all. That's an interesting little tidbit of info for a Buckeye to be armed with, though.
Some of his analysis is much like Caputo's:
The Wolverines should be 7-0 headed to East Lansing on Oct. 29, and if preseason forecasts are accurate, they might be No. 1 in the country then. Three of the final five games are at Michigan State, at Iowa and at Ohio State, and Michigan would have to win at least two to be in the hunt. Harbaugh and his staff are seasoned and driven, and the talent on defense could be overwhelming, but to pick Michigan as a national title favorite with such a daunting gauntlet seems foolish.
"Foolish" No wonder it's such a widely held belief among Michigan fans.
He concludes with an interesting observation:
There are more similarities than differences between Michigan and Michigan State, right down to the potentially fearsome defenses and the O’Somebody at quarterback. Early polling and prognosticating have the Wolverines dressed up for a spot near the top. That’s easy to say now, in the middle of the summer, long before they hit a road rarely traveled.
"O'Somebody", indeed.
Perhaps the 11Wers who have been saying many of the same things for a while now may have finally gained a little credibility. Especially, as opposed to those who seem to have bought in so wholeheartedly to the Harbaugh hype.
Probably not. But it was worth a shot -
