The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1133482
THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 127 2019 Opponents In 1-130 Rankings Opponent Athlon Lindy's Phil Steele Street & Smith's* Avg.^ Michigan 4 5 3 11 5.8 Ohio State 5 7 6 5 5.8 Notre Dame 9 9 13 7 9.5 Iowa 18 14 18 — 16.7 Michigan State 16 20 14 19 17.3 Penn State 14 26 16 20 19.0 Wisconsin 19 16 28 — 21.0 Army 44 30 67 23 41.0 Indiana 67 58 49 — 58.0 Maryland 65 64 78 — 69.0 Illinois 92 89 92 — 91.0 Middle Tennessee State 97 101 98 — 98.7 Rutgers 107 100 97 — 101.3 * Street & Smith's does not do a 1-130 ranking, just a top 25 ^ This is the average of the rankings provided Opponent Position Groups Ranked Among The Nation's Best Athlon Sports ranks the best position groups nationally every year in its an- nual preseason magazine. Here's where U-M foes from the 2019 slate checked in: Ohio State No. 8 quarterbacks, No. 7 running backs, No. 6 wide receivers, No. 5 defensive line, No. 5 defensive backs Wisconsin No. 5 running backs, No. 10 offensive line Penn State No. 9 running backs, No. 7 defensive line, No. 3 linebackers, No. 10 defensive backs Iowa No. 7 offensive line Michigan State No. 6 defensive line, No. 6 linebackers Notre Dame No. 10 defensive line U-M Opponents On Preseason All-America Teams RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin — Athlon (1st team), Street & Smith (1st team), Lindy's (1st team) OL Tyler Biadasz, Wisconsin — Athlon (1st team), Street & Smith (1st team), Lindy's (1st team) DE A.J. Epenesa, Iowa — Athlon (1st team), Street & Smith (1st team) DL Kenny Willekes, Michigan State — Athlon (1st team), Street & Smith (1st team) DL Chase Young, Ohio State — Athlon (1st team), Street & Smith (2nd team), Lindy's (1st team) LB Joe Bachie, Michigan State — Athlon (1st team), Street & Smith (1st team), Lindy's (1st team) S Alohi Gilman, Notre Dame — Athlon (1st team) KR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Iowa — Athlon (1st team) OL Alaric Jackson, Iowa — Athlon (2nd team) DL Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State — Athlon (2nd team) DL Julian Okwara, Notre Dame — Athlon (3rd team), Lindy's (2nd team) S Julian Fuller, Ohio State — Athlon (3rd team) P Drue Chrisman, Ohio State — Athlon (3rd team) LB Micah Parsons, Penn State — Lindy's (1st team) Schedule Breakdown 2019 S&P+ Returning Previous Opponent 2018 Record Ranking Starters (Out of 24) Opponent Middle Tennessee State 8-6 104 11 — Army 11-2 80 9 Rice Wisconsin 8-5 11 13 Bye Rutgers 1-11 108 13 Boston College Iowa 9-4 25 12 Middle Tennessee State Illinois 4-8 91 18 Minnesota Penn State 9-4 14 13 Iowa Notre Dame 12-1 12 15 Bye Maryland 5-7 67 8 Minnesota Michigan State 7-6 23 19 Illinois Indiana 5-7 46 20 Penn State Ohio State 13-1 7 15 Penn State The Wolverines will face several talented defensive linemen in 2019. Among them is Iowa junior end A.J. Epenesa, who led the Big Ten and ranked 12th nationally with 10.5 sacks in 2018. PHOTO COURTESY IOWA