The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Michigan came incredibly close to making the Big Ten title game last year during its 10-1 start, but saw those hopes dashed following a 62-39 loss at Ohio State in the regular-season finale. Three of the sport's most noteworthy national preseason magazines (Ath- lon, Lindy's and Phil Steele), however, finally have the Wolverines winning the conference, while a fourth (Street & Smith's) has them ranked No. 11 nationally and finishing second in the Big Ten East. Here is a closer look at why the four aforementioned outlets are so high on the Maize and Blue heading into 2019: STREET & SMITH'S They are the least optimistic of the bunch, though they still have Michigan making a New Year's Six Game (Cotton Bowl) and squaring off with Central Florida. Street & Smith's is the only publication of the four that does not have U-M winning the Big Ten, instead tabbing No. 5 Ohio State as the league favorite. They admitted, however, that Michigan is incredibly close to getting over the hump, declaring the Wolverines as the third most likely of the blue-blood schools who have never made the College Football Playoff (CFP) to finally get there, behind only Texas and Florida, respectively. "[Head coach] Jim Harbaugh has led the Wolverines to three 10-win seasons the last four years, but last year's 62-39 loss to Ohio State illustrated the one hurdle left to climb for the Wolverines in order to win the program's first Big Ten championship since 2004," they wrote. "The good news is Ur- ban Meyer is out of the way, and the Wol- verines get Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State at home." Keeping with that sentiment, Street & Smith's also placed the narrative of "Does Michigan finally break through?" as their No. 3 "trending storyline to watch" in 2019. The outlet had plenty of praise for several Michigan individuals heading into the cam- paign, tabbing fifth-year senior left tackle Jon Runyan, senior left guard Ben Brede- son, senior cornerback Lavert Hill, senior safety Josh Metellus and redshirt junior punter Will Hart as first-team All-Big Ten performers, with Hill also making their first-team All-America squad. The individual praise didn't stop there, however, with senior quarterback Shea Pat- terson earning their "Best Passing QB" in the Big Ten award, citing, "Mistakes are a rarity for the cerebral Patterson, whose TD- to-INT ratio last year was 3-to-1." Rookie safety Daxton Hill won their Big Ten "Top Freshman" accolade, with the publication even projecting him to start. Redshirt sophomore wideout Tarik Black was called U-M's "Top NFL Prospect," and the magazine explained why: "Inju- ries have hampered Black at Michigan, but he's a handful when healthy. At 6-3, he's too physical for most cornerbacks, yet he also possesses breakaway speed. If he can finally catch a break and play a full season, he'll be pretty high up draft boards with a choice to make at season's end." Harbaugh was slapped with the tag of "Best Interview" of any conference coach, while first-year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis was referred to as the league's "Co- ordinator To Watch." "If Gattis can inject big-play ability into the Wolverines' offense, they're a playoff contender," Street & Smith's opined. The publication wrapped up their Maize and Blue preview by summing up perfectly the fan base's mindset heading into 2019: "At most schools, 10-win seasons would be celebrated. Michigan is not most schools. In Year No. 5 for Harbaugh at his alma mater, close is not good enough. "If Michigan can handle a tricky visit to Wisconsin on Sept. 21, it should reach the midway point 6-0 without a problem. Then it gets fun: Penn State, Notre Dame, Michi- gan State and Ohio State are among the last six games. The latter three are at The Big House, which is certainly preferable. "Tough questions will follow Michigan this year. If the 2019 season is not the time for the Wolverines' breakthrough, then when is?" LINDY'S This publication placed Michigan at No. 5 nationally and as the top club in the Big Ten, but had it missing out on the CFP and squaring off with Oregon in the Rose Bowl instead. "Jim Harbaugh's coaching core is power football, fullbacks, having 'steel in your spine,' as he says over and over," they wrote after pegging 'Harbaugh's Renaissance' as the No. 2 storyline of the entire college football season. "Never mind all that. Coach Khaki brought in coordinator Josh Gattis to give mouth-to-mouth to Michigan's old offense … and the Maize and Blue were oh-so-modern in spring practice: no-huddle, tempo, spread, RPO [run-pass option] tags. This will be freaking fascinating." Lindy's also declared the hiring of Gattis as the No. 2 "Key Coordinator Change" in the country for 2019, but still asked: "The offensive overhaul of the Wolverines will be fascinating … but yeah, can they score big against Ohio State?" Unsurprisingly, the Maize and Blue's showdown with the Buckeyes was an- nounced as the best conference game in all of college football for 2019, while the Oct. 26 clash with Notre Dame was dubbed the No. 3 non-conference contest in the land. When Lindy's began handing out their individual hardware, Patterson received by far the most of any Wolverine. They first acknowledged him as the fourth-best quarterback for the 2020 NFL Draft (third among seniors) and the No. 6 signal-caller on their watch list for Heisman-contending quarterbacks. Lindy's also recognized him as the "Cool- est in the Clutch" player in the Big Ten, the league's Offensive Player of the Year, the Several Preseason Magazines Tab Michigan As The Big Ten Favorite