The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 49 Patterson: 9-3. It's a pretty tough sched- ule. And I say that with an eye on the opener in Seattle, the back-to-back weeks against Wisconsin and Penn State — even with both games coming at home — and a road trip to Minnesota the week after playing Michigan State. Oh yeah, and that other game against that team from that other state at the end of the season. I consider Michigan in its current state to be a high-floor program able to withstand set- backs and navigate tough schedules. So when I see 7-5 as the worst case and 10-2 as the best case, I'm going to end up closer to best case. It's hard to say how it will go specifically because of some of the spots — I'd rank Penn State higher in a preseason poll, but probably pick the Wolverines in that game, for example — but I've got the Ohio State game as a loss and too many unknowns to think they're set to win the other 11. Rittenberg: 10-2. If Michigan can get by Washington on the road, I like how the sched- ule sets up. The Wolverines get both Wiscon- sin and Penn State at home, where they've been excellent under Jim Harbaugh. Minnesota and Ohio State on the road won't be easy, but I could see Michigan beat- ing the Gophers. VanHaaren: I'm going with 9-3. Ohio State has a really good team coming back again with Justin Fields at quarterback and a lot of options at receiver. They will likely be a playoff contender again. That game is at Ohio State and is going to be tough for Michigan once again. I'm kind of throwing up a couple losses elsewhere be- cause Michigan starts the season with Wash- ington, then has a tough stretch with Wiscon- sin, Penn State and at Minnesota. Wisconsin and Penn State are both going to be stout on defense, Minnesota's offense is returning some bigger pieces. So there are quite a few games I think are going to be close at this point, because we don't know a lot about what Michigan's offense looks like at quarterback and with a lot of new faces along the offensive line. Has Jim Harbaugh met your expectations through his first five years? Bender: What are Michigan's expecta- tions for Harbaugh? That is the question. He has the program back in the top 10 and competing for Big Ten championships, but this feels a lot like the back half of the Lloyd Carr era when the team did every- thing but beat Jim Tressel-led Ohio State teams. What's the difference between the near misses in Columbus in 2006 and 2016? Not much. Harbaugh improved the program culture and is one of the best advocates for student- athletes in the game. Yet, the Ohio State al- batross still hangs over the program — much like it did over Carr. Is that the expectation at Michigan now? For a program that hasn't won a Big Ten championship since 2004, it's hard to pin all of that on Harbaugh. Lassan: Perhaps as a part of his own rhet- oric (and certainly some unrealistic expecta- tions from the media), the bar was set in- credibly high for Harbaugh when he arrived at Michigan. The program was supposed to challenge and beat Ohio State on an annual basis, win the Big Ten and contend for the College Football Playoff. The Wolverines have been close in some respects, but enter 2020 still searching for a victory over the Buckeyes and a Big Ten title. Despite the 0-5 mark against Ohio State and lack of conference title hardware, I'm not as down on Harbaugh as most of college football media seems to be. Michigan has won 47 games over the last five years and finished inside of the top 25 in four of those seasons. I also think the program is more nationally relevant than it was under Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez. I thought Harbaugh would win a Big Ten title by his sixth year in Ann Arbor, but I wouldn't consider his tenure a massive disappointment either. Michigan has an "Ohio State problem," but so does the rest of the Big Ten (and most of college football as well). Despite some of the shortcomings in his tenure, I still think Harbaugh is still one of the top 10-15 coaches in the nation. Patterson: I'd say no, but I don't think my opinion matters, which is the whole thing with Harbaugh. After he took Stanford to an Orange Bowl and the 49ers to the Super Bowl, Harbaugh plus Michigan was thought to equal championships, and since those titles haven't come there's a chorus of criti- cism from the outside. I was among those who predicted that success at the beginning, but since then I've changed my stance thanks, in part, to discus- sions with Michigan alumni and those close to the program. I'm an outsider to Michigan football, so I initially undervalued the stabil- ity that Harbaugh has brought on and off the field. Good graduation rates, no scandals and generally running a program that the univer- sity administration can be proud of doesn't get you as far elsewhere as it seems to in Ann Arbor. No wins against your biggest rival is damning, but four top-20 finishes in five years with few off-field issues is a healthy program. I think that meets the expectations for many who matter, but at some point he's got to beat the Buckeyes. Rittenberg: No. Harbaugh has improved Michigan's program but not to a champion- ship level, which clearly was the expectation when he arrived. This hasn't been the dramatic upgrade he oversaw both with Stanford and the San Francisco 49ers. A lot of things are better in Ann Arbor, but the big-game breakthroughs haven't come often enough. VanHaaren: Not yet. I have said this before, but I think Michigan had an NFL coaching staff when Harbaugh started at Michigan. Which means the coaches weren't recruiting and evaluating prospects to truly build a college program a few years out. Former offensive line commit Erik Swen- son is probably a good example, that the staff said there wasn't a spot for him and he went on to play for one of the best offenses in the country at Oklahoma. I think that set Michi- gan back in evaluating the right prospects and building the right kind of team geared towards the current college landscape. I think they have a college staff now with guys like offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, offensive line coach Ed Warinner and tight ends coach Sherrone Moore, who are evalu- ating recruits for what they need a few years down the line. So I don't think Harbaugh has met expec- tations, because he hasn't won a conference championship, hasn't beaten Ohio State and hasn't made it to the College Football Play- off. That being said, I think they're on a good track now with the current staff and need to put together some great seasons to help push recruiting up to the next level, which will in turn help push the product on the field to the next level. "Michigan has an 'Ohio State problem,' but so does the rest of the Big Ten (and most of college football as well). Despite some of the shortcomings in his tenure, I still think Harbaugh is still one of the top 10-15 coaches in the nation." STEVEN LASSAN, ATHLON SPORTS' COLLEGE FOOTBALL EDITOR