The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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118 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW East Division 1. Ohio State (11-1 overall, 8-1 Big Ten predicted finish) The Buckeyes project to have one of the most explosive offenses in the country. Quarterback C.J. Stroud and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, both juniors, are potential Heisman candidates and top-five NFL draft picks. Along with sophomore back TreVeyon Henderson, this should make for a lethal trio. Head coach Ryan Day is banking on the offense and a revamped defense under coordinator Jim Knowles to make another run at a national title. The Buckeyes' season is bookended by games at home against Notre Dame and Michigan. Should they take care of business there, it is hard to imagine a College Football Playoff without OSU. 2. Michigan (11-1 overall, 8-1 Big Ten) U-M found a way to exorcise plenty of demons in 2021 and enters this season as defending conference champion. They lose the most productive pass rush duo in program history in Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo (25 sacks combined a year ago), but the offense is where the Wolverines could shine with the Joe Moore Award- winning offensive line potentially stronger with Olu Oluwatimi anchoring its center. Senior Cade McNamara and sophomore J.J. McCarthy will battle it out for the keys to quarterback a deep offense full of skill players, headlined by the return of wide receiver Ronnie Bell from an ACL injury in last year's opener. Michigan's schedule shapes up well with tilts against Penn State and Michigan State at home, while its biggest road tests come at Iowa and Ohio State. The Wol- verines will look to make it two games in a row — and potentially another trip to Indianapolis — against the Buckeyes on Nov. 26. 3. Michigan State (8-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) Mel Tucker and the Spartans followed up a 2-7 campaign in 2020 with an 11-2 regular season headlined by a victory over Michigan and a Peach Bowl win against Pittsburgh. The road will be much tougher in 2022 without star running back Kenneth Walker. MSU will attempt to replace him with a pair of transfers in Jalen Berger (Wisconsin) and Jarek Broussard (Colorado). Junior quarterback Payton Thorne (school-record 27 touchdown passes in 2021) and wideouts Jayden Reed and Tre Mosley should make for a formidable passing attack. Defensively the Spartans are led by senior safety Xavier Henderson, senior defen- sive tackle Jacob Slade and a slew of more transfers, headlined by former Georgia cornerback Ameer Speed. Tucker will need his offensive line and pass defense to take a step forward to be a legitimate threat in the East this year. 4. Penn State (7-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) There was a period from 2016-19 when the Nittany Lions went 42-11 over four seasons. Since then, head coach James Franklin and his program have stumbled to 11-11 in the last two years. The administration still believes in Franklin, though, awarding him a 10-year contract extension worth $70 million. PSU's chances of a rebound in the division banks on improvement from the of- fensive line and more consistent play from quarterback Sean Clifford in his fourth year on the job and sixth at Penn State. The Nittany Lions should have a lethal wide receiver duo in sophomore Parker Washington and Western Kentucky transfer Mitchell Tinsley. Former Miami head coach Manny Diaz will coordinate a defense that finished sixth in the country in points per game allowed (17.3) in 2021. 5. Maryland (5-7 overall, 2-7 Big Ten) The Terrapins have built an explosive passing offense under head coach Mike Locksley but have little to show for it under his leadership. Maryland is 13-23 in his three seasons despite recruiting improvements and incremental steps forward on the field. Junior quarterback Taulia Tagavailoa and his stable of playmakers posted the 13th-best pass offense in the country last season (304.6 yards per game), but the rush offense (91st nationally) and total defense (98th) did not support a team that started 4-0 but stumbled to a 7-6 finish. Unless those two aspects improve, the East Division could gobble up Maryland once more. T-6. Rutgers (3-9 overall, 1-8 Big Ten) To head coach Greg Schiano's credit, Rutgers is no longer a cupcake opponent on the schedule for Big Ten teams. The Scarlet Knights took another step forward last season with five wins and even earned a bowl berth. The next step is sustaining that and continuing to push the rebuild forward. A step back might be in order, though. This team is largely inexperienced and might be giving the keys over to sophomore quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, which could lead to some growing pains. As long as Schiano has time to keep building, Rutgers will be an emerging thorn in the side for the rest of the conference. T-6. Indiana (3-9 overall, 1-8 Big Ten) Head coach Tom Allen and the Hoosiers were the darlings of the Big Ten between 2019-20, then fell off the cliff last season, going winless in the conference. There is nowhere to go but up offensively after ranking 123rd in scoring (17.2 points per game) and 124th in total offense (290 yards per game) in 2021. Indiana getting its offense back on track is dependent on new coordinator and former UMass head coach Walt Bell, and a quarterback battle between Jack Tuttle and Missouri transfer Connor Bazelik. Cornerback Taiwan Mullen returned for the season and will look to regain his first-team All-Big Ten form from 2020. The road to the Big Ten championship will go through Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes have won four of the last five conference titles since 2017. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN The Wolverine's Predicted Order Of Finish QB – C.J. Stroud, Ohio State (No. 2 overall)* RB – TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State (No. 7)* WR – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State (No. 1)* TE – Sam LaPorta, Iowa (No. 16)* OL – Peter Skoronski, Northwestern (No. 3) DL – Zach Harrison, Ohio State (No. 15)* LB – Nick Herbig, Wisconsin (No. 5) CB – Riley Moss, Iowa (No. 8)* S – Xavier Henderson, Michigan State (No. 22)* * On Michigan's regular-season schedule in 2022 The Wolverine's Best In The Big Ten By Position