The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1473191
Top Five Goals In 2022 Michigan met almost every one of last year's goals, solidifying the culture and developing good depth for the future. Here are five of the top objectives for the 2022 squad: 1. Repeat as Big Ten champs Winning a Big Ten title wasn't even in last year's top five and was thought to be highly improbable. The Wolverines overcame huge odds and now have the players — and the know-how — to do it again. If they live up to expectations on offense and find a way to get to the quarterback on defense, they'll be playing for a Big Ten East championship in Columbus Nov. 26. 2. Beat the rivals Beating Ohio State was nice. It also shouldn't be a once- every-10-years accomplishment. Some would say Michigan is getting too much mileage off one victory — that the fan base, even some of the players, are still reveling in the moment, when they should be focusing on winning in Columbus for the first time since 2000. The players insist they are. Meanwhile, Michigan's 3-4 record in the last seven bouts with Michigan State just isn't good enough. The Wolverines have been the more talented team in most of those games. It's true the breaks haven't gone their way, but at the same time, it's well past time to take this rivalry back. 3. Win a playoff game Yup, we said it. And we're not alone in thinking it. Senior guard Trevor Keegan told us the same in May, saying they wanted to take "the next step" after getting a taste of it last year. That would mean beating an elite team and making the national championship game. It's a tall order, but this team is talented enough to get there. 4. Develop depth on defense in the non-conference The offense is loaded at just about every position (maybe a bit thin at running back). The defense has several great play- ers, but the Wolverines still need to find more backups on all three levels. Linebacker, in particular, is a bit scary if someone were to go down with injury. The interior line held up last year because it stayed healthy. Michigan added Central Florida transfer Cam Goode this year, but it needs others to emerge to feel good about this group heading into Big Ten play. Freshmen Mason Graham and Ken- neth Grant could help here, but it's a lot to ask of first-year players on the interior. 5. Maintain the culture Recent Michigan teams have had guys who were worried about "getting theirs" to the point that it hurt the team. It bottomed out in 2020. Last year's squad, though, was a group that played for the love of the team and school first. That's a tall order in this era, but they proved it was pos- sible. And those are the teams that win titles. 40 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2022 SEASON PREVIEW Sophomore safety Rod Moore (19), a native of Clayton, Ohio, had a career day against the Buckeyes a year ago, making the start and finishing with 9 tackles. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN