The Wolverine

2022 Michigan Football Preview

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 43 Michigan finally got the Ohio State monkey off its back in 2021. How does that change how you feel about the ri- valry going forward, and do you think the Wolverines will build off the mo- mentum of that game and winning the Big Ten? Bender: The rivalry will always be there, but it was stagnant through the Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer domination that spans most of the 21st century. [Ohio State coach Ryan] Day and Harbaugh is an interesting new chapter, and the fact they've split the last two meetings puts The Game on much- needed new footing. The 42-27 victory at The Big House was nice, but the rivalry will take on a new mean- ing when Michigan breaks their losing streak at The Shoe. Drew Henson is the last Michi- gan quarterback to win at Ohio State [in 2000]. That's an ugly stat from the Michigan side. Fornelli: It's a rivalry that's been cyclical from the start, but while it was important for Michigan to get that win and win the conference, I don't know that it's the start of a change to the power dynamic. Ohio State is still well ahead of Michigan in many ways. There's more continuity within the program at the moment, which isn't to say that Michigan will have to wait another 10 years to beat the Buckeyes again. The question will be, can Michigan maintain the mo- mentum it created by doing so last year and continue stacking classes on top of one another the way Ohio State has? Lassan: Michigan's win added some much-needed spice to the rivalry, especially considering how one-sided it had become in recent years. Last year's success is abso- lutely something Michigan can build off as well. Beating Ohio State and winning the Big Ten was a proof-of-concept moment for the program. The questions about whether or not Har- baugh is the right coach or can the Wolver- ines get back to the top of the Big Ten are over. Instead, it's now about getting into the next level of college football — a place Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia reside right now. Recruiting needs to go up a notch in order to join that tier, but a season like 2021 can only help Harbaugh and his staff sell Michigan as a place to compete for conference titles and playoff spots on an annual basis. Maisel: It doesn't change much of any- thing for me. You have to think that Ohio State shored up its defense with the hiring of coordinator Jim Knowles. [OSU quarter- back] C.J. Stroud will have 25 starts by the time he lines up against Michigan again. I don't buy into momentum — that game is too far off. Rittenberg: I don't think it's something you can expect to happen every year, but for all the players who are still at Michigan and all those coaches, they can put on that tape and say, "Look at what you did to a team that had really dominated us and dominated the Big Ten for a long time." And the fact that it wasn't just a win, but it was a definitive, dominant win for Michigan, playing the way that Jim Harbaugh envisioned them playing, is exciting. They can point to that and say, "We're capable of doing this." I'm sure they're go- ing to get Ohio State's best shot this year in Columbus. What are your expectations for the Michigan offense? Bender: The offense should be able to produce in the mid 30-point range again. The offensive line is solid, and Virginia transfer Olusegun Oluwatimi was a great addition via the portal. The Wolverines have starting options at quarterback with [senior] Cade McNamara and [sophomore] J.J. McCarthy, and running back with [junior] Blake Co- rum and [sophomore] Donovan Edwards. [Senior] Erick All returns at tight end, and that's a plus. Does Michigan have enough at the re- ceiver position? [Graduate] Ronnie Bell's re- turn is huge, and [senior] Cornelius Johnson, [junior] Roman Wilson, [sophomore] Andrel Anthony and [junior] A.J. Henning had their moments. But a Michigan receiver hasn't hit 1,000 yards in a single season since Jeremy Gallon did it in 2013. That needs to change if they want to keep up with Ohio State, who has a roomful of NFL talent at that position. Fornelli: I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight step back in 2022. This team ranked 12th nationally in points per drive despite finishing 36th in offensive success rate and 60th in red-zone touchdown rate. While I don't think Michigan needs to start airing the ball out more, it would help if the team finds more consistent explosive plays in the passing game. They'll be able to run the ball effec- tively no matter what, but every offense is more difficult to defend when defenses are stretched vertically. The return of Ronnie Bell should help, as would Andrel Anthony taking a leap forward. Lassan: This unit is the biggest reason I believe Michigan can contend for a CFP berth once again this year. I have high ex- pectations for this group and think it could be even better than last year's group that averaged 6.4 yards per play and ranked sec- ond in the Big Ten in scoring offense [35.8 points a game]. Although the coordinator change always brings some level of transi- tion, the Wolverines bring back one of the best backfields in college football [with Co- rum and Edwards] and feature an underrated receiving corps getting Ronnie Bell back from injury. I'm fascinated to see how the quarterback room plays out with Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy vying for time, but just as we saw last season, Michigan can thrive with either under center. And even with two starters gone up front, it's hard to worry about this offensive line. Left tackle Ryan Hayes is back to anchor the trenches, and transfer Olusegun Oluwatimi was one of the nation's top centers at Virginia. With few personnel concerns and talent at every spot, my expectation is Michigan will possess one of the top offenses in college football in '22. Maisel: My expectations are high, with the caveat that I want to see how close to last season's perfor- mance the O-line plays in the fall. And I want to see how Blake Corum survives as an every-down back. He and Hassan Haskins ham-and-egged it so well last season, and even with half a workload, the Corum of November wasn't the Corum of September. Rittenberg: So much of this is going to depend on who plays quarterback — not just who plays quarterback in the first game, but how that position evolves throughout the season with these coaches. Is Michigan going to be mostly a run- oriented team and try to physically dominate at the line like they did last year? Or are they going to capitalize on what I think is maybe the second- or third-best collection of receiv- ers and tight ends in the Big Ten and try to extend the field a little bit more? The ultimate answer for Michigan if they want to win a national championship is they're going to have to get better at quar- terback. Steady is not going to do it. In this day and age, you have to be dominant, un- less you have a defense like Georgia had last year. "As much as we talk about the soap opera, I don't expect this season to be much different than last. [Cade] McNamara's the guy, [J.J.] McCarthy's the changeup, and one plus one will equal more than two." IVAN MAISEL, ON3

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