The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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158 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW A 5 1- ye a r - o l d J i m H a r b a u g h marched onto the stage at the Junge Center for his introductory press conference Dec. 30, 2014, and vowed to "carry forward the tradition of excel- lence of the Michigan football program." Nobody in attendance or watching on tele- vision expected anything different from the son of former U-M assistant Jack Har- baugh. A quarterback for the Wolverines in the 1980s, the new coach had a proven track record leading teams in both college and the pros. While Harbaugh's teams knocked on the door a few times in his first six seasons, it was a bumpier ride than expected. But coming off two straight wins over Ohio State, Big Ten titles and CFP appearances, with the most wins in a two-year span in program history (25), Harbaugh certainly has the Wolverines in the "excellent" cat- egory. "It's what the media expected, it's what Michigan fans envisioned and it's what Michigan's opponents feared," said New York Times bestselling author John U. Bacon, who's written four books on U-M football. From an individual standpoint, Michigan hasn't had seasons like the last two since 1997. To find multiple consecutive cam- paigns close to that successful, it would have to be a stretch in the 1970s. Bacon, though, points to 1947-48 — when the Wolverines went a combined 19-0 and won consecutive national championships — as the best comparison. "You might even make a case that, in some ways, it's better, because in those days, you had no Big Ten title game — which you can always lose — and you wouldn't be playing a playoff game, either. You'd be beating somebody in the Rose Bowl," Bacon pointed out. "Think about it, who from the Pac-12 could've beaten Michigan this year, or last year? In the last two years, you'd have one loss to Michigan State [in 2021], and that's it." Bacon also noted how the South has dominated the sport on the biggest stages over the last 25 years: "A national title has never been harder to win now in the history of college football," he said. It all comes on the heels of a 2020 season that saw the Wolverines post a 2-4 record. The turnaround is similar to when head coach Bo Schembechler's 1984 team went 6-6, before going 10-1-1 and finishing No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, the legendary coach's best-ever finish. "And yet, this is still the measure — from 2-4 to 12-2," Bacon opined. "This turnaround, you could make a very easy case, is the most dramatic turnaround in the history of Michigan football. "Any Michigan fans who aren't happy now won't ever be happy." While it has already experienced "his- toric highs," Michigan enters 2023 looking to continue the upward trend as one of the top contenders for a national champion- ship. "This team, on paper, is better than the 2021 and 2022 teams," Bacon said. J.J. McCarthy's Development Is A Key To U-M Taking Next Step Michigan has averaged a national re- cruiting class ranking of 10.6 from 2019-23, per the On3 Industry Ranking. That's solid but nowhere near Alabama (1.4) or Geor- gia (2.2), programs that have accounted for the last three national championships. But with the way the Wolverines have per- formed over the last two seasons and the level of talent returning for 2023, there's a path toward lifting the trophy on that final Monday night of the season. Clemson — which won national titles in 2016 and 2018 — is a blueprint. In the five cycles preceding its championships, Clemson averaged recruiting class ranks of 14.6 (2016) and 10.8 (2018). The difference was elite quarterback play, with Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, both future first-round NFL Draft picks, running the show. In their na- tional title game wins, both over Alabama, the two elite signal-callers combined to throw for 767 yards and 6 touchdowns with no interceptions. Quarterback play took the Tigers over the top. Michigan hasn't had a first-round quar- terback since its current head coach was chosen in 1986. But junior J.J. McCarthy is its best bet in a while, appearing on mul- tiple early mock drafts (ESPN.com, The Athletic) as a top-20 selection in 2024. Harbaugh has said he wants the offense to be 50-50 run-pass, and if McCarthy makes a leap in his development, his play on its own will demand that it's close to that. Last season, U-M threw just 26.4 passes per game, which was 114th in the country. McCarthy didn't make many mistakes in 2022, his first season as the starter, but the ones he did commit were costly, including two pick-sixes in the CFP semifinal against TCU. He also had a pick-six versus Penn State, a momentum-changing fumble at Iowa and an interception in the second half of the Big Ten Championship Game. "You could certainly see he's fearless, which is great," ESPN.com's Adam Rit- tenberg said in a conversation with The Wolverine. "But what you can't have are the mistakes. "That's where I'm looking for him to grow. Can J.J. McCarthy cut it loose while also playing in enough control and consis- tency to really scare defenses when he is in that mold?" Considering what's around him, Michi- gan's Big Ten championship hopes prob- ably aren't riding on it, but its national title chances just might be. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ CLAYTON SAYFIE Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athlet- ics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton. Sayfie@on3.com and follow him on Twitter @CSayf23. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has led U-M to the most wins in a two-year span in program history with 25 in the past two seasons. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL U-M Has Become 'What Opponents Feared'