The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2023 SEASON PREVIEW 34 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW TOP FIVE GOALS IN 2023 Michigan stunned the college football world in crushing Ohio State for a second straight season, but the Wolverines faltered in the playoff again. Getting over the hump is the next step. This year's top goals: 1. Beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten — again Michigan has done to OSU what the Buckeyes did to them more than a few times over the previous 17 years (before 2021) — not only beaten them, but also dominated and broken their spirit. Many are still picking Ohio State to win the Big Ten this year, calling them the "more talented team." We'd argue that they were the last two seasons, too — at least on paper. Michigan has a chance to leave no doubt that the title now goes through Ann Arbor. We wouldn't bet against it. 2. Win a playoff game We wrote it here last year, too, and some said we were a bit over our skis. The Wolverines had a golden opportunity against a TCU team they should have beaten, but too many mistakes and uncharacteristi- cally bad defense doomed them. They might have been a bit overconfident as a heavy favorite, as well. Many are talking "national championship or bust" for this team, but it starts with a win in the semifinals. 3. Win the "trophy" games There are two of them besides what will likely be the Big Ten East trophy game with OSU — the Little Brown Jug contest at Minnesota and the Paul Bunyan Trophy game at Michigan State. These are "should win" games, but they're usually tough ones. The tro- phy case at Schembechler Hall looks bare when those additions aren't there. 4. Develop the passing offense Don't get us wrong … we'll take 400 yards on the ground any day (and twice on Saturday). But to beat SEC teams like Georgia and Alabama in the postsea- son, the Wolverines are going to need more from the downfield passing game. We know quarterback J.J. McCarthy can throw, but there doesn't appear to be a Braylon Edwards, Mario Manningham or David Terrell type on this team. 5. Continue to develop the NIL program After a bit of a down year in 2023, head coach Jim Harbaugh and his program are recruiting at a high level like you'd expect back-to-back champions to do. The collectives have really stepped up on the football side, but more relationships need to be built, more donors need to buy in. Name, image and likeness considerations are going to be a huge part of college football for the foreseeable future.