The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY CLAYTON SAYFIE F our prominent national college football voices — Sporting News' Bill Bender, CBS Sports' Tom For- nelli, Athlon Sports' Steven Lassan and On3's Andy Staples — provided their takes on Michigan ahead of the 2024 sea- son. Our panel of experts discussed the Wolverines' transition from Jim Har- baugh to Sherrone Moore at head coach, the quarterback battle and more. Some questions were lightly edited for brevity and/or clarity. What was your reaction to, and the most impressive part of, Mich- igan's 2023 national champion- ship run? Bender: The six-game stretch from the time Jim Harbaugh was suspended before the Penn State game through the dominant performance against Wash- ington in the College Football Playoff championship game. The Wolverines had a plus-10 turnover margin in those games — the epitome of a team that would not make a back-breaking mistake. That's why [quarterback] J.J. McCarthy's near- interception on the first series of the Rose Bowl was shocking. Which [run- ning back] Blake Corum touchdown was the best one? The silencer against Penn State? The one after [right guard] Zak Zinter's gruesome leg injury against the Buckeyes? Overtime against Alabama or the back-to-back fourth-quarter daggers against Washington? The answer is all of the above. Fornelli: It was overcoming all the distractions. What [former analyst] Con- nor Stalions did was against the rules, but the entire story felt overblown because, whether by legal means or not, Michigan wasn't the only team stealing the signs of their opponents. Still, regardless of your thoughts on the entire situation, it was a major distraction that could've derailed a season. And it was only one of two sus- pensions Jim Harbaugh served! So, for the team to come into the season with the goal of winning the Big Ten and a national title, deal with multiple suspensions to their head coach and still keep their eyes on the prize, was the most impressive part of the whole thing in my eyes. The promotion of Sherrone Moore to replace Jim Harbaugh as Michigan's head coach received across-the-board praise from our panel of national college football experts. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER BURNING QUESTIONS College Football Experts Preview Michigan's 2024 Season