The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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fense made tremendous gains behind quarterback Connor Cook and should help pick up some of the slack. Ohio State will be eagerly seeking revenge against the Spartans for besting the Buckeyes in the Big Ten title game, but with the matchup in East Lansing, MSU prevails. Where is Michigan in all of this? At best, third in the East Division behind those two. The West Division Outplays The East: While no one in the West can match the East Division's top two of Michigan State and Ohio State, the West is overall deeper, featuring Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern and Illinois in its top six; the West will boast a winning record collectively against the East. After some hiccups in 2013, the Badgers should again be a top-15 team and a legitimate Big Ten Championship contender while Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota are all on the upswing and Northwestern won't repeat its disastrous 1-7 league record. Over the course of the two divisions (as long as they last before more expansion inevitably occurs), the East should enjoy the upper hand if Michigan and Penn State return to top-20 programs, but in 2014, everyone will be talking about the West's greater success and depth. One Early Forecast For Michigan Michigan Goes 8-4: After the disappointing finish to the 2013 season, many fans and media pundits have dialed back their expectations considerably for 2014, looking at every op- ponent and weighing the likelihood of a win, especially after U-M's struggles against Akron and Connecticut this past season. Michigan plays five road games, and only one — at Rutgers Oct. 4 — is a gimme. U-M has not been a strong team away from home under Brady Hoke (he is 7-11 in road and neutral site games at Michigan) and will not be favored at Notre Dame, at Michigan State and at Ohio State. It's very possible the Maize and Blue lose all three, but U-M should get a win at Northwestern, which will be trying to recover from a 5-7 campaign last fall. There are four swing games at home — against Minnesota, Penn State, Indiana and Maryland. The Gophers are on the rise, but Michigan usually has its way with that team. The Nittany Lions will continue to feel the fallout of their NCAA sanctions and will be adapting to new coach James Franklin with the departure of Bill O'Brien. That is a win for U-M. Neither Indiana nor Maryland were far away from being a good team this season, and IU has proven it can score, putting up 47 points and 572 yards of offense on the Maize and Blue this past fall. It will probably be one more year until the Hoosiers have a defense that can help them win big games, though. That leaves Maryland (Utah will also be a chore). Somewhere along the way, one of these teams will likely trip up the Wolverines, but the Terrapins appear the closest to being a really good team in 2014, and have the best shot to give U-M its fourth loss. ❏