The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/495628
MICHIGAN FOOTBALL The Spartans, though, drew the highest percentage of votes among opponents after OSU. Penn State was third with 39 percent, while Utah was fourth with 30 percent. Those casting their votes have the highest expectation for Michigan victories against Rutgers (99 percent), UNLV (98 percent), Northwestern (98 per- cent), Indiana (98 percent) and Oregon State (95 percent). • Former Wolverine defensive end Ryan Van Bergen (2008-11) has retuned to Ann Arbor to open a gym called Blue Lion Fit- ness that aims to train patrons like a Division I strength and conditioning staff would. A standout on the 2011 defense that produced a dramatic turnaround from the historically bad performance of the 2010 unit, surrendering 128.6 fewer yards per game (450.8 to 322.2) and allowing 17.8 fewer points per contest (35.2 to 17.4), Van Bergen attended Michigan's spring game April 4 and walked away impressed with a defensive line that was responsible for four sacks and nine tackles for loss in the scrimmage. "These guys are all tremendous athletes, with a ceiling that is beyond what we were [my senior year]," Van Bergen said. "But by the same token, they haven't got- ten there yet. "With Coach [Greg] Mattison at the helm [as the defensive line coach], he will push those guys to be as good as they can possibly be. "Depending on how hard they work this offseason, I absolutely think they can make a statement and show that they are one of the more dominant defensive fronts [in the country]." • Harbaugh should have an opportunity to turn around Michigan's fortunes quickly, inheriting a roster with 247 combined starts. In 2011, Brady Hoke took over a team with 265 starts and molded that experience into an 11-2 campaign, including a Sugar Bowl win. Rich Rodriguez was not as fortunate in 2008, assuming the mantle of a program with only 136 returning starts, with just 15 along the offensive line, two at wide receiver and none at quarterback. Harbaugh's 2015 team has only two starts under center (junior Shane Morris), but In a poll on TheWolverine.com, 57 percent of respondents picked U-M to defeat Michigan State this year, despite Michigan having fallen to the Spartans in six of the past seven seasons. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL