The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/901162
DECEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 33 prototype, but that kid's pretty good as it is and only going to get better. "The needs of this team, defensively, don't stand out as much as the needs of the team offensively. On the defen- sive line, you can see some nice young players in there. "[Sophomore defensive end] Rashan Gary is obviously going to come along and get better. Solomon has broken the lineup. You see that kid making plays. "The secondary, with [sophomore cornerback Lavert] Hill, [sophomore Khaleke] Hudson at the viper spot and [sophomore David] Long at the corner … these guys are good playmakers. "If you're forcing me to answer the question, it would be a little stronger play from the safety position. Obvi- ously, we've seen opponents force the safeties to come down in coverage, and we got exposed a little bit there. But they all tackle pretty well, so that's a stretch." The Wolverine: What's a reasonable expectation for how often Michigan appears in the Big Ten championship game going forward? How about win- ning it and making the College Foot- ball Playoff? Ray: "That's a tough one for me. It has a lot to do with schedule. It has a lot to do with having a veteran group. Realistically, Michigan is probably two years away from winning the East. "Next year, I just don't see it. At Notre Dame, at East Lansing, at Co- lumbus. You've got Wisconsin and Penn State at home. Those last four are the best teams in the conference, and you play two of them on the road. "Just by scheduling, I don't think it's going to happen right away. In 2019, it should be a year when they start to make a push. I don't know about the playoff yet, because that's a tricky card. "But winning the East, getting to Indianapolis, that's two or three years away for me." Karsch: "They should be in the con- ference championship game every other year. It's going to be tough, and that's setting the bar pretty high. This is a loaded division. But Michigan is loaded. "They need to make the playoff in the next couple of years, for sure. Maybe it's next year. I guess I'll go once every three years, on the play- off." Skene: "A reasonable expectation with the talent that's on this football team right now would have been this year. I believe, without five turnovers against Michigan State, we would be in the discussion for a Big Ten cham- pionship run this year. "But one bad game, against a team that you could have beaten, and your margin of error is zero. Then you go play in a white-hot environment in Penn State. You lose two games and you're out. "Last year's team was a champion- ship-caliber team, but could not finish a game, could not get key first downs against Iowa. Again, it comes down to the offensive line. "This year's team — because of that defense, the special teams being good and the offense being good enough — has Big Ten championship-caliber talent. "My answer is every year is a Big Ten championship-caliber expectation. Every year. Now, beyond the Big Ten, to go win a playoff game? That can vary year to year, based on who else is out there." Jansen: "In every normal year after this one, whoever wins the Big Ten is going to be in the College Football Playoff. "Starting next year, Michigan should expect that they're going to be contending for that Big Ten champion- ship on a yearly basis. We'll have the talent, and it comes down to a matter of execution. "This whole hiccup in the rivalry with Michigan State is going to end, as well as with Ohio. Now Ohio is a very talented team, and that's going to go back and forth. It's going to come down to execution when you play in, say, Kinnick Stadium. "Michigan found that out last year. Ohio found that out this year. You've got to win the games that you're sup- posed to win. Then when you hit Sophomore linebacker Devin Bush Jr. has quickly shown that he's a defensive cornerstone. In his first year as the starter, he led the team with 82 tackles after 10 games. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN