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Coming off a 2-4 campaign in 2020, it seemed unlikely that Michigan football was going to amount to much in 2021. Yet, 247Sports had the Wolverines as a dark-horse College Football Playoff team — and that’s when it was still at four teams. The article was met with much derision, and yet, Michigan prevailed — beating Ohio State, winning the Big Ten, and facing Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl, a CFP semifinal that year.
Coming off an 8-5 season, could the Wolverines be poised to make it back to the (now expanded) big dance once again? USA TODAY Sports’ Blake Toppmeyer thinks so. And then some.
Toppmeyer selected five ‘sleeper’ teams that could win the national championship this upcoming season, and Michigan football was one of the five, listed in a category ‘Longer-shot sleepers to contend for a national championship:’
Michigan finished last season by upsetting Ohio State and Alabama, and it did so while lacking a competent quarterback. Hello, Bryce Underwood, the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruit in this past class. Underwood might not look the part of polished quarterback by September, but Michigan’s forgiving schedule provides a runway for the Wolverines to improve throughout the season and make the playoff. Transfer quarterback Mikey Keene (Fresno State) provides cushion if Underwood needs some time. Michigan returned several starters from a stout defense. If it can get right at quarterback, it can make the playoff, at a minimum.
While the core of the 2023 team is mostly gone, there are still some holdovers, including team captain Rod Moore, the safety who was injured with an ACL tear last year. With that in mind, even though this is mostly a new team, it seems odd to think that several players who were a part of that 2023 run couldn’t replicate the feat, given that they’ve seen what it takes, at least in the four-team era.
Still, Toppmeyer seems to have an accurate depiction of what the Wolverines are, especially compared to a lot of other college football pundits who merely look at the players who departed for the NFL without noting the returners, Underwood taking over at quarterback, and Chip Lindsey likely elevating the offense as the new coordinator. Additionally, as Toppmeyer noted, the schedule is amenable, at least if the maize and blue can be consistent on the road.
The other teams that made the cut for Toppmeyer were LSU and Clemson at the top of the list, with Michigan and Ole Miss in the next tier, and Oklahoma — Michigan’s Week 2 opponent — at the bottom.
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