Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines always have immense expectations, but is 2018 the season that they finally live up to them?
Unfortunately for the 2017 Michigan Wolverines, head coach Jim Harbaugh was unable to break a troubling pattern in his third season at the helm of the program. Despite big-time expectations that the Wolverines always face, they ultimately fell well short of them, going just 5-4 in the Big Ten with losses against every big-time opponent that they faced (Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State).
At 8-4 in the regular season, they were well out of the New Years Six conversation and instead earned a bid to the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 against the South Carolina Gamecocks. However, their disappointing season ended with another down note as they suffered a 26-19 defeat against their SEC foes.
Once again, Harbaugh’s Michigan team will face tremendous expectations from fans and the college football world at large heading into 2018. They’ll do so without the man who has been leading the way at quarterback for the majority of the time over the past few seasons, Wilton Speight. However, that change might not necessarily be a negative. After all, Speight earned an unwanted reputation for being a game-manager and, at times, not even necessarily a good one.
With Speight now gone though, Harbaugh will now have arguably the best quarterback situation that he’s had to this point in his tenure in Ann Arbor. Not only does he have two highly touted recruits, Brandon Peters and Dylan McCaffrey, that he brought in, but he also landed transfer Shea Patterson, who many expect to take the starting job come the season-opener against Notre Dame. That upgrade at the position at the top and throughout the depth chart provides an immense amount of hope for this offense as they look to reach a gear they have yet to see under Harbaugh.
The losses on defense could be a bit more substantial for the Wolverines this season as Maurice Hurst made his way to the NFL. Hurst was an absolute force at defensive tackle for this team throughout his career, consistently demanding attention from opposing offensive lines and creating pressure up the middle. Replacing him will certainly be no easy feat for this team as they move on without him in 2018.
Having said that, the defense should still remain the strength of this team as they boast high-level NFL prospects at each level. Up front and on the edge, Rashan Gary looks to make the leap to stardom as a pass-rushing nightmare. At linebacker, Devin Bush and Chase Winovich are All-American caliber talents that should bolster the defense as a whole. And in the secondary, LaVert Hill is an underrated cornerback prospect that should really aid greatly in their pass defense.
With the defensive stars and depth that Michigan possesses, they’ll again be a team that thrives off of what that unit provides. The key, however, is the potential leap on offense with Patterson at quarterback. The Wolverines have tremendous weapons in the form of Karan Higdon, Donovan People-Jones, Tarik Black, Chris Evans and Nico Collins coming back and, if the offense can indeed progress a great deal, this team has the chance to be finally reach the level they’ve been striving to get to.
Best-case scenario
- Sept. 1 at Notre Dame – W
- Sept. 8 vs. Western Michigan – W
- Sept. 15 vs. SMU – W
- Sept. 22 vs. Nebraska – W
- Sept. 29 at Northwestern – W
- Oct. 6 vs. Maryland – W
- Oct. 13 vs. Wisconsin – W
- Oct. 20 at Michigan State – W
- Nov. 3 vs. Penn State – W
- Nov. 10 at Rutgers – W
- Nov. 17 vs. Indiana – W
- Nov. 24 at Ohio State – W
The best-case scenario for the season isn’t something that we’ve seen play out for Michigan in recent years. They’ve continually fallen short of expectations under Harbaugh, not competing for titles as they expected to when he came to Ann Arbor. Once again though, this is a team that unquestionably has the talent to compete with the best of the best in college football.
This defense can stop any offense that they’re going to come up against this season, even with tough road games in the Big Ten and the season-opener against Notre Dame. What’s more, the arrival of Patterson (or even with Peters or McCaffrey) at quarterback, this offense could be the overall best we’ve seen in Harbaugh’s tenure. As such, if they can realize potential, this team has a chance to be in the College Football Playoff with an unblemished record.
Worst-case scenario
- Sept. 1 at Notre Dame – L
- Sept. 8 vs. Western Michigan – W
- Sept. 15 vs. SMU – W
- Sept. 22 vs. Nebraska – W
- Sept. 29 at Northwestern – W
- Oct. 6 vs. Maryland – W
- Oct. 13 vs. Wisconsin – L
- Oct. 20 at Michigan State – L
- Nov. 3 vs. Penn State – W
- Nov. 10 at Rutgers – W
- Nov. 17 vs. Indiana – W
- Nov. 24 at Ohio State – L
In truth, the worst-case scenario for Michigan this season is that the status quo stays the same. There is no doubt that the Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh have produced NFL-caliber talent and competed well in big games. However, three- and four-loss seasons are below what’s expected of this program, especially with the high-profile head coach at the helm.
There’s no question that the schedule this season is tough for the Wolverines, and it starts out that way with the visit to South Bend. Thus, if the same issues on offense with inconsistency — even with the improved quarterback room — continue, this team is going to continue to be stuck in the mud and unable to get over the hump.