Can’t Wait For Saturday | Defending champions lost key parts, but have plenty of positives on their side

Jul. 29—***

Are you ready for the most college football ever? Twelve teams in the playoffs means eight more postseason games than before. What used to be three is now 11 to decide who is best,

The favorites might dominate in the first two rounds. Or the semifinals will be filled with bottom seeds. We can only hope.

Kick back, relax and enjoy every moment of it. As a primer, I will use this space over the next month and half to count down my preseason Top 50. I welcome complaints and disagreements I might even include them in future stories.

And away we go …

The team has oodles of confidence after winning the national title, the program’s first since 1997. While the roster has been overhauled, enough players are back that the lessons learned in 2023 will carry over. … New coach Sherrone Moore is a smart guy with endless skill. He was going to be somebody’s head coach this season. Michigan was fortunate Jim Harbaugh made the move when he did because it is doubtful Moore would have ben back as coordinator. … Defensive tackle Mason Graham and cornerback Will Johnson are among the best at their positions in the conference. … Donovan Edwards steps in at tailback for Blake Corum and the Wolverines won’t skip a beat. If the blocking is good, Edwards could end up in the Heisman conversations. … Veteran coordinator Wink Martindale takes over the defense and will help with a depleted unit. … Graham and fellow tackle Kenneth Grant gives Michigan strength in the middle of the defense. … For for first time in years, the Wolverines won’t play Penn State.

The program is in transition. For all his weirdness, Harbaugh offered stability. Moore might hit some bumps during the season. … The Wolverines are hopeful, but they don’t know what they are going to get from quarterback Alex Orji. … Orji might be scrambling a lot….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/cant-wait-saturday-defending-champions-150400549.html

Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Publish date : 2024-07-29 15:04:00

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