Michigan football might only be two games into its 2019 regular season, but that is not stopping anyone from looking ahead at what the trajectory of the remainder of the year.
Expectations are still that the Wolverines must compete for a Big Ten Championship in Jim Harbaugh’s fifth season on the job in Ann Arbor, but some are starting to waiver from that stance and the bowl projections from ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach for each of the 40 matchups have Michigan in different spots.
Michigan appears on Schlabach’s list as heading to the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 in a matchup that would pit them against the USC Trojans, which has traditionally been a Rose Bowl showdown when both programs have been humming along.
Bonagura still has faith that the Wolverines at the very least will play in a bowl game on New Years Day with his pick set for the Outback Bowl against Auburn on Jan. 1.
Bonagura’s current College Football Playoff includes Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama and Oklahoma, while Schlabach has Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma. Both writers have Clemson and Alabama meeting yet again for all the marbles.
Fans are hoping the Wolverines can figure out their woes and get back into the mix for the Rose Bowl, but nobody can assume that given what we have seen so far. There is a lot of football left to play, but Michigan’s narrative for this season is trending in the wrong direction as far as the national picture is concerned.
Urban Meyer weighs in on Michigan struggling vs. Army
People here are going to keep getting frustrated with me for including Urban Meyer quotes in anything we publish on the site, but as long as he keeps saying things I deem interesting, well, deal with it a guess.
The former Ohio State coach is continuing his work as an analyst on Big Ten Network and Fox Sports and he weighed in on Michigan’s recent struggles and said he was not surprised at all to see it because he had been through it before.
“We played Navy, and it was J.T. Barrett’s first start, and that was a lot like the game in Ann Arbor where it was a nailbiter,” Meyer said. “They ran for 300 yards on us. We played Army a couple years ago and it was – for a half, it was close. Imagine as an offensive coach, your 14 normal possessions, 14 times a game you get the ball, that’s down to 8. You lose 6 on average, 6 possessions a game. That’s a lot of stress, and the recipe for failure was there.
“The Wolverines turned the ball over three times. A (punt) and three turnovers, other than the one score, and that put the defense in a bad, bad position.”
What Michigan went through last week is not at all unlike what other teams have gone through with service academies in the past, though the self-inflicted wounds are a disturbing trend that cannot continue. Army and Navy have a way of doing that to teams, so we will have to just wait it out and go from there.
National Brews
- Former Michigan and Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of DWI. He was cooperative with police after authorities arrived to the scene of an accident.
- Remember when Ohio State tried to trademark the word “the” for their own purposes? Well, that just got swatted down in the courts like someone driving the lane on Dikembe Mutumbo.
- The state of California’s senate passed a bill that would allow a college player to profit from his/her name and likeness, which might open up the floodgates for major changes in college athletics.
- Pour one out today for T. Boone Pickens, the legendary energy tycoon and booster for Oklahoma State. Pickens passed away this week at the age of 91.