Brad Crawford at 247: Michigan to the CFP, at #3
An article at 247, written by Brad Crawford, projects Michigan to make the College Football Playoffs. He has them matched with, and losing to, Georgia.
I can't say I agree with his projection of Georgia finishing at #2. They have a mighty tough schedule. They had three losses last year. Turnovers did hurt them against LSU. But even so, LSU looked pretty good against them. And Texas pretty much pushed Georgia around in their Bowl Game. Georgia did have a good lead on Alabama. But when the moments of truth came in the 4th qtr, they just didn't have it to stop Alabama. I don't think Gerogia will have improved enough over last year to make it to #2 this season.
I think Alabama could go undefeated this year. I think getting beaten badly in the National Championship is not sitting well with Nick Saban. Alabama could win it all again this year. Would anyone be surprised if they did?
I do believe Michigan can make the Final 4. But how will they do in the Final 4? I have to wait and see how #SpeedInSpace works for them. As it is now though, just making the CFP would be a clear step up for Michigan.
Here's what Brad Crawford had to say about Michigan:
Where: State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Ariz.
Projected matchup: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Michigan
Quick bite: Will Jim Harbaugh finally beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten? Should it happen, the Wolverines should reach the final four. At 12-1 following a win over unbeaten Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, the Bulldogs in this scenario jump from the No. 4 or 5 place team in college football to No. 2 in the final selection committee rankings prior to the Playoff. Putting Kirby Smart's team here would avoid a rematch with the Crimson Tide, at least in the semifinal round of the Playoff.
I am a big time Michigan fan - have flown cross country a few times to see them play. I would love for Brad to be correct.......but I am not going to get ahead of myself. Michigan has a very daunting schedule so I am going to just lay low and see how it turns out.
GO BLUE
Big investment in flying a Hugh Jass across the country. Need extra seats...
Brutal schedule.
Lost a ton on defense.
An entirely new offense run by a rookie coach.
My optimism is tempered.
I do believe Michigan can make the playoffs. Will they...?
We have yet to produce a playoff team. Once a program makes it to the playoffs, they have cache, they know what it takes,...I’ll settle for a damn conference championship game.
Cart/horse
Yeah Michigan State has been dominant since their playoff appearance. They have 3,10,7 wins since then ! And they are a top 50 recruiting team for 2020 !
Lol I'll eat a bag of lemons if we make the playoffs.
I will eat an entire bag of warheads at once if they either beat Ohio, win the B1G, or make it to the CFP.
Warheads aren't even that sour. Horrible for your teeth though
Maybe he is a dentist and that is the point.
Cool. Beat Ohio State.
I am not even worried about any game except that one.
Exactly. Odds are if we’re good enough to win that one, we’re good enough to win the rest or enough to get to the playoff.
I would even go like 9-3 if we beat Ohio and be ok
No playing football games until we beat OSU.
But we play army
This makes me feel super confident because this has never been predicted of a Harbaugh team before this year.
They haven’t won their division yet. Just typical summertime blues article.
Incorrect. Michigan was B1G East co-champ with Ohio State last year.
Yeah and if you lose your virginity to a relative, you can still tell people you had sex before. But doesn’t it just feel wrong?
Not if you're a Lannister or a Targaryen
The equivalent of a participation trophy for playing a play-in game with OSU. Everyone knows who the actual division winner is, and it sure as hell wasn't Michigan.
I don't understand why this triggers so many in Michigan's fan base. This is not a claim that Michigan was better than OSU. It is not a claim of a B1G title.
It is a simple statement of fact. Michigan won/tied for the B1G East title last year. You can look this up on the internet. If you want to say Michigan lost the head-to-head game with the team with which it tied, that is true, and you can say that OSU is better. Also true. This is why OSU and not Michigan represented the B1G East in the B1G Championship game. There is a lot of "duh" there.
But this does not matter for the division title, per the rules of what a B1G East title means. They won/tied, and there is no disputing that. On a value judgment basis in terms of B1G play: Michigan lost by 23 points - were slaughtered - to a 13-1 team that finished #3 in the final AP poll. OSU lost by 29 points - were slaughtered - to a team that finished 6-7.
All of these things are true: Michigan was a really good team last year. OSU was much better. Michigan won a share of the B1G East title.
UGA had no desire to play that game against Texas. Devastating loss in their last game and a terrible bowl performance...sound familiar?
Michigan can make the CFP but if they made it I don't think they'd win their game. They'd likely be playing a team with an excellent o line which I think is a bad matchup against our d line. The depth isn't there this season like it is on the offensive line. I know Wisconsin is replacing 4 starters but that will be a key test early on to see if the line can hold up.
Michigan can make the CFP but if they made it I don't think they'd win their game. They'd likely be playing a team with an excellent o line which I think is a bad matchup against our d line.
The D Line we’ve not seen play a snap? It’s unknown what Brown is going to do with the guys he’s got this year. I’m confident that the defense going to be a bit different based on the roster and the new offense. Specifically, we’ve got a new DL coach as well and I expect that unit to be unlike Mattison’s DL. Not that they weren’t great — at times. I think DB learned a lot last year, and I think DB gave Mattison a earful after the OSU lose Just my opinion, based on nothing but my gut, but Mattison was steamed about something.
Looking at the most talented position group for Michigan of late it’s DL for sure. They’ve dominated ... but have they been game changers in the biggest game? No, they’ve been quiet. Injuries didn’t help. But, I think they underperformed their talent level. I think these unproven guys are going to surprise. I’d be thrilled if they just learned how to draw a holding flag!
Our D line has a high ceiling, and is young.
Projecting them as an issue in January is not the same as projecting them as an issue at the beginning of the season.
I obviously really hope this turns out correct- but in either case, nobody should pretend that Georgia v Texas bowl game was relevant for 2019.
Georgia slept walked through the first 55 minutes of that game. It meant about as much as the Lions pasting the Packers 31-0 at Lambeau in Week 17 last year.
I'm a Lions fan. I live in Wisconsin. And I can report first hand that the Lions 31-0 victory at Lambeau was VERY delicious.
Let's just get to the B1G championship and beat OSU, MSU, Penn St, and ND all in one season. That seems like a damn big challenge in itself.
After getting HTTV the other day and going through some of it I tend to think another 10 win regular season is in the cards. Until I see how the DL, CBs, and defense overall look, I can't really get too excited. I'm just worried the defense will be a step back. I'm pretty confident the offense will be a nice improvement. Even if the defense is great to start the season, an injury in a few different spots could be a killer. Either way, can't wait to see what these guys can do. The preseason hype for Michigan is kinda weird to me. Hopefully they can live up to it.
Your points on the D are valid, but you're undervaluing an elite, experienced QB. Those are pure gold in college football, and M hasn't had one since 2003 at the latest.
That's very true. I might be overly worried about the defense. I loved Shea last year and I think if the WRs can stay healthy he'll have a phenomenal season. Hell, even if Shea got hurt I'd be pretty confident in the backup. I just don't think the defense will be as consistent this year without the same level of talent on the DL that we've grown accustomed to. There's talent there, but it's just not proven starters all over.
We took a DL that wasn’t great in the middle and then lost the two good DEs. I really hope that the line regressed last year because Mattison lost a step. If not, this year won’t be fun defensively.
Based on what we saw against OSU our DL wasn't any good last year. The key to beating OSU is not by containment but to keep scoring. Defense will have to make plays now and then, no doubt. But we are not beating them with defense. If they score 60 we have to score 61. Better offense is the solution for better defense against OSU. Our DL this year won't be any worse than last year against OSU.
Chad Henne.
Michigan is always overrated preseason for some reason. I think it's going to be tough to replace what was lost on defense. Offense will be better, but still a new system that will take some getting used to. Think we will see losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State (possible PSU too) and fall short of the CFP. Hope to be wrong.
I see us losing to 1 of Wisconsin or Penn State but not both. I really believe we will be 10-1 going into The Game. For once this big showdown with both teams being ranked will be in The Big House. I like our chances.
Go Blue!
Can Pony hold TUOS under 60? We will see.
I won’t believe it til we beat OSU. That’s two coaches in a row (yes I’m excising the fickle year) that have proven virtually unbeatable. I assume the Day is a third in a row until proven otherwise.
All these crazy predictions sure are scaring me. Guess our days of being able to fly under the radar are over for the foreseeable future. Yes, there is normal hype but Harbaugh has this thing rolling now and everyone knows it and can see it.
I think this prediction has as much to do with Urban retiring as it does Harbaugh. I'm an eternal Michigan optimist, but I didn't come off the end of last season feeling like the program was on a roll.
Im so over these preseason football predictions that claim we'll make the CFP. Obviously as a UM fan I want it to happen and believe it could but I need to see it happen. Until then these predictions are just kind of bleh. Mainly because I know due to our underachieving everyone else sees it as a joke to predict us in the CFP. All these predictions do is bring more outsiders shit talking UM
I think Alabama could go undefeated this year. I think getting beaten badly in the National Championship is not sitting well with Nick Saban.
Agreed, this year he is going to really try!
It's crazy how well he's done there without trying.
All these prognostications predicting M to the CFP are hopium for the masses.
Ignore them ..... and I'm pretty sure JH and his staff are telling players to do that.
We're not going to know what kind of team M is until we see M v Army, @ Wisconsin and M v Iowa. At that point, we may know (1) if the Gattis effect is both real and produces a more efficient offense per S&P+ or FEI than 2018. (2) If Patterson has "it" and can lead the team to championships. (3) If Don Brown is actually good (I have my doubts) and much better than his performance would indicate v. well executed WCO using RPO concepts based on the last two games his defense played v osu and UF in the 2018 season.
I like to take a complete sample size instead of just picking out 2 games to determine if someone is good or not. My complete sample size determines that Don Brown is one of the best in the business. And guess what, most if not all experts agree with this. There are a lot of things that one could criticize with UM football throughout the years including some of our defensive play, but to suggest that Don Brown isn't good at what he does is just plain ignorance.
Sneaky tough games against Army, Sparty, at Penn State, and at Indiana late in November.
I see 8 to 10 regular season wins.
Hope for the best but expecting typical Michigan FB season.
If You don’t agree with Georgia at #2 because last season Georgia lost three games, then you must really disagree with UM at #3 for losing three games.
Well, since I live in PHX, I approve of this message.
Meaningless
I'll chime in after the Ohio State game. Michigan always gets lots of preseason media hype. No doubt the new direction the offense is going is finally in the times with how football is played today and Michigan will benefit. No one is talking about the defense right now but relying on the Don Brown factor. This is scary. Look at how Michigan's defense has played in big games under Don Brown? No doubt he is a good coach but they are absolutely shredded against good offenses and they will be on the field on whole lot longer with the offense throwing the ball around a bunch. Michigan and Harbaugh will earn their ranking IF they can win the big games that really count.