Loses Richardson (1st), Hanks, Maze, and Smelley. Their leading rusher and their top 4 leaders in receiving.
Loses Hightower, Kirkpatrick, Barron, Menzie, Upshaw, Harris, Chapman, and Hightower. Most of their secondary, and most of their front 7.
Michigan
Loses Hemingway, Koger, Molk. Their leading receiver, solid Tight End, and All-American Center.
Loses Troy Woolfolk, Mike Martin, Will Heininger, Ryan Van Bergen.
*Potentially Toussaint.
Popular Beliefs in the Media
Alabama reloads/replaces all their missing pieces, goes on to win the SEC, and is vying for the National Championship.
Michigan cannot reload/replace all their missing pieces, loses to Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Ohio State because Urban Meyer will have them ready like it's a "bowl" game.
*The ideas in Wolfman's post are well-done, but in his opening he states that 5 touchdowns wouldn't be enough, which confuses me.
Personal Prediction
Alabama has a great offensive line which will be a challenge. But if they are one-dimensional, Michigan will stop them. The X-Factor will be A.J McCarron, if he is efficient and keeps the attack balanced, their offense could be dangerous. But losing Trent Richardson as a rusher and as a pass-catcher, as well as his other top 3 targets, will hinder their passing game. Defensively they will be tough to run straight at, but losing most of their secondary gives Michigan an area to attack. Denard is in his 3rd year as a starter, returns most of his targets this year so I do see an improvement. And if Denard can throw, that backs them off the line and opens up for Denard to run. My prediction is if Michigan scores 20+, they win.
Recent Comments
Loses Richardson
Alabama
Loses Richardson (1st), Hanks, Maze, and Smelley. Their leading rusher and their top 4 leaders in receiving.
Loses Hightower, Kirkpatrick, Barron, Menzie, Upshaw, Harris, Chapman, and Hightower. Most of their secondary, and most of their front 7.
Michigan
Loses Hemingway, Koger, Molk. Their leading receiver, solid Tight End, and All-American Center.
Loses Troy Woolfolk, Mike Martin, Will Heininger, Ryan Van Bergen.
*Potentially Toussaint.
Popular Beliefs in the Media
Alabama reloads/replaces all their missing pieces, goes on to win the SEC, and is vying for the National Championship.
Michigan cannot reload/replace all their missing pieces, loses to Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Ohio State because Urban Meyer will have them ready like it's a "bowl" game.
*The ideas in Wolfman's post are well-done, but in his opening he states that 5 touchdowns wouldn't be enough, which confuses me.
Personal Prediction
Alabama has a great offensive line which will be a challenge. But if they are one-dimensional, Michigan will stop them. The X-Factor will be A.J McCarron, if he is efficient and keeps the attack balanced, their offense could be dangerous. But losing Trent Richardson as a rusher and as a pass-catcher, as well as his other top 3 targets, will hinder their passing game. Defensively they will be tough to run straight at, but losing most of their secondary gives Michigan an area to attack. Denard is in his 3rd year as a starter, returns most of his targets this year so I do see an improvement. And if Denard can throw, that backs them off the line and opens up for Denard to run. My prediction is if Michigan scores 20+, they win.