Expert pessimism aside,
I think Michigan's over/under record this year is 8.5-3.5. The D has a good chance to be special. Special in a good way. And although the offense has a chance to be special in a bad way, predicting 5 losses in 12 games is giving a lot of other teams a befenit of doubt that is not given to M.
Aside from Wisconsin and OSU, where are three more L's coming from? Illinois, Penn State, MSU, ND or Utah? Come on, all those teams have serious issues as well. It is not reasonable to assume that a majority of those will overcome their inherent weaknesses or be able to manipulate play to their strengths while Michigan will not. Michigan's offense was already awful last year, and they went 9-4.
A top flight defense goes a long way, especially in the Big Ten. I don't know why people say they wouldn't be dissapointed with something worse than 8-4.