SerpApi.Org
Even with the looming departure of Warde Manuel at the end of the calendar year, the Michigan Wolverines find themselves in a precarious position. In very early preseason rankings (ESPN), they are ranked 14th. It’s also been widely reported that they have had one of the best-ranked recruiting classes of the offseason. So, amongst all the negative headlines of this off-season, here the Wolverines are…with a bright future?
Is the presence of Kyle Whittingham going to steady the ship? Is Bryce Underwood going to have a sophomore season that shows promising growth? Are the Wolverines going to be a contender in the Big Ten?
Are these questions even worth considering?
Some of it feels like fool’s gold. A team can do a hundred things right, right? The Wolverines’ first four games are in Ann Arbor, so that is promising. The possibility of having a winning record after those four seems plausible, with the only true test seemingly against Oklahoma. So, the season could begin brightly for Michigan football. That is where the fool’s gold comes in. A lot of Michigan seasons begin that way, and then something wayward happens and the season gets widely off track.
How Michigan football can meet preseason expectations
Bryce Underwood will need to make a significant jump in his sophomore campaign. His inconsistency will have to be balanced without question. The Wolverines will go as far as he can take them. Of course, Wittingham’s presence will count, but while football is a team sport, it is mainly driven by good or bad quarterback play. Underwood’s play will determine if Michigan is a worthy contender in the Big Ten or even the college playoff.
The midpoint is where the fanbase will know whether this Wolverine team is for real or not.
Warde Manuel’s tenure at Michigan has been anything but uneventful. And at this point, good riddance. But one thing is for sure, the future of Ann Arbor needs to be quite different from the recent. No longer can cheating accusations, ineptitude at the head coaching position, and lackluster play against ranked teams, be acceptable. It is one thing to be regarded in the offseason for having a great recruiting class or being regarded as a possible contender for the Big Ten, but if you do nothing to live up to it, it’s all for naught.
People can say the future could be bright…. but will it be, is the real question.
Today's best reads
- The best and worst-case scenarios for Michigan in Kyle Whittingham's first season
- Michigan football desperately needs elite transfer to realize the preseason hype
- Urban Meyer offers the most unlikely praise for Bryce Underwood at Michigan
- J.D. PicKell took the road most travelled with lazy Michigan predictions
- Predicting Michigan's preseason All-Big Ten first teamers
This article was originally published on gbmwolverine.com as Preseason rankings show that expectations are high for Michigan under Kyle Whittingham.
