ESPN College GameDay crew evaluates if Michigan will win Big Ten for third straight year

Will Michigan win its third straight Big Ten title? The Wolverines are certainly the favorite according to the ESPN College GameDay crew.

Desmond Howard, a Michigan alum, put the Wolverines at the top and noted the returning players as the biggest reason why Michigan will go back to the top.

“I think so,” Howard said of Michigan’s chances of winning the Big Ten again. “When you look at what they’re bringing back to the table, I mean, they have the most talented running back room in the country with Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards and obviously (quarterback) JJ McCarthy. People thought he couldn’t throw the ball, couldn’t get it downfield the second half of the season, especially against Ohio State and TCU.

“He proved that he can go vertical. The defense is intact. The only question mark defensively is like the cornerback position. Now obviously Will Johnson is a lockdown corner on one side but the corner opposite him I think they’re still trying to figure that out but I think they can make another run.”

Pat McAfee countered not with Ohio State, but with Penn State as the team that could unseat Michigan as the top team in the Big Ten.

“They have eight returning starters on offense, eight returning starters on defense,” McAfee said. “It all comes down to the quarterback Drew Allar. They had two freshmen running backs last year that had almost 2000 yards. They have it all seemingly on paper to make a run. So it’s not just an Ohio State-Michigan conversation in the Big Ten.”

That’s where Kirk Herbstreit stated why he was high on Penn State as well. The offensive talent is too much to overlook.

But Herbstreit also named dark horse candidates out west.

“Everyone’s excited about what (Drew Allar) can do, highly touted recruit actually out of Ohio,” Herbstreit said. “But there’s Nicolas Singleton. I mean, they’re loaded and I think their defense is gonna get back to being nasty. They got guys that could rush to quarterback so I’m with you. And I even think I would throw in on the other side. I think Wisconsin with Luke Fickell who we talked earlier about what they can do with Tanner Mordecai coming in there.”

Herbstreit also pegged the always, well usually, reliable Iowa Hawkeyes.

“Iowa with Cade McNamara with him leaving Michigan, you would think that obviously offensively it can’t be any worse than they were a year ago,” Herbstreit said. “They’re going to take some big steps. So I think the Big Ten, we talked about the Pac-12 and the Big 12 and the depth they have. I think the Big Ten has some pretty good depth this year as well.”