Bruce Feldman calls 2023 Michigan’s best shot at winning national championship

The 2023 season might be the best shot for Michigan and Jim Harbaugh to win a national championship, according to Bruce Feldman.

The college football insider evaluated what the Wolverines brought back for this fall and looked at the landscape of college football. It sets up for Michigan to hoist the trophy at the end of the season.

Feldman joined the Move the Sticks Podcast to explain.

“J.J. McCarthy is very gifted,” Feldman said of Michigan’s most important player. “I mean, he can throw on the run. He pretty much has everything you’re looking for … He plays in a different system, right? It’s a more traditional pro style (system). 

“I spent some time with Alan Bowman and (he) was the third string guy for a while at Michigan, he was talking about there’s like 28 different kinds of footwork you have to learn in that offense. And I thought (McCarthy) was really good in the games that mattered, certainly to them. Ohio State on the road (for instance).”

It was the swagger and confidence from Michigan that stood out to Feldman last season. That can certainly carry over into 2023.

“And I talked to him for something a couple of weeks back before that game and he was like, this is like bulletin board material he’s giving me and he was all good with it,” Feldman said. “And they backed it up. I mean, they did not have Blake Corum, All-American running back and Donovan Edwards had a big game but he was playing with a soft cast and his hand was banged up.

“And they torched that defense, right? And (McCarthy) made big throws. And I think this will be Jim Harbaugh’s most talented team.”

As far as Feldman is concerned, this is the most talented Michigan team Harbaugh ever had and they’re primed to finally win it all.

“They have a bunch of those guys who decided to come back as opposed to leaving early for the NFL and a lot of those guys were their real team leaders, and they’re almost all back,” Feldman said. “To me, they not only should be a playoff team, I think if J.J. can take the next step, and look, he’s going to need a little help from the receivers … I don’t want to say (they are the) odds-on favorite, but … this is the most talented team they’ve ever had …

“You have to get through the SEC to win a national title right? Their arch rival, who they whipped at their own place, were this close to winning that game and knocking the Bulldogs out of the mix. And I think this Michigan team is more talented than you know than the one they just had. I actually think it’s considerably more talented.”