Joel Klatt believes Michigan is biggest Big Ten threat to Ohio State, Oregon

Ohio State is the favorite in the Big Ten. Oregon isn’t far behind. The headliners of the old and new Big Ten are actually separated by only one spot in the preseason AP Top 25, too.

There’s no question those are the top-two teams in the league going into the 2024 season.

The biggest question, according to FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt, is who in the Big Ten poses the greatest threat to Ohio State and Oregon?

Klatt listed his three candidates: Michigan, Penn State and USC. Really, though, he believes Michigan is the correct answer for two reasons, self belief and style of play.

“If you’re a Michigan fan listening to this, you probably slapped the dashboard, threw something down, spit out your drink, and you’re like, ‘What do you mean? Who’s the threat? We’re the defending national champions? Who’s the threat to the team we just beat three times?’ I get it. I get it,” Klatt said during his show Monday.

“The last three years have been magical in Ann Arbor, and that’s why they are continuing, and that’s why they will be the biggest threat to Ohio State or Oregon. It doesn’t matter who is left because they believe they’re the biggest threat. They believe they’re the kings of the hill. They believe that the conference goes through them.”

Although Michigan’s coaching staff looks much different — most notably, former head coach Jim Harbaugh and former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter are now with the Los Angeles Chargers — and the Wolverines had a program-record 13 players selected in this year’s NFL Draft, they’ve maintained the same culture in Schembechler Hall.

Acting-turned-full-time head coach Sherrone Moore is now the conductor of that culture, which is predicated on physicality in the trenches.

“They put you in a bind,” Klatt said. “They just do. They play such a different style of football than most teams, and I think this year, it’ll be even leaned into more because they don’t have J.J. McCarthy to throw the ball as much as they did or as efficiently as they did a year ago. They’re going to lean into, as their coach Sherrone Moore puts it, ‘smash ball.’

“That’s going to be difficult for each of those teams. It’s going to be difficult for Ohio State. It’s going to be difficult for Oregon. It’s going to be difficult for Texas. It’s going to be difficult for USC. Because it’s not what other teams do, and this has been really the secret, their toughness at the line of scrimmage, over the course of the last few years. That’s why they’re the biggest threat.”

Michigan is still stout on the defensive line, namely the interior, where Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant should star in 2024. And, despite serious roster turnover up front offensively, the Wolverines are confident in their new O-Line.

It’ll be up to a new batch of everyday offensive linemen, including tackle Myles Hinton and Northwestern transfer guard Josh Priebe, plus big-play running back Donovan Edwards, to carry on the toughness from last year’s group, which produced three draftees.

Last year, Michigan dominated headlines when it ran the ball on 32 straight offensive plays to finish off Penn State in a Week 11, top-10 showdown. Klatt thinks it’s possible the Wolverines ride a very-run-heavy philosophy in 2024, especially against premier opponents.

“I understand that Ohio State has a great secondary,” Klatt said. “I understand that Ohio State has great edge rushers. But does that matter if Michigan can run it 55 times? Maybe not. See, for the last three years, they’ve said, ‘Great, good for you. Look at all that skill on the outside, offensively and even defensively.’ And then they said, ‘Come on in here into a phone booth and see if you can win a fist fight.’ And they’ve won the fist fight.”

Klatt, hammering home his Michigan point, emphasized: “They believe they’re the king of the mountain. That’s why they’re the biggest threat.”