Michigan football: Kirk Herbstreit weighs in on 2023 expectations
Michigan football has national title aspirations in 2023, but how does it push through the ceiling that has been set in the last few seasons? That remains the million-dollar question heading into the summer.
The team itself will attack its preparation in fall camp in August and go from there. All that there is to do right now is discuss how it can happen. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit is among the national pundits that do not think there need to be major changes made.
“You know when I hear ‘over the hump’ — I think they should’ve been in the national championship last year,” Herbstreit told On3’s J.D. PicKell at the On3 NIL Elite Series. “I mean, I respect TCU, but let’s face it. I think you and I and everybody that watched that game, we were impressed with what we saw from TCU that game and the way they made so many explosive plays. But I think going into it, I think if we thought about [it], Michigan was going to win the game.
“So to think, ‘What do they have to do to get over the hump?’ I would’ve said that after they lost to Georgia [in 2021] and the fashion in which they did. But against TCU, man, I just feel like just a couple plays here or there. So I don’t think they change a whole lot of anything.”
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Not only are there not changes needed, but Herbstreit feels like Michigan’s recent run of success under head coach Jim Harbaugh is sustainable. All boats are sailing in the same direction in pursuit of Michigan’s first national championship since the 1997 season.
“You mentioned the one-two punch in the backfield, the way they’ve recruited in recent years, they’ve got great skill on the outside, they’re always going to have linemen. And then, J.J. is, I think, proving himself to be a guy that you can win a lot of games with. So I think they’re in a great spot,” Herbstreit told PicKell. “They get Ohio State at home. Jim, I feel like, has taken his program to the highest level that it’s been at since he’s been in Ann Arbor. If they can stay healthy, they’re going to have a real shot this year.”
