Michigan football: Wolverines ranked outside top five in On3 preseason rankings
Michigan football is prepping for its Big Ten Championship defense in 2022 and game week is nearly upon us. National analysts are wrapping up their preseason thoughts on where the Wolverines stand as they look to achieve their lofty goals.
Mike Huguenin of On3 weighed in with a ranking of all 131 Division I teams with Michigan coming in at No. 6 in the nation.
“The Wolverines were a big surprise last season, winning the Big Ten for the first time since sharing the title in 2004 and advancing to the College Football Playoff,” he wrote. “The defense led the way last season, but eight full-time starters (and coordinator Mike Macdonald) are gone. The offense, then, needs to do more this season, and it should be able to. The rushing attack may actually be better than it was last season, and the passing attack certainly should improve. And while the defense will have a bunch of new starters, it still should be a strong group.”
Michigan’s stiffest competition will be the Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU comes in ranked No. 2 overall in the country behind Alabama heading into the 2022 season.
“QB C.J. Stroud, RB TreVeyon Henderson and WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba will vie for All-America honors, and they’ll play with an offensive line that is one of the best in the nation,” Huguenin writes. “In short, the offense will be tremendous. New coordinator Jim Knowles should fix most of what has ailed the defense the past two seasons; there certainly is good talent on that side of the ball, though linebacker is a concern.”
Michigan State cracked the top 25, additionally. The Spartans came in at No. 23 overall coming off an 11-2 season in 2021.
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“The Spartans were one of the nation’s biggest surprises last season,” he said. “Coach Mel Tucker again made good use of the transfer portal, and while another 11-win season is unlikely, the Spartans definitely have top-25 talent.”
Metrics weigh in on Michigan football’s expectations
ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) projects Michigan to finish with a 9.5-2.6 record this year, which lines up with how Vegas views the Wolverines. Most over/under win totals have them set at 9.5 on the season and the computer projection appears dead-on there. Games at Iowa and Ohio State and home tilts with Penn State and Michigan State are the likely swing games on the schedule for this campaign.
Michigan is the FPI favorite in all but one game it plays this season, Nov. 26 at Ohio State. The metric gives the Wolverines only a 15.2% chance of victory in Columbus. Other than that, games against Penn State (66.9%), Michigan State (69.5%) and at Iowa (70%) are Michigan’s biggest challenges on the 2022 schedule.
The 2022 season gets going on Sept. 3 with a noon kickoff against Colorado State. The game will be broadcast nationally via ABC from Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
