Where CBS Sports ranks Michigan football in 2024 Big Ten race
Usually, when a team wins a national championship, especially after a long rise to the top, the expectation is that they will become something of a dynasty. However, for Michigan football, given the offseason upheaval, that’s not the case.
The Wolverines made three straight College Football Playoff appearances but didn’t advance beyond the semifinal round until this past year. Once they had, they won it all. But in the aftermath, Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL, there was a mass exodus to the NFL, and there will be a lot of new blood leading the team in 2024. Though there are still quite a few star players on board, with a first-year head coach, a new quarterback, and an expanding league (and playoff), not many expect the maize and blue to find themselves hoisting many trophies at the end of the upcoming season.
However, in his post-spring Big Ten power rankings, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli says don’t count out Michigan football. He does have it behind two other teams, but notes that there’s still a very good chance that the hardware still runs through Ann Arbor.
3. Michigan. It may seem unfair to have the reigning national champions ranked third only a few months removed from the parade, but a lot has changed since then. Jim Harbaugh and a large chunk of the coaching staff are gone, as are J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum and nearly every offensive lineman in the 734 area code. Still, there’s plenty of talent on the roster entering Sherrone Moore’s first season as the full-time head coach, and the Wolverines were able to hold onto a few huge defensive pieces whom some speculated could leave in the portal. There may not be a repeat national title in the cards, but a fourth straight Big Ten title is more likely than many believe.
Of course, the schedule figures to be more difficult in 2024 than in previous years. Texas comes to town in Week 2 and with a returning QB in Quinn Ewers, the Longhorns appear to be formidable. Though USC did not have a good 2023, it comes to Ann Arbor in Week 4. Michigan hosts Oregon and travels to Washington. And finishes out the season with a road trip to a hungry Ohio State team.
That said, if the four projected first-rounders show out and if Michigan can figure out the quarterback position while still maintaining the toughness in the trenches, it will be a hard out, no matter the schedule, and no matter the circumstances of having a new-look team forged this offseason.
