The Michigan Wolverines finally got back their credibility when they landed Jim Harbaugh as their head coach this offseason. He’s the man that is expected to return them to the BCS. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the move and while fans have every reason to be excited about the program’s potential with Harbaugh at the helm, it is also important for them to manage expectations. It won’t be a BCS Championship this season. Even so, here are four reasonable expectations for this coming season:
Michigan Will Be More Disciplined & Focused
One of the most important things Harbaugh talked about when he arrived in Michigan was the importance of discipline and focus. That alone will be a major focus for the team as they look to build a strong foundation this season. The Wolverines defense was one of the most underrated units in the country a year ago and will welcome back several important pieces but the offense needs a major retooling and that will be Harbaugh’s biggest test in 2015. They ranked 13th out of 14 teams in the Big Ten in terms of points per game and were dead-last with offense at just 333 yards per outing.
Michigan won’t become a contender until Harbaugh can establish the fundamentals and get his group to play a disciplined and focused game on both sides of the football, so look for that to be a major talking point this season.
Harbaugh Will Find His Quarterback
The key to turning around the offense will be quarterback play after the Wolverines ranked among the worst teams in the Big Ten in passing efficiency last season. Michigan averaged a paltry 170.2 passing yards per game last season. In the spring, Harbaugh worked with a young trio that doesn’t have a single touchdown pass between them in junior Shane Morris, true freshman Alex Malzone and redshirt freshman Wilton Speight. They’ll also welcome graduate transfer Jake Rudock to the fold in the fall.
The loss of top receiver Devin Funchess won’t help the overall outlook for whoever wins the starting job but Harbaugh is known for his work with quarterbacks – including Colin Kaepernick with the San Francisco 49ers. He has said he is confident that someone will emerge from the group he has assembled. Rudock looks like the favorite to win the job as the fourth-most efficient passer in the Big Ten at Iowa last season so don’t be surprised if he is named the starter.
Wolverines Will Struggle Early On
It might not matter who is under quarterback for Michigan early on next season as a tough early schedule could lead to them struggling out of the gate. The Wolverines will open the year at Utah before returning home for three straight home games against Oregon State, UNLV and BYU. With so much work to get the program turned in the right direction, it will be important to temper expectations for those early season games. We’ll learn a lot about them in their opener at Utah. If they can win that, it’s possible that they could be 4-0 or 3-1 after four games entering October and that would make the Big Ten season very interesting. At the same time, this is a rebuilding team. They could struggle out of the gate with a tough early schedule.
Michigan Will Rebound & Challenge For Bowl Game
The Wolverines might not look like a bowl contender out of the gate but they should get on track in October and November where they will have the opportunity to make some noise in the Big Ten. You have to figure that they’ll be – at worst – 2-2 after their first four games and when you consider they went 3-5 last season in Big Ten play, one has to think that they’ll be slightly better and will find a way to six wins.
Michigan might not be ready to challenge Ohio State and Michigan State at the top of the conference for at least one or two more seasons but they will be a competitive team that could earn a spot in a bowl game if they don’t have a horrendous start.
