Michigan Wolverines 2010 Season Preview/Prediction
The College Football season may be 5-6 weeks away but our man Kyle Hunter has been deep in study and will provide his take and 2010 College Football Predictions on as many NCAA teams as he can before the 2010/11 season kicks off.
We start from the top and move our way down so keep checking in for more college football previews for the 2010-2011 NCAA Football Season!
2010 NCAA Football Predictions – Teams | Analysis | Previews Online
Big Ten 2010-2011 Football Previews: Michigan Wolverines
Coach: Rich Rodriguez
2009 Record: 5-7
Michigan Gambling Odds from Sportsbook.com to win BCS: +8000
In 2008, the Michigan Wolverines had the worst year ever in their 130 year history of football. After a 4-0 start to 2009 things were looking up, but a horrific slide to a 1-6 finish left the team with many more questions than answers. Rich Rodriguez is most definitely on the hot seat in Ann Arbor, and the passionate fans of this team aren’t going to put up with losing very much longer.
The progress will need to be made quickly, or Rodriguez is liable to be out after this season.
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While Tate Forcier showed flashes of excellence at quarterback during his freshman campaign, he may not get the starting nod this season. Denard Robinson has been terrific in workouts and true freshman Devin Gardner is very highly touted.
All three are very athletic quarterbacks, but they will need to improve their decision making if the Wolverines are going to make a big leap forward this season.
Team Strengths:
The offense in general should be an area of strength for the Wolverines. In particular, the wide receiver spot is showing some impressive depth as Martavious Odoms and Roy Roundtree both look like possible stars. Darryl Stonum and Junior Hemingway will also play a great deal, and should do well. The quarterback spot should be much improved this year as both Robinson and Forcier have a year of experience under their belts.
The offensive line seemed to improve as the season went along last year, and many believe there will be up to eight players who could start on this year’s offensive line. The unit should be able to pass protect better and help out the young quarterbacks.
Team Weaknesses:
Just as the overall offense is an area of strength, the defense is a real area of weakness. Greg Robinson is implementing a new 3-3-5 defense in hopes of improving the team’s terrible defensive effort from last year. The team will miss Brandon Graham badly, and I doubt they have anyone who can step in and fill his shoes. The running defense allowed 171.9 rushing yards per game last year, and unless the line steps up this year, I think it is likely to be a weakness again.
The Wolverines had a real weapon last year in Zolton Mesko punting the football, but he is gone and the punting game will suffer quite a bit.
On the offense, the one area where questions keep coming up is at the running back spot. There is no running back that is standing out, and they’ll need a viable running game to keep defenses off balance.
2010-2011 Michigan Football Prediction: 7-5
The Wolverines don’t have a particularly difficult out of conference schedule, so they should certainly be at least 3-1 when they enter conference play. The key game for them could well be their November 20th match up with Wisconsin at home. The Badgers are tough, but if Michigan wants to finish near the top of the Big Ten, they’ll have to win some big games at home.
I think a fairly easy schedule should help the Wolverines improve a little, but 6-6 or 7-5 are probably the most likely scenarios for this team. The defense will keep them from making big strides.
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