2011 Michigan Wolverines Gambling Odds | Predictions

2011-2012 Football Previews – Big 10 Conference – Michigan Wolverines

Change is in the air in Ann Arbor. Rich Rodriguez is out the door and Brady Hoke is now the main man at Michigan. The Wolverines are part of the new Legends Division in the Big Ten, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers are the big favorite to finish at the top.

Big Ten Conference 2011-2012 Football Previews: Michigan Wolverines
Head Coach: Brady Hoke
2010 Record: 7-6
Michigan Gambling Odds from JustBet to win BCS: +8,000
Michigan Odds from JustBet to win Big Ten Legends Division: +450
Michigan Odds from JustBet to win Big Ten Conference Championship: +1,500
Michigan Team Page – Players Stats – Roster – 2011 Schedule –>

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Hoke was extremely successful at both Ball State and San Diego State, and he is off to a great start in recruiting at Michigan.

It’s clear that the Michigan offense wasn’t the issue last season. Michigan was eighth in the nation in yards per game and third in the nation in points per game. On the other side of the ball, Michigan’s defense was chewed up week in and week out by every opponent on their schedule. In fact, the Wolverines allowed 458 points in 2010, which was the worst mark in Michigan football history.

Greg Mattison has been brought in to lead a new 4-3 defense, and Brady Hoke has made it clear that his biggest goal is turning around the defense.

Team Strengths:

Denard Robinson is a major strength all by himself. If it weren’t for a guy named Cam Newton and a couple injuries along the way, Denard Robinson may have been a serious Heisman contender last year. In 2011, JustBet lists Robinson at +500 to take home the Heisman. Robinson ran for a ridiculous 1,702 yards in 2010. He also threw for 2,570 yards.

Robinson will continue to be a beast on the ground, and as his passing efficiency improves he could lead this team to much bigger and better things.

Robinson will have plenty of weapons on the outside to throw the football to this year. Roy Roundtree is becoming a star, and he should be the leader of this group of wide receivers. Darryl Stonum, Junior Hemingway, and Martavious Odoms are all very capable wide receivers that should be very productive this season. Kevin Koger will likely get plenty of touches at the tight end spot in Hoke’s pro style offense as well.

The defensive line has the potential to be great. Mike Martin is one of the best nose tackles in the country, and he should be more dominating than ever this season.

Craig Roh and Ryan Van Bergen have all the tools necessary to become stars as well.

Team Weaknesses:

Where are the play makers at the linebacker position? Michigan used to have plenty of depth at this position, but right now they are struggling to find a leader for this group. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Michigan allowed more than 250 yards rushing three times in their last six games in 2010, and that was largely because they didn’t have linebackers who were doing their job.

This group is still a big question mark in 2011.

Can the Wolverines have a running back step up and help take the pressure off Denard Robinson? Robinson is clearly the best runner on the team, but Michigan badly needs some sort of contribution from the running back position. The Wolverines have plenty of options here, but none of them have proven all that reliable.

Michigan is short on depth in the secondary. Troy Woolfolk and Jordan Kovacs are both solid players, but if anyone goes down with an injury, this Michigan secondary could end up being shredded on a weekly basis for a second straight year.

2011-2012 Michigan Football Prediction: 8-5

Brady Hoke is actually coming into a pretty good situation at Michigan right now. The Wolverines rivals, Ohio State, are in quite a bit of trouble.

The Big Ten as a whole isn’t that strong, which means Michigan clearly could rise up and become a league power again. The schedule is also quite favorable, especially the fact that Michigan gets eight home games in 2011.

November will be the make or break month for the Wolverines. Michigan must travel to Iowa and Illinois before returning home for huge matchups with Nebraska and Ohio State to finish the season.

Look for minor improvement from this team in 2011.

2011 Michigan Wolverines Schedule

9/3/11 3:30 PM ET WMICH
9/10/11 8:00 PM ET NOTRE
9/17/11 12:00 PM ET EMICH
9/24/11 12:00 PM ET SDST
10/1/11 12:00 PM ET MINN
10/8/11 7:00 PM ET @NWEST
10/15/11 12:00 PM ET @MCHST
10/29/11 12:00 PM ET PURD
11/5/11 12:00 PM ET @IOWA
11/12/11 12:00 PM ET @ILL
11/19/11 12:00 PM ET NEB
11/26/11 12:00 PM ET OHIST