Michigan Football: Breaking down Top 25 that has Wolverines 11th

Michigan football ranked 11th in the USA Today post-spring top 25, but the eye-popping number is the four Wolverine opponents in the rankings.

The Michigan football team might have lost some key players from last season but the Wolverines are still one of the more talented programs in the country and the latest top 25 released by USA Today reflects that.

Normally, spring football would have been played, but with spring ball getting canceled, USA Today decided to just release its annual post-spring rankings and the Wolverines were included as the No. 11 team.

Here’s what writer Paul Myberg had to say about the Wolverines prospects in 2020:

"Former backup quarterbacks Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton are the contenders to replace Shea Patterson, who had a steady run as the Wolverines’ starter but never matched the huge expectations that accompanied his run as a five-star recruit. McCaffrey may have the edge in overall experience but both have spent the same amount of time in the team’s current offensive scheme."

It’s pretty obvious that quarterback is going to be a huge determining factor for Michigan football this season as the Wolverines will enter 2020 with a new starter regardless of whether it’s Dylan McCaffrey or Joe Milton.

While McCaffrey was the backup last season and has an extra year of college experience, both signal callers are going into their second season in the Josh Gattis offense, so that doesn’t seem to be much of an advantage.

But those guys are surrounded by a lot of talent with guys like Nico Collins, Zach Charbonnet, Hassan Haskins, Ronnie Bell and others like Giles Jackson all returning. The second year in the new offense should also be helpful to the entire unit, not just the quarterbacks.

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The defense also returns some key guys like Daxton Hill, Cameron McGrone and Aidan Hutchinson, who each have First-Team All-Big Ten potential.

So the ranking of 11th makes sense. Even last season, at 9-4, Michigan football was one of the 15 best teams in the country. All of their losses came to teams with 10 losses and the only loss at home was to Ohio State, which undefeated until the College Football Playoff.

The Wolverines also beat a pair of 10-win teams in Notre Dame and Iowa, not to mention a dominating win over Michigan State.

However, what stood out to me more than where Michigan was ranked, it was the four opponents that found their way into the top 25. Ohio State was obvious at No. 2, but Penn State (8th), Wisconsin (18th) and Washington (24th) also made their way into the post-spring ranking.

The good news is that two of those games will be at home, against Penn State and Wisconsin. Yet, there are road games against Washington to start the season and Ohio State to end it, plus trips to Minnesota and Michigan State that will be anything but easy.

The schedule should actually be a little easier than in 2019, but that opening game against Washington will be very important, especially if the Wolverines want to reach 10 wins.

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