Early Michigan Football vs TCU roundtable preview
Is this team better than ‘97? Where would you rank the 2022 Wolverines among the greatest Michigan football teams of all time?
Jordan: I was not alive to see the ‘97 team, but unless we win the national championship, I wouldn’t make that comparison. This team is phenomenal, and among the Michigan teams that I’ve seen, it could be the best.
Brady: I was born in 2002 so the ‘97 team is a little bit before my time. All season I was hesitant to think this team is better than last year, but I think at this point we might be. If we come away with a national championship, this team definitely deserves to be in the conversation with the ‘97 team.
Nick: I don’t think they are better than the 97 team overall, but there are upgrades in certain areas compared to back then. This 2022 squad could rank higher if they win it all just because the 97 version shared a title with Nebraska and this one would be undisputed.
Josh: In some ways yes, in others no. If you wanted to go position by position then 97’ still wins outright in my mind and they had the benefit of having a true superstar on that team in Charles Woodson (oh if only we had Blake Corum still). I feel that JJ McCarthy is an upgrade over Brian Griese and this offensive line is very comparable to that championship-winning squad as well. Short story long: 1997 is 1A, and 2022 is 1B for me.
Cameron: I also was not alive for the ’97 team. Just based on household names alone, the ’97 team definitely has the edge. And they have the national championship to go off of. Michigan’s 2022 team hasn’t finished their season yet. I could see an argument for ranking ’22 ahead of ’97 only if Michigan beats Georgia in the national championship, and only because I think this Georgia team is better than the Rose Bowl loser of 1998, the Washington State Cougars. If Michigan had gone undefeated last year and had beaten that Georgia team with all that historical defensive talent, then beat Bama in the natty, then they for sure would’ve been ranked ahead of the ’97 team, but for this year’s team, I’m not sure. I’m gonna hold off on this question until after the season is over.
Chris: I was 11 when Michigan football won the national championship and honestly, I didn’t know if I would ever see it again. My expectation has always been for Michigan to win Big Ten championships, not national championships. That team showed it could still be done. Charles Woodson was such an incredible player. People want to focus on the Ohio State game for the Heisman Trophy, but he made play after play. The win at Penn State that year in a No. 2 vs No. 4 game was very similar. 34-8. I don’t even care about the co-national championship thing. I don’t know that’ll say this team is better if it wins it all, but it will have achieved more. The 1997 team only had to go 12-0. (11 regular season, Rose Bowl).