Michigan football picked 4th in the Big Ten by Phil Steele
It's prediction time for the 2024 college football season as the experts and pundits are releasing their prognostications.
The Michigan football team is one of the harder teams to predict going into the 2024 season simply due to all the turnover. The Wolverines have a new head coach in Sherrone Moore. He was the interim coach last season down the stretch and will continue the championship culture that led the Wolverines to the pinnacle of the sport, but it's still a big change.
There are also big changes to the roster. There always are in college football but Michigan football saw 10 starters depart due to graduation or the NFL. That included quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
QB Battle will be key for Michigan football in 2024
Michigan has an ongoing quarterback battle. Many expect that Alex Orji will eventually win the job. At any rate, against that backdrop, Phil Steele, a well-known college football expert, has projected Michigan football to finish fourth in the 2024 Big Ten standings.
Oregon and Ohio State are projected to tie for first, which makes sense. I could see them meeting in the Big Ten title game, although I wouldn't count out Michigan, especially since they get the Ducks at home.
If Michigan beats Oregon, wins the rest of its Big Ten games, but loses to Ohio State, we would likely see a rematch of 'The Game' for the Big Ten championship. Steele projects Penn State to finish third, which probably means Steele believes U-M will drop three conference games.
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It's possible but Michigan should be able to finish with one or two losses in Big Ten play. If not, unless the Wolverines beat Texas, they will be on the outside looking in of the 12-team playoff.