As much as people want to keep talking about sign-stealing and all the other nonsense, the Michigan football season is seven weeks away.
49 days away from kickoff. It's almost too good to be true. The best way to move past the Sherrone Moore era is to have the Kyle Whittingham era begin on the field.
He has been a class act as the head coach -- everything you would expect from one of the best head coaches in the sport for the past two decades.
Michigan football and Kyle Whittingham feel like a match made in heaven. Hopefully, it plays out that way. The first season will be definied by improvement in key areas, especially in the trenches, and at the quarterback position.
Michigan will run the ball as well as anyone. But if the Wolverines are going to make the playoff or win some of their biggest games, Bryce Underwood needs to take a massive step forward.
Many people are writing him off way too early. Remember, Dante Moore completed 53.9 percent of his passes as a true freshman. He also had 11 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. CJ Carr didn't even start as a freshman, so let's see where Underwood is at after year two before we start making comparisons.
Instead of holding a clipboard, he was playing. That will help him this season. He said he still believes that he's the best quarterback. There is time to prove it, starting this season.
Getting Underwood to play at his best will be critical. There has been a lot of positive buzz about the offensive line, the defensive line, and the running backs, of course. Savion Hiter sounds like a star.
So with all that in mind, and a schedule that features Oklahoma, Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio State, four teams that made the College Football Playoff last season, here's a look at the best and worst-case scenarios for Kyle Whittingham's first season.
The worst-case scenario
Let's go the bad first. I don't expect things to go badly in the first season under Whittingham. He will have one of the most talented rosters he has ever had as a coach. Maybe the most talented.
There is five-star talent at quarterback, running back, EDGE, plus top-100 players and proven dudes just about everywhere else.
The probem is that the schedule is a nightmare. In addition to having four playoff teams on it, Michigan also gets Iowa, a nine-win team from last season, and Penn State.
There aren't many guaranteed wins on the schedule. Michigan State certainly isn't that with Pat Fitzgerald, and Minnesota always puts up a good fight.
The good news is that Penn State, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Indiana all have to come to Ann Arbor. It's hard to see the Wolverines losing all of those games. Losing two or more of those games would likely lead to eight wins or less, which would be a massive disappointment, for Kyle Whittingham's first season.
For that to happen, Underwood would need to be the same quarterback he was last season. The Wolverines still beat a nine-win Washington team at home, so Michigan can beat quality teams at home, even if Underwood is close to the same player. The defense should be good. It should be better than last season. That's another thing to watch.
That record would also include a loss to Ohio State.
The best-case scenario
The best-case scenario is that Underwood looks like a completely different quarterback. The offernsive line has grown and matured under Jim Harding, and Hiter is a star.
If the defensive line is as good as some are expecting, and if the buzz about the linebackers is legit, Michigan could have one of the best defenses in college football, even if some are underrating it.
The best-case scenario is beating Indiana and Oklahoma at the Big House. That means a playoff game could be locked up going into Columbus. Beating the Buckeyes in year one would be a dream come true for Whittingham's first season.
That would be a surprise, but it feels like the game will have a different feel than it did a year ago. Ohio State might win, but it won't feel like there is a massive divide between the two programs like it did at the end of the Sherrone Moore era.
Still, a 10-2 season with a playoff berth would a huge success. It's possible. A 9-3 record with a win over either Oklahoma or Indiana at home seems the most likely result.
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