Can Michigan Football Repeat as College Football Champions?

can the Michigan Wolverines repeat as champions for the 2024 college football season well it depends what we're talking about here the short answer is yes they can lockdown Big 10 starts right now you are locked on big 10 your daily podcast on the Big 10 conference part of the locked on podcast Network your team and every day welcome to lockdown Big 10 I'm Craig sheman coming up on 40 years as a sports talk show host of play byplay announcer and I want to thank you for making us your first listen each and every day we're free and available wherever you get your podcast and of course on YouTube part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day today's episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code lock on for $20 off your first purchase all right the Michigan upcoming season may surprise some people Plus in our second segment today we'll take a look at their schedule go over some wins and losses get to a win total I think 10 is available there plus our big 10 top 10 observations for the weekend first of all though when we ask can Michigan repeat as champions in 2024 what are we talking about here well are we talking about back-to-back national championships or are we talking about a fourth straight Big 10 Championship maybe the latter before the former but we'll explore this here look we're on the record is saying that Michigan football will take a slight step back in 2024 that doesn't mean they can't win to Big 10 mean let's let's keep it real here step back from 15-0 undefeated National Championship season I mean even a loss or two here and there that's going to be looked at as a step back I've talked about this many times and still Michigan people get upset with for saying that it's hilarious it doesn't mean it's bad they were perfect last year not a lot of people do that uh but I do think Michigan is going to be better than most people think this year the question is how much better just because Jim Harbaugh is gone and almost two dozen players from last year's team are now on the NFL that doesn't mean Chiron Moore's cupboard is bare here job number one is to find a starting quarterback and a replacement for JJ McCarthy Alex orgy came in ran a few plays here and there throughout the season nice change of pace guy if you will I didn't see enough out of him last year to make me say right now that yeah he's the guy but does he improve kind of like Jaylen milro did for example at Alabama last year Bama had a big drop off when they started the season last year at quarterback and all look lost they ended up benching him after the Texas game but he was reinstated and he led the tie to a really good season they got to the Rose Bowl and of course lost to Michigan in the college football playoffs in that Rose Bowl as you well remember he looked pretty good though along the way Wolverine fans would take that kind of trajectory of quarterback in a heartbeat right now if we were talk about orgy in starting the season uh look we personally were very impressed with Davis Warren's performance in the spring game this weekend or this this past spring I should say uh in fact he looked very much the part although he was very comfortable in the spring game as a as a pocket passer and a lot more comfortable in that regard than orgy but I wonder if orgy is gonna be the guy I just wonder their styles are so different can one truly be a backup to the other without upsetting the flow of the offense they just have different styles so then I got to be thinking about Jaden denle what about him he only played a couple of snaps last year as well but he intrigued me a little bit and I think he intrigues offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell he did an interview this spring he thinks denle is the most improved player on the team this off season He also mentioned how he likes his size and compared him in that interview to Ben rothberger now that's quite a comparison but he's a guy that can break tackles he's strong he could keep plays moving on Ben rothberger right maybe we have something here speaking of denal size this is a quarterback now 65 235 pounds so yeah he is big and he can run a lot more than JJ McCarthy did back in the day without as much risk not as elusive as orgy is though but we do know that Chiron Moore likes a quarterback that can run the football like Jack Tuttle for just a moment look he I doubt he's getting the starting job but it's a nice luxury to have him with his experience after all he has a seventh year senior he was just granted an extra year of Eligibility this off season there's also Jaden Davis he's on the depth chart feels like he has a lot of potential but he feels like he could be another year away before a lot of people start paying attention to him at running back we all know that Blake corm is gone it'll be a big loss but having Donovan Edwards is a huge luxury and I expect him to have a monster year this year plus Shore again likes to run the ball he's going to get a lot of touches there's no question Michigan loses wide receivers like Roman Wilson Cornelius Johnson they're gone remember they got slot receivers somage Morgan who a lot of people think are really G he's really gonna step up this year and he'll have to tight end coulston lovelin returns that's a biggie for this Michigan offense he will be a big weapon for them this year there's no question but the heart and soul of this team is always at that offensive line and you know like I do they lost a lot of guys to the NFL they moved on but there are still a lot of Juniors and seniors and grad students waiting for their next time their chance up and so there's guys there with plenty of experience and ready to step up and a perfect example is left tackle and fifth year senior miles Hinton at 66 340 pounds he'll anchor the line with a lot of experience he played in 13 games last year so I mean he's used to playing started five games and he's versatile started four games at right tackle and one game at left teac these are the kind of players that Michigan just reloads with um the team also brought in a transfer from a Northwestern in guard Josh PR who comes in at 65 and 305 pounds so I think he along with Hinton will anchor the left side of the offensive line I think they'll be in pretty good shape to be honest with you so let's take a look at the other side of the football because in addition to the offens of line being kind of their calling card that defense was another calling they had a lot of calling cards a lot of lot of Premier uh areas on the team that's why they went 15 and0 and won a national championship that defense was Elite and they lost a lot of talent as well guys like Chris Jenkins and Jaylen harrold up front of course linebackers Junior coulston and Michael Barrett um Nickelback Mike sandrell who I he was probably my favorite player to watch because he was kind of like that X Factor glue guy that was always in the right place at the right time you know there'll be a lot of holes to plug on this once Elite defense but I think like the offense the depth chart is full of experience Juniors and seniors and they'll still have one of the best defensive lines in the country when you guys got got guys like Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham plugging up the middle and don't forget former Maryland linebacker J Shawn Barnum transferred to Ann Arbor before the Michigan season was even over I think the first week of December he says hey I'm going to Ann Arbor I want to play for the Wolverines so that's a nice get for them so there was some bad news this spring of course star safety Rod Moore TS ACL and it was on a non- cont drill was really sad of course he's an Ohio native it will forever be remembered as the guy that intercepted quarterback K McCord's pass in the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game and of course that uh sealed the deal for the Wolverines to win the big uh to get into the Big 10 championship and S them into the playoffs and of course they won the National Championship uh defense you know losing a lot of talent to the NFL uh more missing him they're going to miss him a lot with that injury of course it's a 9 to 12 month uh rehab after surgery so presumably his season is done and he was a good story too because he could have been one of those guys that left for the NFL decided to come back to Michigan for another year kind of up his stock a little bit for 20125 now things are on hold until he could get healthy and um last last year he had couple interceptions including the one against Ohio state 38 tackles the year before had h four interceptions seven pass breakups 71 tackles really good football player so uh anyway we hope he's uh he's getting better and on his way but an experience like that is tough to replace and the secondary is kind of the one area on the roster where the Michigan depth chart does not have a lot of upper classmen that can just kind of Step Up Keon sa too he's one of the few few people who did leave Michigan in the transfer portal he went to Alabama this spring and don't forget though pulling this all together you know the Mastermind of that Elite defense last year Jesse Minter the defensive coordinator he's gone he went he's with Harbaugh out in uh with the Chargers now put together I'm we're still talking about it put together one of the best game plans I've ever seen for that national championship game and Coring Michael penck Jr and the Washington Huskies great just a great defensive coordinator and uh he will be missed but the Wolverines went and got themselves wink marale a lot of NFL experience great defensive mind in his own right he'll have a different style a lot of blitzing blitzing blitzing that's what very aggressive if you like aggressive defenses win Martell is your guy so uh this defense will be pretty good look it'll be tough to live up to the 2023 defense but it has a chance to be pretty good on the defensive side of the ball all all right so that's kind of a cap where Michigan stands right now as they get ready for practice next month and getting ready for the season if you like what you see here we have more to do hang tight but I'm gonna ask you to subscribe just click the Subscribe button and you're in is free it doesn't require any other information and then we're in the same Big 10 Loop each and every day and you can follow lockdown Big 10 for free wherever you get your podcast that way you get the latest episode of this podcast as soon as it becomes available each and every day don't forget to pick up some Michigan swag t-shirts Michigan hats pennet everything right on our website you see the scroll on the bottom with talk big 10 that's the number 10 talk big 10.com we've got it all there with all of our podcasts plus merchandise from your favorite team right there all right Michigan win totals can they get to 10 Vegas says nine and a half I'll tell you the three most critical games on their schedule and what it means plus we have some last minute recruiting news for the Wolverines so that is all coming up as we kick off our preview season if you will here for the Big 10 a new team we're going to focus on every day 18 teams 18 days right here continue with the Wolverines on locked on Big 10 game time you go to some Wolverine games go to game time get some tickets got a lot going on here uh game time also has great deals for Major League Baseball and it makes getting tickets faster and easier just use the game time app and actually the closer you wait to first pitch sometimes you get a lot better deal right there they got killer last second deals Allin prices they'll show you the view of the seat of the ticket you're about to buy right there on your phone got their lowest price guarantee game time takes the guesswork on a buying major league baseball tickets and again always some sort of last second deal last minute deals you can save up to 60% buying these and that's not 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be taken seriously so it's it's not going to be a super easy game but Michigan will win this football game as long as they're not looking ahead to week two because you all know what's coming week two that's the Texas Longhorns coming in here Arch Manning back up ready to go behind Quinn yers uh Texas has some aspirations uh the they have the feeling this year that Michigan had going into last year like believing in themselves they've got the talent this is it this is the year to go and go grab it that's where Texas is this year but they're coming into the big house let's table that game for just a second in our conversation week three Michigan's got Arkansas state that should be a dub uh September 21st take it on Southern Cal I think the Wolverines win this game obviously there'll be a lot of excitement around this game USC Michigan all their past history with the Rose Bowl and all that with USC being a new member of the Big 10 that'll be a CBS game on uh 3:30 Eastern time let's say the Wolverines win that one uh we'll Circle back when we preview the USC season see if we still feel that way but we'll do that later on in a couple of uh days Minnesota rounding out September should be able to get the win there not really sure what Minnesota's going to be able to deliver at quarterback aan kak Manis went to Ruckers This Year PJ Fleck I think it's a big year for him there but Michigan should get the win there then October 5th the Wolverines go to Washington in a rematch of the national championship everybody in the media including us will make a big deal about it but it'll be all new faces right new coaches new quarterbacks new players on both sides of the ball so it's a rematch you're basically rooting for laundry out there Michigan uniform versus the Washington uniform but they'll it'll be all new but uh no nevertheless it's a rematch of the national championship October 5th let's say Michigan wins that game back-to-back Road games for the rolings because uh they'll they'll have a buy and then they play at Illinois so they should be able to win that although I got I got some interesting things to say about the fighting AI ey this year as well then they come home to take on Michigan State okay that's in October 26 the should win game they should win that game those rivalry games you never know but Michigan I think has a lot more Talent than Jonathan Smith's been able to put together thus far thus far he's doing a pretty good job recruiting out there at East Lancing then November 2nd the uh the Oregon Ducks this is uh this is the big one here Oregon Ducks it's at the big house and this is a critical game we're gonna remember how we pushed the Texas game aside wanted to come back to it this is another one I want to put aside for a minute because we're going to win all these other games so you got that then November 9th Michigan is at Indiana that should be a win then they come home and take on Northwestern that should be a win and then you know who they finish up against on November 30th at Ohio State so again if they win Southern Cal and take care of business on all the other games that they should without any slip ups there's nine wins right there remember Vegas had them at nine and a half so you're looking at the Texas game week two you're looking at Oregon in the middle of the season and then the bookend against Ohio State those three games what is Michigan GNA do with those three games all right we we're already determined they've got nine wins in the bank if they win one of those three that's 10- two Michigan's a playoff team you're not keeping a 10-2 Michigan team out of a 12 team expanded playoff and the national CH defending Champions you're not going to leave them out they're in at 10 and two they're a playoff team one of those three games Texas Oregon or Ohio state they're in the playoffs now they win two of those three they're playing in the Big 10 Championship all right I and again I don't know what and there's going to be some sort of triangle with the Oregon versus Ohio State Michigan versus Ohio State uh Michigan versus Oregon there's G to be some sort of triangle there if the teams go one and one it's going to be the tiebreakers could be crazy but I'll say they win one of those three we're not sure which one yet I want to see how Michigan does against Texas in week two that's really going to tell us where they're at but I'll go ahead I'll put them at 10 I'll go on the record here in early July and say 10 might be nine but I'm gonna go 10 okay 10 wins for the Wolverines this season so yeah that's a step back from last year's 12-0 regular season but still pretty good that's what I meant at the top as we're talking about the Wolverines all right so again they win one of those three big ones they're playoff team they win two they're playing for the Big 10 championship and then they could possibly have a home playoff game in an arbor how sweet would that be one final thought on Michigan's future and perhaps as soon as today Monday they'll hear from fourstar tight end Andrew olish on whether he will commit to Michigan he is the number four tight end in the country he is the number two tight end Prospect out of the state of Pennsylvania and his announcement would mean a big boost for the Wolverines class 25 recruiting he is also considering Alabama but he really liked how current tight end coulston Loveland hosted him showed him the ropes and he feels like he is a priority for Chiron Moore so people are saying it looks like he will choose the Wolverines that again could come down as soon as today hey uh quick note did you uh you watching daytime TV sports TV talking head TV you have to turn it off because they're just screaming at each other not really saying anything just louder forget about ESPN and FS1 and Fox sports check out our Brethren from lock on lock on sports today here for you 247 and uh it's a free 247 sports streaming Channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screamings locked on sports today brings you can't miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels apps all part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day coming up our big 10 top 10 observations from the holiday weekend all that right here on lockdown Big 10 all right it is time for our big 10 top 10 observations from the weekend going to put these on screen if you are listening on audio only and there are a lot of you that do you listen on audio only and that's great wherever you get your your favorite uh podcast at uh I'll describe you in detail for what's going on on video on our top 10 list top 10 observations that I saw from the weekend and we'll start it off with Oregon duckar Jackson Shell stat he scored 71 points in a Portland proam event here that that's a lot of points so I thought it was worthy of a mention here coming off the holiday weekend what else we have here number nine uh shout out to Michigan Alum JJ McCarthy because there been a lot of people have been pretty critical of him uh in Vikings camp and maybe it was looking like he wasn't even gonna be the second Stringer let alone the first Stringer maybe start off third string maybe having some trouble figuring it out um B people are talking and a lot of Vikings people are talking about his leadership and we've always known that his leadership like uh Jim marbaugh said look he's gonna win the interview room he's gonna show his leadership that's that's who he is and that's what's happening behind the scenes with Minnesota already at number eight Purdue Ryan Walters want to give him a shout out he got to commit on the fourth of July a little bit of fireworks here Dwayne Galloway is the ninth rated corner he was uh in the country he was looking at Michigan Michigan State Penn State Wisconsin Nebraska a lot of other big 10 schools and he decided to go to Purdue they needed this they needed this boost in recruiting and what's great about it for Ryan Walters look he's a defensive guy at heart he's gonna have a corner to uh to mold here so maybe they they hit it off on the recruiting Trail want to talk big 10 expansion at number seven I saw a couple articles that uh TCU was in the mix and of course everything I saw was yeah big 10's not going to invite TCU no kidding TCU was never coming to the Big 10 that's not even look you know we like to talk expansion as much as anybody here on this podcast but no TCU not even gonna entertain it so anyway I gotta laugh out of it this weekend so I thought I'd put it on here at number six ruers they continue to do a great job recruiting Greg shano out there he got a four-star linebacker Kamar Archie out of New Jersey wanted to stay home it apparently was between Ruckers and Michigan for the class of 2025 and being from New Jersey he decided he wanted to stay at Ruckers that happens a lot can't blame him also want to give a shout out at number five to Michigan State recruiting in June Jonathan Smith tripled the number of recruits he had been getting after it been getting busy I told you earlier I don't think they're going to be a position to beat Michigan this year but you never know in the future putting together a lot of talent up there in East Lancing at number four my big 10 top 10 observations from the weekend khwar former Indiana whoer basketball player just drafted by the Miami Heat look he's 71 but he's he's thin as a rail might get 19 might get pushed around in the NBA a little bit but I was reading some comments some postgame quotes doing the summer thing and he said yeah the the heat people they said they got to get me in the wait room right away and he looks like he's ready to go so uh yeah they gotta put a few couple pounds on this kid and also at number three our big 10 top 10 observations for the weekend Matt rule at Nebraska hired former Penn State defensive coordinator John Butler is the secondary coach over the uh weekend and in addition to being the Penn State uh defensive coordinator a few years back he's been in the NFL as a coach uh look Evan Cooper resigned uh who had been with rule for some time and all of a sudden a month before the start of practice needed to get a new uh secondary coach in there so yeah the former defensive coordinator at Penn State John Butler is now on Matt rul staff over there in Nebraska at number two I thought I'd just throw this in here big 10 media days two weeks I believe from tomorrow two weeks away Big 10 media days then practice starts and it's game on uh also our final observation number one of our big 10 top 10 observations over the weekend Iowa Alum Caitlyn Clark on Saturday became the first WNBA rookie to get a triple double did it against the mighty New York Liberty as the fever won the game came from double digits down to win 83 to 79 she scored 19 points 13 assists and 12 rebounds so good for her she just keeps getting better and better every single day so those are my big 10 top 10 observations for the week you may think it's slowing down slow time of year I've always got stuff we can find there it is uh here on the podcast lock down Big 10 all right there was some sad news over the weekend I want to share it with you in case you missed it and involved some former Big 10 people but you may have heard the sad news uh that there was a car wreck in Maryland and it took the life of minnes of Vikings rookie Kyrie Jackson he was a fourth round pick out of Oregon and had a very bright future very sad and there were two other victims in that accident in that car they were high school teammates of his and they have big 10 ties and it was former Penn State defensive back AJ lighton and former Maryland player Isaiah Hazel and they all lost their lives in that preliminary Reports say a driver in another car was attempted to change lanes possibly high speed and car carrying the three young men who were killed attempted to swerve and got off the road and struck multiple tree stumps and came to a stop and they were uh they were killed there definitely definitely sad news over the weekend our prayers go out to them and their families but I did want to mention it all right in the meantime there are many ways for you to interact with us here at this podcast don't forget on Twitter or X talk big1 number10 our website talk big1 number10 for all your merchandise and all of our podcasts and of course this one will go uh we also not only our podcasts in order chronologically but we also group them by school today obviously we featured Michigan you can go right to Michigan find this podcast there others just like it and get your Michigan merchandise that we have there getting you ready for the upcoming season as well tomorrow we'll look at Ryan day looks like he's put all of his chips in the middle of the table for this season we'll preview the Buckey season all 18 teams we did Michigan today one down 17 more to go can't wait to do it it's going to be the rest of our month of July here unless any breaking news sets us off a day or so but primarily we'll uh get them all in uh of course don't forget in addition to watching another podcast here of lockdown Big 10 uh and if you subscribe you get it as soon as it's available each and every day don't forget we have our friends at the lockdown with lockdown Sports today and they come at you every day with the latest on our national shows covering every league go to lockdown sports today on YouTube and subscribe there as well first ever National Sports 247 streaming Channel all right that'll do it we're back in the flow coming off of a holiday weekend by the way hope you had a great one but we're moving it's football season it's coming Fast and Furious and we'll have it here every single day tell your friends about us that we are here at lockdown Big 10 for lockdown Big 10 I'm Craig sheeman thanks for the visit today and I can't wait to talk to you tomorrow