ANN ARBOR, Mich. – It’s been a really strange couple of weeks for the Michigan football program.
The Wolverines are 3-0, ranked No. 2 in both major polls, and avoided any drama in the non-conference. But it almost feels like the real season hasn’t even started yet.
I think the performance against Bowling Green raised a lot of questions about this Michigan team. I know it did for me. The Wolverines didn’t cover against East Carolina or UNLV, but everyone just chalked it up to not really caring about the final score.
J.J. McCarthy looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate. The defense was nearly pitching shutouts. They were just warmup games for when the Big Ten schedule rolled around.
Then McCarthy threw three picks against Bowling Green, the offense looked discombobulated, and even the secondary allowed some big pass plays. Nobody is panicking, but there is a faint sense of uncertainty.
We can’t really know much about a team after games against East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green. We think this is another playoff-caliber roster, but a quarter of the way through the season, there’s no concrete evidence either way.
Another reason it feels like Saturday is the start of the season: Jim Harbaugh. Michigan’s head coach will return to the sideline this weekend after someone else wore the headset for the first time since 2014.
I’m counting on Harbaugh’s return to bring some stability and continuity back to the entire team. It must have been strange to have Harbaugh coaching all week in practice, only for an assistant to take over on gameday. Then everyone below that assistant had to be shifted to fill their roles -- it was just a mess.
So, as far as I’m concerned, when Saturday afternoon rolls around, I’m throwing out the first three games and treating it like the opener. Rutgers might not be a brand that generates much respect, but Greg Schiano has a solid team, and he’s given Michigan fits three years in a row.
I don’t expect Michigan to cover 24.5 points, but that doesn’t even matter. Do the Wolverines look like a team capable of winning the Big Ten title? That’s what I’m looking for, because it’s not what I saw last weekend.
Most teams have already been tested, but Michigan was just getting warmed up. The season starts Saturday, Harbaugh is back, and it’s time to see what this team’s really got.