Wait a second. After years of mostly being vastly overrated in preseason polls, Michigan delivered in emphatic fashion.
The Wolverines were unquestionably the nation's best college football team in 2023. It was hardly a one-season wonder. It took nearly a decade of ups and downs under Jim Harbaugh to "arrive."
While Harbaugh, quarterback J.J. McCarthy and other key components have moved on to the NFL, it's hardly like the cupboard is bare.
Cornerback Will Johnson, defensive linemen Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant and tight end Colston Loveland are exceptionally gifted players, who project as possible first-round NFL Draft picks. The bigger the game, the better running back Donovan Edwards has played for UM.
Granted, there is much more to being a head coach than in-game management, but Harbaugh's replacement, Sherrone Moore, was adroit while filling that role when his boss was suspended.
It's understood Ohio State has gone balls to the wall in the transfer portal, and should be the Big Ten favorite. Georgia and Alabama remain formidable.
But Michigan is rated considerably behind Oregon and Texas.
The Wolverines are just ninth in the Associated Press poll, behind even Penn State, and as the season approaches, they are essentially being dismissed, the latest snub being a USA Today poll putting Michigan 16th, between Kansas State and North Carolina State.
The ESPN predictor has the Wolverines as long shots to beat Texas and Oregon, despite those games being in Ann Arbor. They are presented with even longer odds to defeat Ohio State.
Harbaugh took a number of assistant coaches with him to Los Angeles, including defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. But quarterback is perhaps the biggest reason for the lack of respect.
Can Alex Orji get it done?
Missing in all the angst about him throwing only one college pass is the fact he is 6-foot-3, 235 pounds with an incredible combination of size, speed and arm strength and made several impressive throws into tight windows during the spring game.
His parents are Nigerian immigrants who have risen from modest beginnings to become the consummate example of the American Dream. His mother is a surgeon and his father a prominent software engineer. Both his brothers played football at Vanderbilt. There is work ethic and brain power there, too.
He is competing against former walk-on Davis Warren, who hardly played in high school because of a fight with leukemia, and then football being canceled due to COVID. Warren has always stood out in the spring game, and his deep touchdown pass this year was particularly impressive.
It's entirely possible Michigan will be just fine at QB, and perhaps even better than that.
While Michigan has mishandled numerous issues off the field, on the field the Wolverines have regained the knack for winning their biggest games.
It's doubtful they will lose it anytime soon.
