Latest news with #Wolverines


USA Today
37 minutes ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Joel Klatt sees Michigan football surging in 2025 with strong defense, favorable schedule
Most pundits are entering 2025 with Michigan football ranked in their top 25, yet, not many have faith in the Wolverines. With an initial over-under set at 8.5, it's been beyond tempting for many to take the under. But not Joel Klatt. The preeminent Fox Sports college football color commentator broke down the maize and blue and his expectations on his podcast on Monday, and he shared his enthusiasm for the defense, the chances of offensive improvement, and the schedule as reasons for why the Wolverines will look much better than last season's output. "Michigan went 8-5 a year ago, several close games coming off that national championship the year before," Klatt said. "Of the teams not in the playoff, Michigan had the best -- easily -- last month of the season of anybody in the country. They were unbelievable on defense. They get wins against Ohio State and against Alabama, despite scoring only 32 total points in those games. Their defense was No. 1 in the country in scoring defense and total defense in the last four. And those last four, by the way? Not a cupcake schedule. They played three teams that were the top 15 -- Indiana, Ohio State, and Alabama. They gave up two total touchdowns over the last three and a half games. "If they get any offensive contribution from Bryce Underwood or whoever plays quarterback, this team should be drastically better. This was an eight-win team with an offense that couldn't throw the ball at all. "And then you actually have the schedule and the Big Ten. They actually have a decent schedule. They don't have to play Penn State, they don't have to play Oregon, they don't have to play Illinois, they don't have to play Indiana, and they don't have to play Iowa. So, what do they have? A huge game in Week 2 against Oklahoma that's on the road. If -- and I know that's a big if, because Norman's not an easy place to play -- if they were to beat Oklahoma, nothing looks daunting on the schedule. They have games at Nebraska, at USC, Washington before the huge game against Ohio State at the end of the year. "I think this is a bounceback year for Michigan. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that they go and win that game in Norman. I really don't. Look out for Michigan. I think that's a bounceback. I think that's a buy for next year -- Michigan is a buy." The big thing for Michigan will be can it take the show on the road? At no point in 2025 will the Wolverines have two home games in a row, alternating between home and away throughout the season, minus the two straight road games at Northwestern and at Maryland before hosting Ohio State. So, it's simple: if Michigan can play well on the road, as it had from 2021-23, then it will be good. If not? Then it could be another long season.


USA Today
9 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Where is Ohio Stadium in USA TODAY's ranking of best Big Ten stadiums?
Rankings and lists can be subjective, but we still like to follow them. Cobble a bunch of them together, and if you believe bias is taken out of it all, a consensus should tell you something, right? You've seen them, we've seen them, and your brother-in-law's cousin-twice removed has seen a ranking of college football stadiums, but now we have a new one that we'll take a little more stock in. That's because it comes from Paul Myerberg with our mother ship at USA TODAY. He took a look at all of the Big Ten stadiums -- 18 now (and maybe counting) -- and ranked them from worst to first when it comes to "nastiest to kindest" for visitors. As you can imagine, Ohio Stadium, where Ohio State does its best work, gets a lot of love from Myerberg. Sure, the iconic venue and all its historical significance and mystique have something to do with it, but it has more to do with how hard it is to come out of there with a victory. Not only did Myerberg rank the 'Shoe high on the list, he put it all the way at the top of the best stadiums in the Big Ten, at No. 1 overall. But why? "Trips to the Horseshoe are basically a guaranteed loss for teams in and out of the Big Ten, unless you're Michigan. (The Wolverines have taken two in a row at home in the series.), wrote Myerberg. "Since the stadium opened in 1922, Ohio State has been dominant at home, including a remarkable 55-3 record (94.9%) since 2016. The Buckeyes have turned the 'Shoe into maybe the most hostile locale in the sport." It's true that Ohio Stadium is a tough place to play, but it has more to do with the team that resides there than how rabid the fanbase is. Don't get me wrong, I've heard the 'Shoe rocking when it's a big game at night and other times when there's a lot on the line in a close game, but there are times when fans in the "big 'Ole Horseshoe" (said in my best Keith Jackson voice) seem disinterested. Still, the numbers don't lie. It's a tough, tough place to win. Rounding out the top five on Myerberg's list behind Ohio Stadium is Beaver Stadium (Penn State), Autzen Stadium (Oregon), Michigan Stadium (Michigan), and Husky Stadium (Washington). Yes, you saw that right. Two of the most recent teams to join the Big Ten from the West Coast are considered among the top five. For a complete list of Myerberg's list, you can visit USA TODAY and scroll through the finished product yourself. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Big Ten commish Tony Petitti sent letter to NCAA arguing no further punishment for Michigan in Connor Stalions case: Report
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti caught a lot of flak from Michigan fans when the conference punished the school as part of the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal. Now, however, Petitti might prove to be the school's biggest ally. Petitti reportedly sent a letter to the NCAA arguing against issuing further punishments to Michigan as part of the Stalions scandal, per Dan Wetzel of ESPN. That letter was reportedly read during an infractions-committee meeting in June. The NCAA is expected to hand down additional penalties to Michigan ahead of the 2025 season. The organization charged Michigan with 11 rule violations, six of which were considered Level 1, which the NCAA labels as a "severe breach of conduct." The committee has yet to issue additional punishments from those violations. Despite Petitti's plea, the committee does not have to listen to his advice. Petitti already punished Michigan for the Stalions sign-stealing scandal. In 2023, Petitti suspended Jim Harbaugh for three games. In response, Michigan sought a temporary restraining order to prevent that suspension from taking effect. Harbaugh wound up serving the suspension, but Michigan won every game during his absence, and then the Wolverines went on to win the national championship. In his letter, Petitti reportedly argued that the suspension was adequate, and that the university shouldn't be subjected to additional punishments for the Stalions scandal. Following that national championship win, Harbaugh left Michigan for the Los Angeles Chargers. He led the team to an 11-6 record in his first season back in the NFL. After Harbaugh left, Michigan promoted offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore into the head-coaching role. Moore led the team to an 8-5 record in his first season with the team. It's unclear whether the NCAA will hand down additional punishments as part of the Stalions scandal. The organization could consider "vacating past victories, a postseason ban, the suspension of coaches, a monetary fine or other measures," per ESPN. In May, the university recommended a two-game suspension for Moore during the 2025 season after he allegedly deleted a text-message chain with Stalions after the sign-stealing scandal was discovered. Those texts were reportedly recovered by the NCAA. Since Petitti's original punishment 2023, the NCAA handed down penalties to Michigan for issues unrelated to the Stalions scandal. In 2024, Harbaugh was suspended for a year and given a four-year show-clause penalty for recruiting violations. He — along with Moore and the entire program — could face even more punishments depending on how the infractions committee rules ahead of the 2025 season.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Michigan football secures 2027 commit from coach's son, 3-star lineman Louis Esposito
As was the case for 2026 Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork four-star edge rusher Julian Walker, who committed to Michigan football despite his father being on the strength staff at South Carolina, it's not always a shoo-in that the progeny of coaches end up at the schools of their fathers. But the Wolverines certainly hoped that it would be the case with one prospect. 2027 Saline (Mich.) three-star interior offensive lineman Louis Esposito -- son of Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito -- earned an offer on his own merit, having received it on June 11. Sure, it helped that his father is on-staff, but the young offensive lineman has been garnering more and more offers, including from the likes of Purdue and Pitt. On Sunday, he ended his recruitment, opting to play for the team his father coaches at, committing to Michigan football. Esposito is listed at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds. He's the first commitment for the maize and blue in the 2027 class. He's rated the No. 510 player in the country according to 247Sports Composite, regardless of position. This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football lands son of coach: 2027 lineman commits


USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN's SP+ ranks Michigan football No. 10 for 2025, eyes Big Ten title run
Despite being just one season removed from winning a national championship, most pundits in college football have started to look at Michigan football as something of an also-ran following an 8-5 season in 2024, rather than last year being a blip on the radar. The operative word here is 'most.' ESPN's resident advanced analytics guru Bill Connelly isn't among those looking down his nose at the Wolverines. Of course, Connelly is the one who puts together SP+ as well as the returning production rankings. He's done more to analyze the field than simply going off name recognition or projecting off of the previous year's results. As far as the maize and blue are concerned, Connelly does have Michigan as the fourth-best team in the Big Ten -- but he also has the Wolverines as the 10th-best team in the country. Via his Big Ten preview on ESPN, he has Michigan as one of the conference championship contenders: 2025 projection: 10th in SP+, 9.8 average wins (7.2 in the Big Ten) If you can beat Ohio State and Alabama without a quarterback, just think of what you can do with one, right (...) The No. 10 ranking in SP+ is certainly aggressive. It will require massive offensive improvement. But with a schedule featuring only two opponents projected better than 30th (Oklahoma at the start, Ohio State at the end), the Wolverines won't need a top-10 team to win a lot of games. One of the things he mentions is that Michigan will face some tough competition early on, with road trips to Oklahoma, Nebraska, and USC. He does have the Sooners at No. 16 in his rankings, so the only school that is ranked ahead of the Wolverines on the schedule is Ohio State. So, with that in mind, should Michigan football return to form, where the Wolverines beat the teams they're supposed to, that -- in theory -- would vault the maize and blue to 11-0 going into The Game. However, there's a reason why games aren't played on paper. And if Connelly is right (and we tend to agree), that if there's just a modicum of offensive improvement, then yes, Michigan could be relatively formidable in 2025.