Feldman Picks UM to Win National Championship, Athletic $
Bruce Feldman's top 5:
- Michigan
- LSU
- USC
- Georgia
- Ohio State
His reasons:
- He predicts JJ to have another leap year in terms of development
- Corum, Edwards, and Loveland will provide huge mismatches on offense
- OL's going to be great again
- GA, 'Bama and OSU all breaking in new QB's
Here's a link for those with or interested in trying a subscription:
August 25th, 2023 at 4:00 PM ^
Anyone taking a team allergic to tackling at #3 is a little sus.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:02 PM ^
They have been my sleeper to win it all this year.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:14 PM ^
USC is even softer than OSU and their Michigan is Utah, who will probably pound them into the ground again. Then they have to go to ND, who will have an elite defense, and try to stop Michael Penix and Bo Nix. I'd be shocked if USC even makes the playoff.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:34 PM ^
So you say, but USC and their speed and offense whoops on Michigan every chance they get. And we're more Michigan than ever and they are more USC than ever.
Looks like Caleb Williams COULD be to USC was Vince Young was to Texas.
Dismissing them entirely is ridiculous. If williams didnt get hurt last year I think they make the playoff and if healthy in the playoff, possibly beat us as a more TCU version of TCU.. than TCU.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^
"USC and their speed and offense whoops on Michigan every chance they get"
Uh... the last two times USC and Michigan have played were under Lloyd friggin Carr. NORTHWESTERN and their speed and offense gave Lloyd Carr's teams trouble. Not sure how relevant that is today.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:44 PM ^
its a long history of it. and we play the same brand of football that carr inherited, though let flitter away. our control of osu for 2 years (to some extent) offensively makes me hopeful against these explosive offenses, but i dont think its any type of lock that we beat them down or that they arent worthy of the playoff. TCU demonstrated that, like it or not.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
We are much closer to early Saban/Alabama than any of those teams. Put this offense with the 97 defense and I couldnt even imagine.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:55 PM ^
I'll kinda buy that. Though we don't hav ethe same tier of talent that those early saban teams have on D IMO... i love our guys, but its not the same level.
But, i hope we win it all and nobody gives a shit.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:21 PM ^
Right now through coaching and development (and I am saying only right now is for sure) I think we are comparable. When we see next years draft I think we will be in the ball park of an old school Bama year as they were just getting it rolling with Saban. With these less than stellar recruiting classes its going to be difficult to sustain to say the least.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
"A long history of it"... USC has scored three touchdowns or more against Michigan exactly twice, ever, both the two most recent matchups, under Lloyd. In the other 8 meetings (4 wins per team), USC has scored an average of 12.1 points to Michigan's 18.8 (12.4 if you exclude the 1949 Rose Bowl).
I've got as much football trauma from watching Lloyd Carr frittering away 4th quarter leads and being utterly hopeless against any kind of spread or mobile quarterback as anyone else, but characterising the entire UM vs. USC history based on two data points from the aughts is a bit suspect.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:11 PM ^
Don't play the "if" game. It proves nothing and means nothing. But I'll give it a shot. IF USC wasn't so soft on defense and finesse on offense they wouldn't have had to expose Williams to so many hits and get him injured. But they were that soft and their defense was that bad, so their only hope was to rely too much on Williams.
Anyway, TCU's defense was a lot better than USC's across the board.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:21 PM ^
USC and their speed and offense whoops on Michigan every chance they get
Lol, dating yourself. I'm sure that 2006 matchup feels like yesterday, but our oldest players on the current team were in kindergarten at the time.
Also, I don't see Pete Carroll on their sideline.
August 25th, 2023 at 7:12 PM ^
Harbaugh beat #1 ranked USC in 2007 on the road at LA with a much less talented Stanford team using a similar offense to M. The "What's your deal" game, right? Stanford was 1-4 and was 1-11 the year before.
August 25th, 2023 at 6:46 PM ^
OSU used to do the same and how's THAT been working out for them? Also, a healthy Williams makes that P12 Champ game closer, but I watched that game and USC had no answer for Utah on offense. USC wasn't making the playoff either way.
August 25th, 2023 at 9:51 PM ^
And what do you think happens when Michigan wants to line it up and pound the ball down USC’s throat?
The game of football is played on two sides. This is not just Caleb Williams getting to tee off. USC has to play defense too, and for all of Lincoln Riley’s expertise on offense, he is yet to EVER prove he can play defense that is even close enough to winning a title. At Oklahoma or USC. Pete Carroll and his dynasty are NOT walking through that door.
USC’s defense last year was worse than OSU’s. Allergic to tackling. Caleb Williams would’ve absolutely made some plays on Michigan because he’s that good, but USC’s defense would’ve had absolutely no answer for Corum or Edwards. If their two games against Utah are any indication, when confronted with a team with a high level of physicality, they fold like a cheap tent.
I refuse to be scared of a team that got beat by Tulane. I don’t care how many players USC had sitting out. They had the Heisman trophy winner playing that day and should’ve been able to win that game by 4 TDs based on talent alone. But they lost. Until proven otherwise, they are soft as Charmin and should be treated as such.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:39 PM ^
Utah is my favorite non-Michigan team in the country right now. Given the choice between a TD and violence they just choose violence until you don't want any part of them at the end. Or at least USC sure as hell didn't.
August 26th, 2023 at 7:51 AM ^
Utah gets a lot of respect and Whittingham is highly regarded. But, I'd like to argue that this respect is undeserved. But, please note, that this is definitely more of a critique against the PAC 12 than Utah. It's not Utah/Whittingham's fault that they are overrated. It's the pollsters/analysts who overvalue their PAC 12 competition.
Utah just looks good since they play in the PAC 12 and the PAC 12 is quite bad. When going up against non-PAC teams, they get exposed. Utah hasn't won a game against a non-PAC power 5 team since 2017. In 2017, they beat WVU in a bowl game. Since then, they lost to Northwestern (2018), Texas (2019), Ohio State (2021), Florida (2022), and Penn State (2022). They were ranked higher than Northwestern, Texas, Florida, and Penn State, yet lost against all of them. They were ranked 11th when they lost by 4 touchdowns to unranked Texas. They were ranked in the top 10 (#7) when they lost to unranked Florida.
My point is Utah gets these oddly high rankings by winning games in the PAC, but the PAC is not good.
Since joining the PAC 12 in 2011, Utah has never beaten a ranked team from the Big 12, SEC, Big 10, or ACC.
August 25th, 2023 at 8:41 PM ^
USC is ten ply.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:16 PM ^
For all you olds out there, 'sus' is short for suspect. Thankfully my young kids keep me hip to the current lingo the youngsters out there are laying down.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:27 PM ^
That's gucci.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:33 PM ^
My kids tell me that when I say sus it makes me sound cringe.
August 25th, 2023 at 6:47 PM ^
The zoomers who work for me called me cheugy and now I'm scared of them.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:01 PM ^
5 of our head coaches made his all freak list.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:17 PM ^
We will set an NCAA record for head coaches in a season by week 2. Like Dr. Jaws, I ‘Can’t Wait’
August 25th, 2023 at 4:11 PM ^
to go he to do he eh he to do
August 25th, 2023 at 4:15 PM ^
Roster is there. Other top teams with new QB's. It's a strong possibility. Fun to be in the conversation. Now?....
August 25th, 2023 at 4:20 PM ^
jokes on him man, leap years only happen every 4 years
August 25th, 2023 at 4:32 PM ^
i do think people are sleeping on LSU and BK. everyone here hates him but he knows how to win.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:13 PM ^
Does he though?
August 25th, 2023 at 5:14 PM ^
What has he won?
August 25th, 2023 at 5:58 PM ^
Several Grimace look a like contests.
August 25th, 2023 at 7:22 PM ^
I love the fact that BK’s last memory of Michigan Stadium (if he lets himself think of it at all) is getting beaten down in the pouring rain. He and his team clearly didn’t want to be there and we smacked that ass.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:35 PM ^
i just want ONE in my adult life. please
August 25th, 2023 at 10:29 PM ^
We're not exactly facing murderers' row this year and may need to win just 3 games to do it: Penn State or OSU, CFP playoff, CFP championship.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:36 PM ^
That's a weird top 5.
Georgia will take a step back because they lost some key defensive pieces and Bennett being basically the same age as Lamar Jackson likely helped with jitters at QB (JT Daniels was absolutely going to be their starter and looked pretty mortal when out there). Still immensely talented but have questions.
USC is all gas, no brakes and that has tripped them up against teams that can slow them down a bit and get to Williams. We saw that against ND and Utah; those teams could make them work on offense more than they wanted and ND probably pulls that game out with a competent offensive plan. The next good defense a Lincoln Riley-led team runs out there will be his first and they're clearly been trying to portal their way to competency this offseason and I doubt that'll all stick. Plus last year they were something like +19 in TO margin and STILL weren't good on defense, which is likely to regress somewhat.
LSU has talent but Daniels has a ceiling as a QB and they've still gotta play FSU and @Alabama toward the end of the year, plus they'll inevitably trip up somewhere because the SEC is a tough conference. I think people are burying Alabama a bit too early; Young covered up for some sins on offense and they still don't seem to have a top-tier WR but it's still a loaded roster. They don't seem to have a QB and they welcome Texas in week 2 so good lord are we going to hear a lot about Texas being "back" if the Tide struggle in that game. But Saban their 2 losses last year were by something like 6 points; they've got some fight in them and getting LSU and Texas at home will help.
OSU is what they are - a really talented team offensively and a pretty good defense that relies heavily on the QB playing well within Day's offense. They aren't built to really grind teams down and so if they run into a team/game where the passing game isn't viable they're in trouble. That game against ND will be interesting; they're better than the Irish but going to ND at night can mess with even seasoned QBs.
Michigan at #1 feels a bit default-ish. The passing offense has a ceiling until further notice and while you can win with a B+ WR room (look at Georgia the past couple of years) it does limit you in a shootout. McCarthy should be better and I think the long-ball issues aren't a long-term issue but he's still gonna have to improve as a passer against more aggressive teams. He struggled mightily against Illinois, PSU gave him some fits, and while he had some nice throws against OSU his TDs to Johnson were either because of broken tackles or missed assignments. TCU, in hindsight, wasn't as bad as it looked outside of those two pick-sixes, but gotta built on the dual threat ability he showed there. And defensively they need some consistency at edge; Morris was solid and nobody currently at the ends even has his level of past performance coming into the year. I think they'll find it but we'll see.
Watch out for Washington down at #9. That's a tough early schedule against Boise and MSU but they also get Utah and Oregon at home and go to USC and Oregon St. They might sneak into the playoffs with 1-2 losses if they're reasonable and then that's an offense that can wreck anyone along with a competent defense.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:41 PM ^
LSU has Harold Perkins Jr and an elite pass rusher goes a looooooooong way in college football.
August 26th, 2023 at 7:15 AM ^
We had two against Georgia and it didn’t seem to make a damn bit of difference.
I know what you’re trying to say, and you’re not wrong, but there are so many components that go into winning the title. If all LSU has is elite pass rush, their opponent can game plan around that as Georgia clearly did against Michigan.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:38 PM ^
UM at #1 is because they have the least amount of unknowns. I think a team like UGA or Bama has a potentially higher ceiling if the young players and specifically QB's click, but that's a big if.
OSU is a known entity, with a new and most likely lesser QB (For all the hate, Stroud was a phenomenal passer). Can OSU toughen up in the trenches AND fix a confused secondary?...Big unknown. USC's defense was so terrible last year...would really need to make a leap to be a threat to win it all.
UGA, BAMA, LSU hitting their ceiling could be a problem for UM, but hopefully we only have to play one in the playoff this year.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:37 PM ^
Watched an interview this week with OSU D Coordinator Jim Knowles and he mentioned that his D this year in practice was "getting their hands on a lot of balls" (as opposed to previous years) and he repeated it a few times in the interview. He also said Harrison Jr. is the best receiver in all of college football.
So I am reading the Tea leaves here and I am looking at their receivers and concluding that the only reason his D is getting their hands on a lot of balls in camp is because their QB's have accuracy and timing issues. Throwing interceptions. And maybe they need Devin Brown to run more as a result of the situation, hence the QB battle?
August 25th, 2023 at 5:49 PM ^
Just once, I want to hear a coordinator say "Yeah, it's not looking too good out there. We're not going to be as aggressive this season."
August 25th, 2023 at 6:26 PM ^
"OSU: We're Getting Hands on Balls"
NTTAWWT
August 25th, 2023 at 4:39 PM ^
This seems right.
August 25th, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
So does PFF
https://www.pff.com/news/college-2023-pff-college-football-season-predictions
But don’t start a new post
I think all this #1 hype should be banned. It never ends well.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:35 PM ^
Agreed. The team would be wise to bring in a sports psychologist, although I'm sure Coach Harbaugh could articulate it just as well. The whole dynamics of being ranked #1, the tendency to believe that you are better, and the subconscious tendency to be satisfied, overconfident, to back off a bit in your effort, preparations, etc. Combined with the teams ranked below you and their hunger and drive to replace you.
We need to find that chip. 2021 GA, 2022 TCU, Harbaugh suspension. The chip can do a lot to overcome the #1 ranking.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:07 PM ^
#RatPoison
August 25th, 2023 at 5:37 PM ^
No, no, no...it goes down smoothly. You'll like it. You need to believe. I want you to believe!
...keep practicing the Georgia drill.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:50 PM ^
Fuck Nick Saban. I'm not quoting him.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:24 PM ^
Additionally, Nicole Auerbach and Sam Khan, Jr. also picked Michigan to win it all (UGA got four picks and LSU one). All eight Athletic writers predict Michigan to the CFP.
August 25th, 2023 at 5:52 PM ^
I like our chances