As you’re all aware by now, we’ve been running a little short-staffed on the football beat, let alone the annual all-hands-on-deck project. But we haven’t failed to put out a book since I made it and this my full-time job. So I put it to you, the same way we did nine books ago:

Let’s Kickstart HTTV 2021.

Yes, it’s a lot later than our usual production schedule. No, there was nothing we learned from spring practice. No, we didn’t learn that much from last year, either. No, nobody in the Editor’s roundtable at the end is predicting Michigan wins the Big Ten this time. Yes, Craig Ross is still going on about the 1890s. Also we’re running this short—you only have 10 days to get in on the Kickstarter. Also: no,

I cannot guarantee you will get your physical copy before the season. We are doing everything we can to get this out much faster than usual. The printer in Minneapolis is going to meet me half-way in Chicago, and we’ll mail them from our warehouse in Ann Arbor the same way we do our shirts. This means skipping media mail so we can use a faster, more reliable, and far more expensive (for us) mailing option.

It also means I’m doing a limited print run so that orders don’t get backed up. We will also try to have in-person pickup options again—plan on Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, and Beulah up north, at the very least. Everyone will get an electronic version by the beginning of August. You can also purchase an electronic-only option, which costs the same but doesn’t have shipping costs.

Also, no, Brian could not participate this year, though the previews are still largely informed by his analysis. If you’re still in…

Come get your books here! Here! Here! Not Here! But Definitely Here!

[Jump for what’s inside]

THE WINNINGEST MICHIGAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW AND FEATURE MAGAZINE IS BACK

128 pages, no ads, no filler, no stuff we've ever published before, and 120 of those pages won't make you sad about Michigan football. The first half is a comprehensive preview of the team and their opponents by the expert and irreverent staff of MGoBlog, who are guaranteed to be 100% more accurate about who Michigan is playing this year! Alex Drain and I tackled the positional previews and recruiting, and…

…divided up the opponent previews, with our official Rutgers Correspondent Bryan MacKenzie in charge of the Fightin’ Schianos. We’ve also updated the stat boxes:

After Maryland, there are four pages on Ohio State you can skip to get to the features, which were written by some of the best writers in the Michigan media sphere, and should still be worth reading long after you find out how wrong we all were in the first 70 pages. They are:

TWISTED BLUE STEEL

Breaking the Wheel

How did we end up with a systemic college football oligarchy of perennial playoff contenders? How does the present compare to other times in history when talent accumulated at the top? Can recent changes like open transfers, NIL, and the possibility of an extended playoff create more parity, or if not, get Michigan back in the club? By Michael Elkon

Just Me Tonight

What kind of kid does it take to become a five-star quarterback, and why would he want to come to Michigan? We talk to the family and coaches of JJ McCarthy to understand what makes this guy go. By Ethan Sears

TECHNICAL DOSSIER

Three Under Center The x's and o's wonk who has broken down a lot of Big 12 offense looks at Michigan's personnel to explain what they really want to be, and how the skills of each of their quarterback options might fit in that scheme. By Ian Boyd

The Multiple Defense Clues from the spring and the last few Ravens defenses are used to piece together what Mike Macdonald is trying to do with Michigan's defense, what principles it's working under, and what they're looking for to run it. By Seth Fisher

TALES FROM OLD BLUE

Finding Yost The author of two books on Yost and one on the history of Black athletes at the University of Michigan shares the complicated story of where Yost came from, where he got his ideas, what experiences shaped him on his way to Ann Arbor, and how all of that--good and bad--translated into the athletic program he built there. By Dr. John Behee

Rise, Men of the West Our serial epic on the early years of Michigan football continues into 1895, as Michigan and its administrators try to decide football's place in campus life, and whether they should continue to pursue their Ivy League dreams or join a new conference forming in the Midwest. By Craig Ross

Sweet Dreams We've waited long enough to tell the oral history of the 2011 Sugar Bowl from the guys who participated in it: Jordan Kovacs, Roy Roundtree, Craig Roh, and Denard Robinson share their version of that blessed season and goofy BCS bowl victory. By Adam Schnepp

Plus an editors roundtable that will be at least 75% wrong and 25% spicy.

THE SHIRT

After last season's debacle and this season's uncertainty, we decided to just stick to the facts.

At least we can't argue about this. But if you don't think your torso can handle the hard truths, we'll have a selection of our old shirts you can choose from, including: Ypsi-Arbor, Feel Nothing, Space, and Shoelace.

The shirts are the same fancy, cotton Bella Canvas kind we switched to last year.

Consume! Consume! Consume! and Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! If you back us every year because you think you can tell the content is different from anything else like it, I will not let you down.