Do you know the lyrics to the Michigan fight song? No? Well I’ll tell you they aren’t: “Hail to the Victors Valiant, even if they lose to Ohio State”. With Chad Henne, Mike Hart, and a lesser extent Mario Manningham returning, this seems like Blue’s best chance to beat The Ohio State especially in Ann Arbor (that whore). But for some reason Jim Tressel has Lloyd Carr’s number and its hard for me to predict anything different will happen until it does. Wins will be a plenty and because of Big Ten Tiebreaker 6e the Wolverines will finish the season in Pasadena again, but without beating Ohio State, the 2007 season and maybe Lloyd Carr’s career could be incomplete.
Projected Record and Bowl Result: 12-1 Beat California in Rose Bowl
Who they’ll beat: Appalachian State (Home), Oregon (Home), Notre Dame (Home), Penn State (Home), Northwestern (Road), Eastern Michigan (Home), Purdue (Home), Illinois (Road), Minnesota (Home), Michigan State (Road), Wisconsin (Road), California (Pasadena, CA)
Who’ll beat them: Ohio State (Home)
When they Pass: Chad Henne is in his fourth season as a starter. This is a luxury rarely shared by many college football programs this day in age. While Steve Breaston has moved on, Mario Manningham and his big play ability return. If Henne and Manningham are on many of Michigan’s games may not even be that close.
When they Run: Central New York’s Mike Hart is also in his fourth season as a starter. Hart has played with a chip on his shoulder and other injuries at times but is sure handed and determined to lead the Wolverines to wear they want to go.
When their Opponents Run: Not much returns from the nation’s best run defense last year. Although that run defense leaked some big plays to Antonio Pittman, Chris Wells and The Ohio State in their epic game last November. If defensive coordinator Ron English can get similar numbers out of 5 new starters on the front seven than he is every bit the genius experts claim he is.
When their Opponents Pass: Leon Hall isn’t around to shut down one side of the football field. Morgan Trent should continue Michigan’s tradition of strong cornerbacks.
When they Kick: Freshman Bryan Wright takes over for longtime kicker Garret Rivas.
When they call Timeout: Carr has had a remarkable tenure at Michigan but his well documented recent failures against Ohio State are enough to make some fans wonder if it is time to move on. Defensive coordinator Ron English will be a head coach somewhere, but will probably be best served to scout MAC film before he gets a shot at the Big House.
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