On his thoughts on Michigan this year

Last year I had them on my most improved list but, I gotta be honest with you, they did better than I expected last year. Last year, was pretty much what I had expected back in 2019 when I had called for them to win the Big Ten. They really disappointed me, last year they didn't disappoint. They did everything they did, including blowing out Ohio State in the 42-27 win and blowing out Iowa in the Big Ten title game. It's a very good Michigan team again, I don't think their defense is quite up to last year's standards. They lose quite a few players. Aidan Hutchinson, Ojabo, Hinton, Ross, Hill, Hawkins, Gray, all out the door for Michigan on defense. I still rate them the No. 25 D-line, No. 36 linebackers and the No. 20 DBs, still a top-25 defense this year. Their strengths? Offensive line, won the Joe Moore Award last year. I've got them as the No. 1 offensive line again coming into the year. Special teams, number one special teams last year, I've got them as the number one special teams this year. They've got two very capable quarterbacks in Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy. Whoever ends up winning the starting job and, right now, it looks like it's going to be McNamara, they're going to do outstanding. They have a tremendous receiving corps. It's a very good Michigan team. I actually have Michigan favored in their first 11 games this year. I've got them going 11-0 as they travel to go face Ohio State on the road on November 26th.

On how the quarterback position plays out

It's a delicate balance nowadays with the transfer portal. It seems like every time one quarterback is named the full-fledged starter, the backup ends up leaving and going someplace else. I think McNamara really proved himself. When you look at McCarthy, he is a guy that's bigger. He's got the stronger arm, he's more mobile, he's got everything you want but Cade McNamara just flat out proved it last year what a winner he was with the great season, hitting 64%. Michigan doesn't require its quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns a year to be successful. They've got their run game to rely on. A very good quarterback running the offense got them all the way to the playoff last year. How do you go against a guy like that? You've got a guy like J.J. McCarthy sitting behind him who is quite an interesting option, maybe a little bit more talented.

On how the Big Ten East shakes out

I've got Ohio State winning the Big Ten East and winning the Big Ten overall this year. In fact, I think one of your better wagers out there in the preseason is Ohio State over 10.5 wins. Last year was an unusual year, Ohio State not in the Big Ten title game. Clemson not in the ACC title game, Oklahoma not in the Big 12 title game. Heck, Alabama lost to Texas A&M, barely got past Florida, barely got past LSU and should've lost to Auburn, they needed a miracle comeback just to get that. The reason for that, it seems like most of the teams in the country had 17, 18, 19 returning starters. Michigan, for example, 17 returning starters last year and that was because of covid. Not a lot of players left, a lot returned. In fact, most of the head coaches I talked to said, hey, we were the deepest we've ever been in the spring. We could run three teams in spring practice, I've never been able to do that before. The teams who didn't were Ohio State, who only had 11 returning starters. Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and those teams struggled. This year, the playing field evens out. Ohio State this year has 14 returning starters. Michigan only has 13 returning starters, so I think we'll see a return to the powers so that's why I have Ohio State running the table this year. Elsewhere in the Big Ten East, Penn State is a team that has had two down years. Last year it might've turned out different. Remember, they were 5-0, they're beating Iowa which was the No. 3 country on the road, Penn State was No. 4 and then Sean Clifford gets injured and they end up losing that game. Clifford wasn't 100%, they lost to Illinois, and they gave a good effort to Ohio State but waffled down the stretch. They lost a close one to Michigan, lost a close one to Michigan State and fell all the way down to 7-6 at the end of the year. I think they are a team that can get that number three spot in the East. In the four spot, I've got Michigan State. Everything went right for Michigan State last year, this is a team that was minus 53 yards per game in Big Ten play, yet only finished with two losses in Big Ten play. I think when you look at Michigan State this year, they're strong again. I like their quarterback in Peyton Thorne, I think the defense has to be improved, especially that secondary and they've got a dangerous receiver in Jayden Reed. I've got Michigan State with a tough schedule coming in fourth in the Big Ten East.

On how Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan program is viewed nationally

I think a lot better now that he's finally got to the playoff, won the Big Ten. I think, overall, the whole thing with the NFL went well because from all reports, Harbaugh told recruits prior to the NFL that he was going to interview. He told all the players he was going to interview with the NFL and he did, now he's telling players that he's not going to do that anymore. He definitely bought some credibility with the fact that he told them in advance that he was going to do that. I think, overall, Harbaugh comes out of it looking pretty good. Definitely a lot better off coming into last season when he was coming off a 2-4 year and had to take a paycut. I think Jim Harbaugh came off pretty well this year.

On a team that could be a surprise team this season

I'll give you two surprise teams and then one most improved team. The first surprise team I'll talk about is Utah. Utah first played Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and gave them quite a game, probably should've won that. Utah is going to be a better team this year. They're strong at the line of scrimmage every year under Kyle Whittingham. They've got Cam Rising back at quarterback this year, a deep backfield, and a dangerous receiving corps. I think when you look at the schedule for Utah this year, I've got them favored in every game. One toss-up game, at Oregon. But I see them winning the Pac-12 and a shot at making the playoff this year. An undefeated Pac-12 team would get there. They have their toughest test, USC, at home and I think that's big for Utah. Another team to talk about is Pitt. Everybody is throwing Pitt in the dumpster because they lost Kenny Pickett and they lost Jordan Addison, their star wide receiver. I like the replacement at quarterback in Kedon Slovis, a guy that comes over from USC, and was a Heisman front-runner heading into the year last season. They've got dangerous running backs, and a much improved offensive line. Defensively is where they make their hay, they've got one of the best defensive lines in the country every year. Narduzzi does it when he loses three starters on the defensive line, he, all of the sudden, ends up with three new stars. Guess what? He's got practically everybody back on the D-line this year. Second best D-line in the country. Dangerous defense and they know how to win on the road. Last year they went 4-0 in the ACC on the road, winning by 23.5 points per game. I think it's possible that Pitt is 11-0 when they travel to face Miami of Florida in the final week of the season. They are my number one surprise team for a team that won't be in the top 10 that has a shot at making the playoff ... I had USC in the middle of the pack in the Pac-12 south. Coming off a 4-8 season, only 11 returning starters, new head coach that had to learn the players. By the time I talked to Lincoln Riley on the third write-through process, which is after we talked to the coaches, he had signed Caleb Williams from Oklahoma, his quarterback, wide receiver Mario Williams, my number two rated wide receiver coming out of high school, was from Oklahoma, signs there. Jordan Addison, the Biletnikoff winner, signs there. 1,000-yard rusher, Travis Dye, signs there. Shane Lee, started 13 games for Alabama in 2019 at linebacker, signs there. He brought in a ton of recruits and now, all of the sudden, USC went from 4-8 to my number one most improved team in the country. I think they can get to double-digit wins this year. If Utah is going to have a main contender in the Pac-12, I think it's USC. So those would be three teams to look at this year.

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