College football expert Phil Steele joined The Wolverine Podcast last week to discuss all things Michigan Wolverines football, including breakdowns on the Maize and Blue's offense and defense.
Steele also provided his thoughts on the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, and the Wolverines' biggest team strength and weakness heading into the 2020 season.
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Starting with the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry — a series that the Buckeyes have dominated this century, with the Wolverines last win coming in 2011 and before that, 2003. If there's a season in 2020, the Maize and Blue will attempt to win in Columbus for the first time since quarterback Drew Henson led head coach Lloyd Carr's squad to victory in 2000.
"Talent gap" has been a frequent phrase uttered by onlookers each time Ohio State has beaten Michigan in recent years. The Buckeyes recruit on a higher level, with their currently ranked No. 1 in the country class in 2021 just being the latest example.
But Steele believes Michigan is not that far off in terms of accumulating talent, especially with some of the players head coach Jim Harbaugh has brought lately and with the way in which his roster is made up this season. Specifically, Steele is high on the fact that the Wolverines are increasing their team speed and have more beef on the defensive line.
"I think team speed [is something Ohio State has had the edge in], and there has been a lot of team speed added on the [Michigan] offense," Steele said.
"Last year, one of the keys to the game was, naturally, the inopportune turnovers, but then also getting pushed out a little bit up front on the d-line. I think, adding a little more size on the defensive line is a plus this year.
"The talent isn't that far away. I just thought Ohio State had a little bit of a speed edge last year, and maybe a size edge up front, and I think those things have narrowed this year."
Still, Steele said he isn't going to predict the Wolverines to beat the Buckeyes in Columbus this fall.
The bigger and potentially stronger defensive line is a key point Steele hammered home.
Led by junior end Aidan Hutchinson and senior end Kwity Paye, along with fifth-year senior Carlo Kemp and sophomore Chris Hinton on the interior, Steele is willing to predict the Wolverines have a much improved front in 2020, and in fact, calls it the biggest strength on Michigan's team.
"I’m going to say the best strength is going to be that defensive line," Steele said. "It’s a Don Brown defense, they can dominate. I like the ends, I like what they’ve got inside."
On the flip side of the line of scrimmage, Steele, like many others, points to the offensive line as his biggest question mark for Michigan, with four starters from 2019 now being in the NFL.
"I like line play, but the biggest question mark is going to be that offensive line," Steele opined. "How do you re-work that offensive line, losing four guys to the NFL and coming from an underachieving squad without the spring practice. So, usually you’ve got a lot of strength at the line of scrimmage, but there’s strength and weakness at the line of scrimmage for Michigan — let’s say, strength and question marks."
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