Wolverine TV podcast: Michigan’s claim for preseason No. 1, J.J. McCarthy outlook, more

A lot of Michigan football ground was covered in this week’s edition of our Monday night live show on The Wolverine. Anthony Broome and Clayton Sayfie went with a full Q&A edition of the episode revolving around many of the stop storylines on the board.

Chief among them this week was Michigan’s claim to the No. 1 spot in the country in the preseason rankings. Most have Georgia tabbed as the favorite, but Broome and Sayfie discussed where the Wolverines might fit in the conversation.

“It’s probably because Georgia is coming off two-straight national championships,” Sayfie said. “And as Kirby Smart would say, nobody believed in them last year, which is insane. But anyway to find motivation for your team and it worked. They were able to replicate what they did two seasons ago. It was not as dominant at times. There were a couple of halves or couple of games that were a bit closer than people thought. The Ohio State game could have gone differently at the end if Noah Ruggles does not miss a kick. But all in all, it’s pretty fair to project Georgia as the No. 1 team. They are looking to be the first national championship three-peat team since Minnesota in the 1930s.

“But the one thing about Michigan is that they have the least amount of question marks among any of those teams right at the top. If you look at the final AP poll from last season, Michigan was the only team in the top seven with a returning starting quarterback and brings back all sorts of production. They added eight transfers that could impact this fall. So, I feel really good about where Michigan stands. But preseason No. 1…I don’t think it matters a ton. But you can keep that chip on your shoulder if you are Michigan.”

“I don’t want to say preseason No. 1 is lofty for Michigan, but if you’re asking me to pick, I’m probably still going with Georgia,” Broome said. “If you want to put stock in it, fine. I don’t know if I’m a Michigan fan that I’d want that label. This program has been at its best over the last two years when they have had that chip on their shoulder.

“The hesitancy has a lot to do with regionally, the media coverage tends to favor those teams in the south. This is also a Michigan team that has not won a bowl game [since 2015]. When you are sitting there calling your shot and predicting the No. 1 team in the country, you are saying that this is the team you think will win a national title. I can safely sit here and say that Michigan is one of the 2-4 best teams in the country. No. 1 is going to come down to what you value when you call your shot this time of year.”

The full show from this week can be viewed or listened to below. Other topics included J.J. McCarthy‘s short and long-term future, Heisman hopefuls for the Wolverines, the basketball roster and much more.

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