PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 05: Broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit speaks onstage during the "BCS Title Game" panel at the ESPN portion of the 2011 Winter TCA press tour held at the Langham Hotel on January 5, 2011 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Kirk Herbstreit thinks this Top 10 team is still a "year away"

Fans of this particular team won't love Kirk Herbstreit saying the program is a "year away".

The Michigan Wolverines are generating a ton of buzz after a blistering 4-0 start and a top-five ranking. However, skeptics still exist when it comes to the ultimate ceiling for Jim Harbaugh's team in 2016 and Kirk Herbstreit appears to be in that camp.

On Monday, Herbstreit was asked for his opinion on Michigan making a run to the College Football Playoff and he responded simply that the team is a "year away".

When prompted for reasoning, Herbstreit deflected to the future from a recruiting perspective.

There are reasons to believe that Harbaugh will have Michigan cooking at an even higher level down the line because of the aforementioned recruiting prowess. However, the Wolverines do boast a bunch of top-flight seniors on the defensive side of the ball, ranging from All-American cornerback Jourdan Lewis to various defensive linemen in the midst of their final season, and that could speed up Michigan's overall timetable.

Obviously, Herbstreit's thoughts are always seen, at least by some, through the prism of Ohio State and the Buckeyes are actually more in line with a team that is a "year away" if you look at the two rosters. Still, it is easy to both justify and counteract Herbstreit's overall point and, in the end, it will play out between the white lines in short order.