The 2016 college football season is (mercifully) almost here, and we have entered the part of the preseason in which fans begin to make lofty plans. That is certainly true of "Michigan Men" everywhere, as the Wolverines enter Jim Harbaugh's second season with a mountain of expectations and a ton of talent.
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Matt Brown of Sports On Earth recently released his College Football Playoff projections and, well, they won't exactly serve as a stop sign for people clad in Maize and Blue. In fact, Brown projects that Michigan will take on Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl as a semifinal match-up:
Both teams have to prove themselves at quarterback, as Florida State is turning to redshirt freshman Deondre Francois and Michigan will likely go with either junior Wilton Speight or Houston transfer John O'Korn. Both teams have exceptional defenses and coaching staffs, and Florida State's Dalvin Cook stands a good chance of being getting to New York for the Heisman ceremony. If the projections hold true, the Seminoles and Wolverines are both obvious choices as the one-loss winners of the ACC and Big Ten, respectively.
To be fair, Brown does have the Wolverines losing to Florida State in this particular game, but no one could argue that reaching the playoff would be a disappointing result. Michigan's fate is certainly tied to the quarterback position (as stated above), but the Wolverines also have uncertainty at the linebacker spot and, at least to some degree, along the offensive line to sort out before things get tough in October and November.
Given a schedule that requires trips to Iowa City, East Lansing and Columbus, this projection should strike fans as aggressive, but if it holds, the Michigan faithful can pack for Glendale and a long-awaited trip to the College Football Playoff.
