Anyone remember the 2004 Michigan football season? The year Chad Henne and Mike Hart became common words in Ann Arbour, and folks in Michigan had visions of National Titles dancing in their heads. It seemed like last year may have been the Wolverines best chance, but upon meeting the best of the best in Ohio State and USC, the Wolverines found out their meager regular season schedule set them up for failure.
Expect the same in 2007 from Lloyd Carr’s bunch. On defense, just 6 stars return from last year’s dominant squad. Michigan’s undervalued conservative offense may be the key again this year. With a focus on the running game, Michigan was a top 10 team insofar as time of possession last year, and turned the ball over only 12 times. With some experienced players back on offense, if Carr wants to make any serious push in the title picture, he will need Henne and Hart to at least match those great feats from last season. To stretch the defense, look for Mario Manningham to get deep against some weaker competition early on in the season.
The schedule sets up rather nicely for the Wolverines, with the major challenge coming at the end of the season with games at Wisconsin and closing out by welcoming Ohio State to the Big House. It could be possible that Michigan enters those games 9-1, or possibly 10-0, but don’t expect them to come out of those two games unscathed. It comes down to this: Michigan hasn't won a big game with Henne and Hart leading the way, and I expect this to hinder them as well in 2007.
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