Generally hate futures, think when it comes to actually impactful amounts of money books like nothing more than locking you up and limiting your cash flow, but here goes nonetheless.
1. Peppers Heisman (80/1) -- .25 to win 20
2. Peppers Heisman ceremony invite (14/1) -- 1 to win 14
3. Michigan national champs (13/1) -- 2 to win 26
I think Michigan is going to be the best team in the country this year, and feel that the current odds being given are favorable and at the very least will have risk-free hedges available in mid-October. More in-depth analysis below, but I feel that the amount of talent on this squad, along with the coaching and extremely favorable schedule, sets this team up for a lot of success.
The o-line returns 4 of 5 starters, with a few shuffling positions. Continuity is there, with no glaring weak spots or causes of concern coming in.
Darboh/Chessun/Butt all back as playmakers - none of these guys are once in a generation talents, but they're all rock solid, produced at a high level last year, and have another year of getting coached up to come back even stronger.
More continuity in the backfield - mild lack of explosiveness here, but the team's x factor is Peppers who I will go into a bit further down.
QB the one spot on offense where questions lie, but the schedule and supporting talent all around the QB help mitigate this concern. Very similar things being asked of whoever the starter is as Bama has asked of their guys in years past.
One of the best if not the best d line in the country. Glasgow's injury is what hurt them last year, with him in team's couldn't run and a lot of interior pressure was being generated. Add Charlton and Wormley returning, along with the top recruit in the nation rotating in here and there, things are looking up. Just have to stay healthy up front.
Lot of change at linebacker, but this was the weak spot last year so not like there's a lot to live up to.
Best secondary in the country - shut-down corner on one side, need somebody to step up at safety but expect that to happen over time. Peppers in the Dom Brown defense is going to be very similar to how AZ uses honey badger in the NFL - playmaker all over the field, capable of being the team's best player at any non-line position on any side of the ball. I expect him to line up at RB, slot receiver, slot corner, outside corner, linebacker and safety. The new d-coordinator will emphasize takeaways much more, and I expect Peppers to have as good a chance to shine as any non-skill position player since Mathieu at LSU if not even more so. The lack of explosiveness at traditional RB also suggests that he may get enough offensive TD opportunities to get on the Heisman radar too (he's much more explosive than anybody on the RB depth chart).
A full year with Harbaugh, along with two full recruiting classes now, will have a major impact. I think this is the year where this team makes the most year-over-year improvement over the life cycle of Harbaugh's tenure, which is saying a lot since last year's team was a playoff contender until a once in a century fluke on a punt and injuries ravaged the defense. Give him a month to prepare for a playoff game / ten more days to prepare for a second playoff game, good luck.
Now the schedule.
Hawaii / UCF / Colorado -- open the season with 3 tuneup games at home
Penn State / Wisconsin / at Rutgers / bye -- open the B1G schedule with very winnable games, nice steady ramp-up and the first road game comes in mid-October at a venue where Michigan fans outnumber home team fans.
Illinois / at MSU / Maryland -- 2 easy home games sandwiching a huge road game. Expect a lot of focus around the MSU game, first big signature win of the Harbaugh era and I'm sure he'll have them prepared for this one. MSU will be good but lot more question marks here than years past.
At Iowa / Indiana / at OSU -- the Iowa game will be tough but a forgiveable loss even if they do lose it (1 regular season loss will be forgiveable, preferrably MSU or Iowa). Indiana auto-w, then what may be a national quarterfinal against OSU. Think by the time they get to this game Michigan's title odds will be in the neighborhood of 6/1.
I think the first six games of the schedule along with the bye right after it allow Michigan to ramp up across the board and really hit a rythm by the time the beef of the schedule arrives. They have a significant amount of talent, are extremely well coached, and have few if any legitimate weaknesses heading into this season. I think they have as good a shot as anybody to win the national title, and have a transcendent talent in Peppers who will get noticed in a major way this season, would expect him to be the first defensive player off the board in next year's draft.
GL guys.
1. Peppers Heisman (80/1) -- .25 to win 20
2. Peppers Heisman ceremony invite (14/1) -- 1 to win 14
3. Michigan national champs (13/1) -- 2 to win 26
I think Michigan is going to be the best team in the country this year, and feel that the current odds being given are favorable and at the very least will have risk-free hedges available in mid-October. More in-depth analysis below, but I feel that the amount of talent on this squad, along with the coaching and extremely favorable schedule, sets this team up for a lot of success.
The o-line returns 4 of 5 starters, with a few shuffling positions. Continuity is there, with no glaring weak spots or causes of concern coming in.
Darboh/Chessun/Butt all back as playmakers - none of these guys are once in a generation talents, but they're all rock solid, produced at a high level last year, and have another year of getting coached up to come back even stronger.
More continuity in the backfield - mild lack of explosiveness here, but the team's x factor is Peppers who I will go into a bit further down.
QB the one spot on offense where questions lie, but the schedule and supporting talent all around the QB help mitigate this concern. Very similar things being asked of whoever the starter is as Bama has asked of their guys in years past.
One of the best if not the best d line in the country. Glasgow's injury is what hurt them last year, with him in team's couldn't run and a lot of interior pressure was being generated. Add Charlton and Wormley returning, along with the top recruit in the nation rotating in here and there, things are looking up. Just have to stay healthy up front.
Lot of change at linebacker, but this was the weak spot last year so not like there's a lot to live up to.
Best secondary in the country - shut-down corner on one side, need somebody to step up at safety but expect that to happen over time. Peppers in the Dom Brown defense is going to be very similar to how AZ uses honey badger in the NFL - playmaker all over the field, capable of being the team's best player at any non-line position on any side of the ball. I expect him to line up at RB, slot receiver, slot corner, outside corner, linebacker and safety. The new d-coordinator will emphasize takeaways much more, and I expect Peppers to have as good a chance to shine as any non-skill position player since Mathieu at LSU if not even more so. The lack of explosiveness at traditional RB also suggests that he may get enough offensive TD opportunities to get on the Heisman radar too (he's much more explosive than anybody on the RB depth chart).
A full year with Harbaugh, along with two full recruiting classes now, will have a major impact. I think this is the year where this team makes the most year-over-year improvement over the life cycle of Harbaugh's tenure, which is saying a lot since last year's team was a playoff contender until a once in a century fluke on a punt and injuries ravaged the defense. Give him a month to prepare for a playoff game / ten more days to prepare for a second playoff game, good luck.
Now the schedule.
Hawaii / UCF / Colorado -- open the season with 3 tuneup games at home
Penn State / Wisconsin / at Rutgers / bye -- open the B1G schedule with very winnable games, nice steady ramp-up and the first road game comes in mid-October at a venue where Michigan fans outnumber home team fans.
Illinois / at MSU / Maryland -- 2 easy home games sandwiching a huge road game. Expect a lot of focus around the MSU game, first big signature win of the Harbaugh era and I'm sure he'll have them prepared for this one. MSU will be good but lot more question marks here than years past.
At Iowa / Indiana / at OSU -- the Iowa game will be tough but a forgiveable loss even if they do lose it (1 regular season loss will be forgiveable, preferrably MSU or Iowa). Indiana auto-w, then what may be a national quarterfinal against OSU. Think by the time they get to this game Michigan's title odds will be in the neighborhood of 6/1.
I think the first six games of the schedule along with the bye right after it allow Michigan to ramp up across the board and really hit a rythm by the time the beef of the schedule arrives. They have a significant amount of talent, are extremely well coached, and have few if any legitimate weaknesses heading into this season. I think they have as good a shot as anybody to win the national title, and have a transcendent talent in Peppers who will get noticed in a major way this season, would expect him to be the first defensive player off the board in next year's draft.
GL guys.
