by Kyle Golik
It seems Harbaugh has established a residency at the top of the polls, with Michigan earning a 35th consecutive appearance in the Top 10 of the polls.
Most Michigan followers, insiders, and national analysts feel this is the strongest team Harbaugh has had in Ann Arbor, but does it have a claim to be the No. 1 team in the nation? Earlier this week, our own Mike Farrell, in his daily Fact or Fiction, believes Michigan is the top team in the nation.
Here are my Top 5 reasons Michigan should be rated No. 1 team in the country:
5. Discipline
This season, Michigan hasn’t beaten themselves by committing unforced errors, as they have the few penalties and penalty yards enforced in the country. Through their first seven games, Michigan has had 16 total penalties for a total of 123 infraction yards. With Michigan being only penalized 17.57 yards per game, they aren’t going to beat themselves, and that discipline can only be matched.
Michigan’s mastery of disciplined football has also translated over to ball control and turnovers.
The Wolverines have only committed five turnovers through seven games and allowed only six points off those turnovers. Their defense has pounced on the opposition’s miscues, scoring on 10 of 12 turnovers this season (8 touchdowns and 2 field goals).
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4. Dominance on Both Sides of the ball
Michigan is one of three teams, alongside Penn State and Oregon are the others, to both be in the Top 10 scoring offenses and defenses.
The offense, which is averaging 39.4 points per game, broke the school record for most consecutive games scoring 30 or more points, and now sits at 10 in a row (1976 Michigan held the school record previously with 8). Only Penn State has a current longer streak at 13 games, and both trail the 2014-2015 Ohio State Buckeyes for the conference record at 15 games.
Michigan is also the first Big Ten to hold its first seven opponents to under 14 points while scoring 30 or more points since the 1905 Minnesota Golden Gophers.
From a national perspective, this Michigan group is trying to match the 1981 Clemson Tigers to achieve a lead and hold each opponent to under 10 points in scoring. The Wolverines’ 6.7 points allowed per game is leading the nation.
The run defense is among the nation’s elite, allowing only 91 yards per game, and amongst the nation’s best in tackles for loss as the Wolverines’ defense has 46 tackles for loss total for the season, with the opposition losing 189 yards on those combined tackles.
3. The Offensive Line
Annually, The Joe Moore Award is awarded to the offensive line unit that is the best in the nation. In the last two years, the award has been won by Michigan, and they are doing another exceptional job of making it a case for a third year in a row.
With a lot of talent leaving from last year, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh leveraged the transfer portal to bring in tackles LaDarius Henderson and Myles Hinton and center Drake Nugent. The infusion of talent gave Michigan one of the most experienced units in the country, trailing only Florida State, Duke, and SMU.
The results have been nothing short of excellent, as the unit has allowed the second-fewest tackles for loss in the nation at 2.71 per game and has protected starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy with only seven sacks given up in seven games this season.
2. The Running Back Room
While Michigan running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards haven’t taken off like they did last season, there is no denying the talent they possess. Through seven games, Corum and Edwards have combined for 22.3 rushing attempts per game, a light load for a pair of thoroughbreds.
With Michigan not having been contested, Harbaugh isn’t looking to waste any of the tread on Corum or Edwards. It seems Corum has distinguished himself in the reps he has received to be the RB1.
Corum, on 96 rushing attempts, has 546 yards while leading the nation with 12 touchdowns.
While Edwards hasn’t put up numbers that would rival “Barry Sanders, Walter Payton,” he averages barely over eight attempts per game. I feel Edwards’ time to shine this season hasn’t happened yet, but when called upon, he will have the ability to carry the load as he did last season when Corum got hurt.
1. Harbaugh has a quarterback
In my mind, as Harbaugh watches McCarthy mature into an elite quarterback, I visualize Harbaugh as Gene Wilder’s character Dr. Frankenstein in Mel Brooks’ 1974 classic Young Frankenstein, going “It’s Alive!!!!!” every time McCarthy makes that next step.
By no means am I saying McCarthy is better than the Pac-12 trio of Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, or Michael Penix Jr., or that he is better than the ACC’s Drake Maye or Jordan Travis. But he is playing at the same level that will drive Michigan to a third consecutive College Football Playoff berth. McCarthy has piloted the Wolverines aerial attack to the third most efficient passing offense in the nation (188.85), and his 78.2% completion percentage is second to Oregon’s Nix.
In his 20 career starts, McCarthy has guided the Wolverines offense to score points on 115 of 191 total drives (85 touchdowns, 30 field goals). His ability to guide potent offenses gives Michigan that edge to be recognized as the nation’s best.
