Heading into the 2019 season, Las Vegas Sportsbooks listed Michigan as a favorite in every single game of their schedule, including their season-finale against Ohio State.
As we know, the Wolverines failed to live up to expectations as they finished with an overall record of 9-4, which included losses to Ohio State to end the regular season and Alabama in the Citrus Bowl.
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So, where will Michigan go from here? Will they take another step back or will they rise up and make a statement in 2020?
One person who is not too confident in the Wolverines is ESPN writer, David M. Hale.
Hale recently wrote a piece titled, “Bowl game overreactions: Thoughts on Clemson, Texas, Michigan, Alabama and more,” and in the piece, he referred to Michigan as a “second-tier” program.
From ESPN:
Michigan is a second-tier program
Even the Wolverines faithful seem to have accepted their lot in life: They’re not Ohio State, and they never will be again. Hard to argue with the results, and Michigan’s woeful bowl performance against Alabama was just the latest slip toward the dreaded status of “above average.” Perhaps the bigger issue for the Wolverines, however, isn’t about program and is instead about quarterback. While Ohio State has gone from Braxton Miller to Cardale Jones to J.T. Barrett to Dwayne Haskins to Justin Fields, Michigan has endured plenty of stat lines like this: 17-for-37 for 233 yards, one TD and two picks. That was Shea Patterson‘s production in the Citrus Bowl, and it fits with the litany of underachievers at the position for the Wolverines.
But wasn’t this LSU’s lot in life for too long? Then one day Burrow comes along and — voila! — becomes a champion. Whether Michigan is any closer to finding its own Burrow is open for debate, but it’s worth remembering that from 2015 through 2018, LSU had 59 touchdown passes combined. Burrow threw for 60 in 2019. It can happen that fast.
Nation, do you agree with Hale? Is Michigan a second-tier program?
