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Even brand prestige in Ann Arbor can only take a program so far if the program's entire foundation needs rebuilding from the ground up.
Although the Michigan Wolverines have a baseline level of talent, national analysts, including those from CBS Sports, are not buying into the pre-season buzz, calling the Wolverines the most overrated team in the Big Ten.
First and foremost, the issue of uncertainty lies with the program's coach. Kyle Whittingham has earned himself a Hall of Fame resume at Utah; however, bringing his system into Ann Arbor is a massive challenge itself. It takes time to establish baselines and adjust to a new culture, especially with a brutal schedule ahead.
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Secondly, the issue with the passing game is that, although quarterback Bryce Underwood has improved his arm talent entering his second year of college football, the offense has no proven perimeter playmakers who can open things up vertically against a defensive coordinator willing to do so.
Defensively, the issue is a lack of experience, with only three starters returning. Michigan will have to grow up fast against Oklahoma, Penn State, Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State. Whittingham will eventually make the Wolverines' path to the postseason challenging. However, expecting them to reach the playoffs in Year 1 might be a bit too much to ask.
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Whittingham, though, doesn't seem to mind the criticism, especially when it comes to Underwood, he said.
"I'd like to see a clean game execution wise, offensively," Whittingham told reporters. "Eliminating the false starts, pre-snap penalty, the things that are sloppy. Defense, we didn't do a whole lot of tackling in fall camp just for self-preservation. Hopefully, we can be sharp tacklers in the opener. Again, we didn't do that by design. We didn't want to take unnecessary risk, but that will be something that will be key for us."
Whittingham's expectations for his quarterback are clear, though.
"Just a clean game, play it hard. There's going to be mistakes in an opener. Great effort can cover up a lot of those mistakes if you just run into the football and play it hard every single snap."
Kickoff vs. Western Michigan is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock from Ann Arbor Saturday night.
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