Michigan Football: 9-3 or 12-0? ESPN Predicts Wolverines’ Record

ESPN Staff Writer Bill Connelly Predicts The Michigan Wolverines 2023 Ceiling And Floor

After a miserable season in 2020 — one which saw the Michigan football team lose all but two of their contests en route to a 2-4 finish with many blowout losses — who would have thought that the Wolverines would be where they are right now? For many Michigan fans, the past two seasons have been the best of their lifetime.

Since the start of the 2021 season, which opened with a 47-14 victory over Western Michigan, the Wolverines’ resume has been impeccable. Two wins over Ohio State, two Big Ten Championships, two College Football Playoff (CFP) berths, and two top-3 finishes have come to Ann Arbor over the past 540 days, not to mention Michigan’s 25-3 overall record and 19-1 Big Ten record.

Now, as we turn the page from the Wolverines’ 13-1 Big Ten title season in 2022 to the upcoming season this fall, ESPN’s Bill Connelly gave his predictions on where Michigan football could end up all said and done.

What is the floor for Michigan football?

Now, I could sit here and be “that guy” by saying the floor for Michigan football this year is technically 0-12, but let’s try to be reasonable about how poor the Wolverines could get. Michigan football returns more production than any team in the Big Ten conference, gets Ohio State at home, returns nearly all of its essential coaches, and more. 

Additionally, the Wolverines are bringing in an elite offensive line unit, have a veteran junior at quarterback, and the nation’s best running back duo (Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards). Earlier this week, ESPN’s predictive SP+ model ranked the Michigan Wolverines as the No. 3 team in the nation, only behind Georgia (1) and Ohio State (2). Three Big Ten East teams broke the top-5, with Penn State bringing up the rear at No. 5.

According to Connelly, a respected voice in the college football community, the Michigan football team has a floor of 9-3 this fall.

What is the Wolverines’ ceiling?

According to ESPN, Michigan football has the same ceiling we saw a season ago when the Wolverines ran the table and finished with a perfect record. In 2022, the Michigan Wolverines took down everything in their way en route to Jim Harbaugh’s second Big Ten title as Michigan’s head coach.

We witnessed Michigan football take home massive victories over all of the Big Ten’s best programs, including Penn State (41-17), Michigan State (29-7), Ohio State (45-23), and Purdue in the title game (43-22). For the first time in program history, the Michigan football team finished the season with 13 total wins, which included 10 Big Ten wins — another program record.

Connelly claims that, for the second year in a row, the Wolverines’ realistic ceiling is 12-0. Based on ESPN’s model, the Michigan Wolverines football team is projected to have the No. 8 offense in the nation and the No. 4 defense to match. A season ago, the Michigan offense ranked No. 6, while its defense ranked No. 7.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at [email protected]. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other steaming platforms.