The time is now for Michigan football to win a national title

Bruce Feldman is one of the most well-known and respected voices in the sport of college football — from rankings to daily insight, Feldman is a “go-to” guy for just about anything in the sport. Recently, Feldman wrote a piece about Jim Harbaugh and his Wolverines, stating that if there is going to be a Michigan football national title run, it must be in 2023. Can the Wolverines pull it off will be the question.

Michigan football national title: 2023 must be the year

Few teams (if any) look nearly as loaded as the Michigan football team heading into the 2023 season. The coaching staff remains in-tact for the most part, the offensive line has somehow gotten even better (on paper), and more. Under center will be JJ McCarthy, who was recently ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the Big Ten; behind McCarthy will be the best running back duo in the sport, and out wide will be a veteran tight end and receiver corps with experience in major games. On defense, the story remains the same.

“This is a really strong team on both sides of the ball with a lot of veteran leadership,” Feldman wrote. Fronted by a bunch of dudes – particularly Corum, Zinter, Keegan, Barrett and Sainristil, all of whom are deeply invested in what sparked Michigan’s transformation.”

“Beyond the Big Ten, the other superpowers of the sport, Georgia and Alabama, are replacing multiyear starters at quarterback and top defensive talent. The window for the Wolverines to win a national title might never be better than it is right now.”

Now or never?

For any team to win the national championship, the stars have to align in your favor. For Michigan football in 2023, this seems to be happening — from the team itself to the landscape of the sport in the coming year, and Michigan’s favorable schedule, the Wolverines must capitalize on this year’s opportunity. Over the past two seasons, Michigan football has been close a handful of times, namely in 2021 and 2022, when the Wolverines won the Big Ten yet fell short in the College Football Playoff.

The Wolverines currently have the 4th best odds to win this season’s national title, sitting behind Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State. Looking at Michigan’s schedule, it seems to be favorable for Michigan football, though one wrong step on the road against teams like Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Maryland, and we could see a major upset. While Michigan will host a reloading Ohio State team in late November, the Wolverines must travel to Happy Valley to face Penn State, who is also loaded this season after going 11-2 and winning the Rose Bowl in 2022.

It will undoubtedly be a tough season for Jim Harbaugh and his program, though if Harbaugh plans on winning Michigan’s 12th-ever national championship, 2023 will be the year to do it — the Wolverines might not get a better shot at this, and Harbaugh knows it.

“A great roster of players, tremendous coaches all pulling in the same direction.,” Jim Harbaugh said of his team during spring ball. “That doesn’t mean we’re not going to have a letdown as the months go on, but this is the best version of football that I’ve seen since I’ve been here the last eight years … This is not the time to regroup or to rest, or to to take a step back. Now’s the time to attack.”

The 2023 Michigan football national title run will begin on September 2nd, when the Wolverines are slated to kickoff the season against East Carolina in Ann Arbor, MI.

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