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The Michigan Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh have been pretty good for the past two seasons.
In fact, it’s fair to say that Harbaugh and the Wolverines have been very good in that time span.
They’ve beaten Ohio State twice, won two Big Ten conference championships, and twice been to the College Football Playoff.
They haven’t, however, been good enough. At least, not good enough to upset the apple cart that is Alabama and Georgia running roughshod over the college football world.
But hey, the third time’s the charm, right?
Harbaugh brings a Michigan team into the 2023 that should, in theory, be back in the College Football Playoff. And with both the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide staring down quarterback questions, the Wolverines could be well positioned to win their first national championship since 1997.
But do they have enough fire power?
That’s what Bruce Feldman of The Athletic examined recently when he broke down the recruiting numbers behind Michigan’s resurgence.
“(Fellow Athletic writer) Ari (Wasserman), citing that Michigan ranked 14th among FBS programs in the number of four and five-stars on its roster, asked me whether I believe “a team that is 30 percent below Georgia and Alabama in the Blue Chip Ratio can win a national championship in 2023?” Technically, according to Elliott’s research, the Wolverines would be 36 percent behind Alabama, 31 percent behind Ohio State and 23 percent behind the Bulldogs.”
But Feldman goes on to argue that those numbers don’t tell the whole story, and it would appear Harbaugh agrees.
“I think we’ll have 20 guys picked (in the next NFL draft),” Harbaugh told Feldman. “I bet we break that (draft) record. (Georgia) had 15 that year.”
The Bulldogs had a record 15 players drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. Michigan sent 11 players to teams in the 2017 NFL Draft, a record for its program.
Now, Harbaugh claims his program will not just top Georgia, but nearly double its own record in 2024.
That’s quite the lofty goal. But if the Wolverines reach it, its fairly likely they’re lifting a national championship come January.