The Michigan Wolverines have emerged as one of the top teams in the Big Ten with a 5-1 record after blowing out a good Northwestern team today, and they have their sights set on competing for a national championship at the end of the season. Here are three reasons why they'll make the College Football Playoff this season:
3) The Harbaugh Effect
How else can you describe what is happening in Ann Arbor?
Head coach Jim Harbaugh has turned a group that missed a bowl game under Brady Hoke last year into a legitimate national championship contender. He has them playing more physical football than anyone else in the country, and they've been cutting down on the mistakes every week. The Wolverines are becoming a mirror of Harbaugh's teams that were so successful at Stanford and the San Francisco 49ers - and that's a great thing.
2) Dominant offensive line play
Just wow. If you watched Michigan's loss to Utah in Week 1, you'd proably thought the offensive line was destined to flounder after an absolutely uninspiring performance. Just five weeks later, the unit has taken a near-complete 180. Michigan's running game is averaging nearly five yards per carry and is averaging around just four tackles for a loss per game. And, while QB Jake Rudock has been besieged by the turnover bug, the O-line has given him plenty of time to operate the past four contests.
1) Top defense in the country
Back-to-back-to-back shutouts, folks. The Wolverines gutted Maryland's offense in last weekend's 28-0 Big Ten opener, posting consecutive blankings for the first time since 2000, then dominated Northwestern 38-0 this afternoon, marking the first time since 1980 Michigan has posted three straight shutouts. The Jim Harbaugh era is bringing plenty of cheer to Michigan's fan base over the past four weeks as the Wolverines have put a combined 157-14 beating on Oregon State, UNLV, BYU, Maryland, and Northwestern.
We asked ourselves early this week whether or not Michigan's defense is good enough to carry its dominance into Big Ten play. We got our answer on Saturday.
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