Rivals Ranks Michigan Preseason #46

Well....we cracked the top half of D-1 teams, according to Rivals. Michigan comes in at #46 on their Top 120 countdown. They predict Brandon Minor will have a great year, Tate Forcier will be the impact newcomer, and Kevin Koger will emerge as a force. Our strongest area on offense is our receiver corps, and the O-line needs to step it up. On defense, Brandon Graham will star, Mike Martin and Will Campbell will make an impact, and Ryan Van Bergen will emerge. Our strength is the linebacking corps, which rivals says "should be one of the Big Ten's best." Our biggest weakness is the inexperience at d-line.

Here is the overall outlook:

Rodriguez knew there would be some struggles during his debut season in Ann Arbor, but he never anticipated a 3-9 record, which meant no bowl for the Wolverines for the first time since the 1974 season. An offense that ranked 109th nationally received much of the blame; there were no quarterbacks equipped to run Rodriguez's spread-option offense. The only thing fans could count on was turnovers, and Michigan committed 30 – with many of them unforced. The defense also gets its share of the blame, as chemistry, stopping the pass and getting off the field on third downs were the main culprits. But Rodriguez has tweaked his staff, turned the page and further ingrained his system. His goal: contending for the Big Ten title. Don't bet against him if a quarterback emerges and the defense buys into Robinson's schemes.