UCLA is just days away from joining the Big Ten. After 96 years and 123 national championships in the Pac-12, the Bruins are at the forefront of the Big Ten’s West Coast expansion. Prior to UCLA’s official move, Daily Bruin Sports will preview the football, men’s basketball and other top programs of each school.

Football
2023 record: 15-0, 9-0 Big Ten, Big Ten champions, College Football Playoff champions
Coach: Sherrone Moore

It’s Michigan football.

Collegiate football aficionados or not, familiarity with this program is common.

The Big Ten has been a spectacle of unrivaled dominance for the past three years with Michigan’s consecutive titles and record crowds.

Five of the last six Wolverine coaches achieved at least one 10-win season each. Jim Harbaugh, the latest head honcho, marshaled his troops to an unblemished 2023 record, replicating Lloyd Carr’s feat from 1997.

Harbaugh bid farewell to the squad to helm the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers 17 days after Michigan claimed the College Football Playoff national championship over then-No. 2 Washington in January.

Head coach Sherrone Moore was promoted as Harbaugh’s successor after spending six seasons on the team’s offensive staff and as the mastermind behind Michigan’s perennially unstoppable offensive line.

Expecting Moore to meet Harbaugh’s brilliance without any head coaching experience would be unjust – particularly as he navigates a demanding 2024 schedule and upholding an esteemed reputation.

Michigan’s ranking fell to fourth in the predicted 2024 Big Ten standings, four places below last season’s forecast. Where an undefeated season was once anticipated, Moore’s squad is now predicted to lose three games throughout its regular season.

A shift at the helm is just the tip of the iceberg for Michigan. The Wolverines might bear little resemblance to January’s national championship roster, with 13 members of that team joining Harbaugh in a departure to the NFL.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy – who threw for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns last season and led the Big Ten with a 72.3% completion percentage – was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, leaving Michigan with a gaping hole at quarterback.

Now, the signal-calling battle hinges on the veterans of Alex Orji, Davis Warren and Jack Tuttle – each yet to prove their play-calling chops for the Wolverines. Orji, touted as a favorite, has thrown just one pass in two years, but showcased his prowess on the ground with 21 carries for 123 yards and three scores through his career.

But it’s hard to play quarterback without throwing the ball.

Tuttle closely trails McCarthy, posting an 88.2% completion percentage and 130 yards through the season to outshine other returning quarterbacks.

But at its core, Michigan is without a cemented quarterback, a team’s linchpin.

After the loss of the program’s head coach, its quarterback, leading rusher, two leading receivers, the entire offensive line and eight of its defensive starters, retaining running back Donovan Edwards may have been Moore’s most astute offseason decision.

Featured as one of three faces on the EA Sports College Football 25 video game cover, Edwards is a leading Wolverine from Michigan’s title-winning season. Despite a year hampered by injury recovery, Edwards delivered a season-high 104 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns in his team’s CFP finals.

If Michigan’s quarterback can rely on Edwards’ rushing ability and trust his receiving corps, Moore’s offense could find a rhythm. Should Edwards and Colston Loveland – who may be the nation’s leading tight end – forge a synergistic tandem, they could create a dual threat able to convert critical third downs.

Despite the departure of its offensive line, Michigan’s defense may maintain its No. 1 stature.

Michigan’s season-ending gauntlet in 2023 featured college football titans Ohio State, Alabama and Washington – but the program still showed the top defense, with 247 yards allowed per game, and the top scoring defense, surrendering just 10.4 points per game.

Four defensive backs from the portal will join a unit of nine returning defensive players who combined for 200 snaps last season. Michigan’s defensive front is anchored by Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, one of the nation’s leading defensive tackle duos who combined for 64 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss last season.

On the edge, pass rushers Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore wreaked havoc, recording 38 and 34 tackles, respectively.

First-year defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale’s tutelage will promise a repeat of last year’s damage. While defensive back Rod Moore may remain on the sidelines recovering from injury, Martindale’s defense runs deep enough to compensate for missing pieces.

However, amid heavy roster turnover, one thing remains.

It’s Michigan football – where 10 wins a season is a baseline.

Men’s basketball
2023-2024 record: 8-24, 3-17 Big Ten
Coach: Dusty May

Big Ten cellar dwellers Michigan played one postseason game last season.

And it lost to a middling Penn State team that also couldn’t subsist beyond its following duel.

Two days after the Wolverines’ 8-24 season came to an anticipated halt, the school fired Juwan Howard – a former member of the Fab Five – after a five-year run as head coach.

Howard’s tenure in Ann Arbor, Michigan, featured the lowest winning percentage of the past three Wolverine coaches. After celebrating a 2021 Big Ten championship, Michigan underwent a steep downturn in the following years, accumulating 45 wins against 55 losses in Howard’s final three years.

Enter Dusty May.

The former Florida Atlantic head coach metamorphosed a reeling Owl team, catapulting it from a 17-16 fringe contender to a 35-4 season in 2023 and a Final Four appearance.

Finishing his career at Florida Atlantic with a .646 winning percentage, May signed a five-year deal with Michigan – capable of installing similar tactics to revitalize a faltering Wolverine pack.

Dug McDaniel led the exodus of Wolverines into the transfer portal after the team’s short postseason lifeline. With only six returners next year – just three of whom appeared in more than 10 games last season – May will have to tap deeply into his pool of high school recruits and transfer prospects.

Guards Nimari Burnett and Jace Howard and forward WIll Tschetter averaged 9.6, 2.6 and 6.8 points, respectively, last season and will be the bearers of experience for Michigan.

May hastily attacked the portal upon his arrival to Ann Arbor. Among the cadre, he picked up NBA legend Scottie Pippen’s son Justin Pippen, a four-star guard out of Sierra Canyon who averaged 16.5 points and 4.9 assists as a high school senior.

Combining Pippen’s cerebral playmaking with Michigan-born Durral Brooks’ dynamism could create a formidable Wolverine backcourt. Named Michigan’s Mr. Basketball for 2024, Brooks averaged 27.1 points and 8.1 rebounds as a senior guard, highlighting his dual-threat abilities.

From the portal, four of Michigan’s six transfers will carry NCAA Tournament experience.

Former Florida Atlantic center Vladislav Goldin – who averaged 15.9 points and 6.9 rebounds under May – joined his coach in the transition to Michigan. Alongside Goldin, two other transfers – forward Danny Wolf and guard Roddy Gayle Jr. – posted double-digit figures at Yale and Ohio State, respectively, last season.

May juggled what he was given – or lack thereof – after a mediocre season in Wolverine history.

But he extracted from it what he could, and with a bit of luck, Michigan could sneak in as the Big Ten’s dark horse.

Email Gorawara at [email protected] or tweet @IraGorawara.