Michigan is coming off a national championship season last year, but there are more questions surrounding the school heading into 2024 than there have been in recent years, and none bigger than the level of quarterback play the Wolverines will have this fall.
As part of a larger “what if” series heading into the 2024 college football season, 247Sports podcast host Josh Pate pondered what could happen if the Wolverines perform better than expected at the game's most important position.
“What would happen if Michigan gets high-level quarterback play this year,” Pate asked. “If the answer is, 'Yes.' If the answer to the question, 'Can we get high-level quarterback play?' is, 'Yes, Alex Orji is going to be a high-level quarterback this year,' then they could win a national championship again. That's the simple answer.”
Pate also said the Wolverines could earn an automatic berth in the conference's new 12-team College Football Playoff if they win the Big Ten Conference championship for the fourth straight year, though he believes the Wolverines are a “guaranteed” to make the playoffs even if Michigan doesn't win if their quarterback plays well.
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Pate noted that Michigan's “high level of quarterback play” sets it apart from most other modern college football programs. Former starter JJ McCarthy led the Wolverines to a national title last year, passing for 2,991 yards and completing 72.3% of his pass attempts with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions. Aside from McCarthy's completion percentage, those numbers are modest compared to recent national title winners like Stetson Bennett, Mac Jones, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence.
“J.J. McCarthy has some weird numbers compared to quarterbacks who have won national titles,” Pate said. “Certainly, those numbers are more than adequate. [for Michigan’s next quarterback.]”
Orji is expected to be a key part of Michigan's run attack this fall and could play an even bigger role than McCarthy did last season, but if Orji can match McCarthy's production in the aerial attack, the Wolverines will become one of the most dangerous teams in the country in Coach Pate's eyes.
“The defense is going to take care of itself there. The run game is there. Those things aren't going anywhere. To me, those are staples of Michigan football now,” Pate said. “If they can get that done and it's a high point where you can say, 'Wow, the quarterback is playing a lot better than we expected this year,' then they have a chance to win again.”
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Pate acknowledged it's a “huge question” whether Michigan can get high-level quarterback play from a first-year starter in 2024. The casual college football fan is not expecting Michigan to get the level of quarterback play that McCarthy showed last year. McCarthy, a second-year starter, has special arm talent, is a great unselfish leader and controlled the football in some of the most crucial moments for the Wolverines last year.
“If that were to somehow happen, I think the reigning champions would surprise the nation,” Pate said, “but Michigan has the fourth-best odds right now to win the Big Ten Conference and would be in the running to win it.”
You can watch the entire “Late Kick w/ Josh Pate” segment mentioned in this article starting at 7:35 in the video below.
–For more coverage on the Michigan Wolverines, visit Michigan Wolverines On SI–
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