Michigan Football: The face of the Big Ten

Michigan football has officially become the face of the Big Ten Conference. Whether you are a fan of the maize and blue or not, you cannot deny the fact that the Wolverines have officially supplanted Ohio State both on the field and now in the eye of the media within the conference.

Cleveland.com held its 13th annual preseason Big 10 football poll within the media that cover the conference and its 14 schools. Despite the outcome in 2021, the media still believed Ohio State was the preseason favorite last year. Now that the Wolverines have quieted their critics two seasons in a row, even the media can no longer deny who the favorite should be.

Michigan football has gone 19-1 in conference play over the past two seasons, with their lone loss coming at the hands of Michigan State in 2021. The Wolverines also won their Big Ten record forty-third and forty-fourth conference championship with wins over Iowa and Purdue in Indianapolis the past two seasons.

Even the Columbus, Ohio media has had to admit, albeit while kicking and screaming, that the Wolverines are officially the face of the Big 10 conference. There were 37 media members who participated in the Cleveland.com preseason poll, with 27 of them picking the team from Ann Arbor. There were still eight holdouts who chose Ohio State, and there were two who picked Penn State.

So now that Michigan football has officially become the face of the Big Ten Conference, what does it mean for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverine faithful? It means the target has squarely been placed on their back. They are no longer the hunter, but the hunted. Maybe that’s why head coach Jim Harbaugh instituted a “Beat Georgia” portion to his practices, in order to keep that hungry approach that has served him well in chasing down and passing Ohio State in conference supremacy.

Taking down Ohio State is one thing. Defeating Georgia and beating the SEC is another. Being the face of the Big 10 conference is one thing. Being the face of college football is another. Can Jim Harbaugh and Michigan football take that next step? Can they beat Georgia and become the kings of college football? Only time will tell, but first, they will need to get out of the first round of the college football playoffs, something they have failed to do two years in a row.