Michigan Wolverines getting bet against by college football fans everywhere coming off national championship

The 2023 season was a magical one for the Michigan Wolverines as they shut out all the noise from the sign-stealing scandal and won the national championship game with relative ease over the Washington Huskies. However, after sending around 20 players to various NFL rosters this spring the doubts are apparently strong among college football fans that Michigan will come anywhere close to repeating. So much so that sports books are seeing more money bet against the Wolverines than almost any other school in the nation!

Michigan Wolverines Expected To Fail?

According to BetMGM, only two other college football teams have received more total dollars bet on the "under" of their win total than Michigan ahead of the 2024 college football season. Only Georgia Tech and LSU have seen more dollars bet on the under. Colorado and Texas have seen a higher total number of tickets bet on the under, but the total dollars advantage is with Michigan's under so far.

When a team loses their national championship-winning head coach and well over a dozen NFL talents it makes sense that some step back should be expected. The problem with assuming a huge step back in win total is that the Wolverines only play three teams projected to open the season ranked inside the Top 25: Texas, Oregon, and Ohio State. Even with that knowledge in hand Michigan's win total is set at 9 right now. Yet fans around the country continue pouring in the dollars to bet that Michigan will somehow go 8-4 coming off a national championship.

This fact highlights just how much most fans don't understand the impressive nature of the talent that Michigan has returning or transferring in this year.

Related: Three potential Michigan Wolverines breakout players for the 2024 college football season

Michigan Roster Still Full of Stars

The Wolverines return one of the nation's top defenses in 2024 thanks to the return of projected first round talents Mason Graham (DL), Kenneth Grant (DL), and Will Johnson (CB). But even beyond that elite trio, there are several all-conference (or near that level) talents. Derrick Moore was a top tier edge rusher a year ago with strong pash rush rate stats. And transfer linebacker Jaishawn Barham is one of the most impressive size-strength-speed specimens in the entire country at linebacker.

Then on offense, Colston Loveland looks like a first round tight end. Donovan Edwards is probably still running free as you read this article for more long touchdowns against Washington as he looked back to his explosive self in the national championship game. And despite losing a handful of offensive linemen, the team still has plenty of experience and size there too.

9 wins might seem tough to the betting public, but it shouldn't be with the immense talent the Wolverines still possess against a super soft schedule outside of three games. New head coach Sherrone Moore has a perfect chance to immediately shut down any doubters in year one and he certainly possesses the roster to do it.

Be looking for more Michigan Wolverines coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

And if you want to remember how dominant Mason Graham can be for Michigan, just check out his 2023 season highlights in the video below!