Kirk Herbstreit Names College Football Playoff Contender Nobody Respects

The Michigan Wolverines had a remarkable 2023 season, clinching their first national championship since 1997.

After a season like that, you would typically expect high expectations for contending in the College Football Playoff and repeating as champions. However, the Wolverines' preseason ranking at No. 9 is the lowest for a defending champion since 2011, when the Auburn Tigers were ranked No. 23.

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit stated on "College GameDay" that he can't recall a defending national champion being forgotten like he believes the Wolverines have.

"I can't remember a team winning a national championship and almost a forgotten team coming back next year," Herbstreit said. "Think about what they lost. Five offensive linemen, J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, all of those incredible leaders on defense and now you look at these guys that are going to be playing in 2024, a lot of these guys played a lot of ball last year."

The Wolverines have only six starters returning on offense, defense and special teams from last year's team, which is the second-fewest in the Big Ten, only leading their national championship opponent, the Washington Huskies.

Herbstreit concluded that although he doesn't believe Michigan will win the Big Ten, he has more confidence in them than others because of the lack of respect.

"I might be crazy," Herbstreit said. "I'm not saying they will win the Big Ten, but I'm much higher on Michigan than a lot of people because I think they'll get this new chip on their shoulder for 2024. No one is talking about them. No one cares about them, no one respects them and these are the defending champs so I think they're interesting."

The Wolverines received little support from their schedule. Michigan will play four preseason-ranked teams this season, including three in the top four. The Wolverines will begin their quest to defend their national championship on Saturday, Aug. 31, against the Fresno State Bulldogs.

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