With college football season on the horizon, ESPN Chalk's college football experts -- Phil Steele, "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris Fallica -- combine to give you betting previews of the top 25 teams, according to the ESPN College Football Rankings. They break down each team's strengths and weaknesses, along with season win total bets and national title odds.
Odds from Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Aug. 23.
Michigan Wolverines
National title odds: 20-1 (opened 12-1)
Season win total: 9
FPI win total projection: 8.4
Phil Steele
Strengths: Usually when a team has just five returning starters as Michigan does and ranks No. 127 on my experience chart, it would have very few units ranked in my top position groups. Still, Michigan ranks in all eight, showing the quality talent that coach Jim Harbaugh has been bringing in over the past few years. The highest-rated unit is the defensive line, which is led by Rashan Gary and Maurice Hurst. Despite losing all four starters, I rate them the No. 9 defensive line in the country. That unit will try to repeat last year's pressure when they tallied 46.0 sacks, fifth highest in the country.
Weaknesses: Each unit has talent, but the secondary has zero returning starters, and the receiving corps likely will be led by true freshmen. At the most important position, Wilton Speight will have to improve to hold off hard-charging Brandon Peters as the starting quarterback.
Over/under (9): Last year's three losses were by a combined five points, but this year's schedule is rugged. They open with a more experienced Florida team in Arlington, and young teams usually take a week or two to get going. The Wolverines face Penn State on the road a week after traveling to Indiana, and Penn State comes in off of a bye, likely with a whiteout crowd. Michigan also faces Wisconsin on the road the week before playing Ohio State. It gets Ohio State at home but will be a 'dog in that game. I would set the total at nine, but if I had to lean one way, I would go with the under.
National title odds (20-1): Simply put, it is a young team with landmines on the schedule. There's no value at these odds, so I would say no play.
'Stanford Steve' Coughlin
Over/under (9): Where do we start with the Wolverines? It just seems that you either hate them or you love them. There is the camp that says Harbaugh really needs to win something already (0-2 vs. Ohio State), and then there is the crowd that says, "Well, he's 20-6." I tend to lean toward the feeling that everyone should remain calm in Ann Arbor. He has won 20 games with largely below-average talent at the quarterback position. The defense returns one starter, which makes a lot of people skeptical, but not me. Defensive coordinator Don Brown is a fantastic coach, and I know there is serious talent in this youth for him to coach. For one, the former No. 1-ranked player in the country coming out of high school, defensive lineman Rashan Gary, will be moving outside to defensive end this year and is a force. So, I will say Michigan beats Ohio State this year, but it also loses a couple of games earlier in the year. Under.
Chris Fallica
Over/under (9): After losing 10 starters to the draft, this could be a "take one step back to take three forward next year" type of season for Michigan, at least in terms of record. A 9-3 season is probably about right, with the Florida game right out of the gate as a huge swing game. Take note that the Wolverines are favored against the Gators in that one. If you assume losses at Penn State, at Wisconsin and against Ohio State, then your bet will be decided on opening weekend. I'll say this, though -- it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Michigan split those four games and finish 10-2. The defensive line should be very good, and my hunch is that a lot of the young skill recruited by Harbaugh will emerge this year. I don't think a Harbaugh-coached team will lose all four of those games, so I see 9-3 as a worst case. I think the over is worth a small play.
National title odds (20-1): While I do think the Wolverines are a little underrated at the start of this season, I don't see them as true national title contenders. But given the opportunity to start and finish the season with marquee wins, the name power of Michigan and the fact the Big Ten will have a team in the playoff, it's not crazy to think the Wolverines could get there. Michigan is one of those brand teams whose odds will always be shorter than it should be, so while I wouldn't play them at 20-1, I know many will.