Michigan is 1-0.
I don’t care.
The Wolverines might be the biggest fraud in college football right now.
No. 16 Michigan entered Week 1 as a team some people believed could compete for the Big Ten and potentially make the College Football Playoff.
Then Western Michigan came to the Big House and basically beat them.
The Broncos were leading 12-7 when Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary fell incomplete with the clock appearing to hit 0:00. Western Michigan started celebrating what should have been one of the biggest wins in program history.
Then came the infamous extra second.
Replay officials determined Western Michigan’s Micah Davis touched the ball while established out of bounds with one second remaining, giving Michigan another play. Underwood threw another Hail Mary, JJ Buchanan caught it and Michigan escaped 13-12.
Call it whatever you want.
Michigan needed a miracle just to survive Western Michigan at home.
And the controversial ending almost distracts from how terrible the Wolverines looked for the other 59 minutes.
Michigan committed three turnovers, struggled to run the football and possessed the ball for less than 20 minutes. Underwood threw for fewer than 200 yards and turned it over twice, while Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter combined for only 59 rushing yards.
That’s not exactly what you expect from a supposed Big Ten contender against a MAC opponent.
And here’s the really bad news.
Michigan’s schedule is brutal.
It starts immediately with No. 10 Oklahoma coming to Ann Arbor this weekend.
After that, Michigan still has No. 22 Iowa, No. 18 Penn State and defending national champion No. 6 Indiana coming to the Big House.
Then November gets even worse.
Michigan has to travel to No. 2 Oregon and finish the regular season at No. 1 Ohio State.
Good luck with that.
Maybe Week 1 was simply a terrible performance and Michigan figures everything out.
But if the Wolverines need a controversial extra second and a Hail Mary to beat Western Michigan at home, what happens against Oklahoma?
What happens against Indiana?
What happens when they have to walk into Autzen Stadium or the Horseshoe?
We’re going to find out very quickly whether Michigan is actually good.
Because right now, that No. 16 ranking looks ridiculous.
The Wolverines escaped Week 1.
With the schedule coming their way, they might not make a bowl game.
