Joel Klatt calls Michigan the 'biggest threat' to Ohio State, Oregon

Until further notice, the Big Ten Conference runs through Ann Arbor, Michigan...

Dec 27, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA; Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt at the Holiday Bowl at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As the 2024 college football season approaches and throughout most of the offseason, Ohio State and Oregon have been the perceived favorites to win the Big Ten Conference this fall.

While Michigan has won the league each of the last three seasons, the massive turnover the Wolverines suffered following their 2023 national championship have led most to believe U-M is in for a sizeable step backwards in Year 1 under new head coach Sherrone Moore.

In anticipation for the start of the season, Fox Sports' college football analyst Joel Klatt is seeking the 'biggest question' for each of the four "power conferences" in the sport heading into 2024. His question for the Big Ten — 'Is there a threat to preseason favorites Ohio State and Oregon to win the conference?'

Klatt gave a definitive answer.

"If you're a Michigan fan listening to this, you probably slapped the dashboard, threw something down, spit out your drink and you're like, 'What do you mean who's the biggest threat? We're the defending national champions. Who's the threat to the team we just beat three times?' I get it, and that's why Michigan IS the biggest threat to those top two."

Dec 2, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates with running back Blake Corum (2) after winning the Big Ten Championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

"I do believe there's something of a consensus that Ohio State and Oregon are at the top, and that Michigan — because of everything they lost — is going to have to be something of an underdog this year. I think that that's fair, it's a fair sentiment. And yet, if you're a Michigan fan, or somebody inside of that building, you're sitting there thinking to yourself, 'What is this guy talking about? We just went 15-0. We did not change our culture. We're building from within, we're developing from within, like we have this entire time.'"

"The last three years has been magical in Ann Arbor, and that's [what] they are continuing and that's why they will be the biggest threat to Ohio State or Oregon. It doesn't matter who has left, because they believe they're the biggest threat. They believe they're the kings of the hill. They believe that the conference goes through them. We might see that early in the year when they play Texas."

Blue Team wide receiver Tyler Morris (8) runs for first down against Maize Team during the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Klatt said there's more to the Wolverines than just what the team believes about itself. Michigan's throwback, hard-nosed style of play is difficult to matchup against.

"They put you in a bind, they just do. They play such a different style of football than most teams, and I think this year it'll be leaned into even more. Because they don't have J.J. McCarthy to throw the ball as much as they did, or as efficiently as they did a year ago. They're going to lean into, as their coach Sherrone Moore puts it, 'Smash ball'. That's going to be difficult for Ohio State, it's going to be difficult for Oregon, it's going to be difficult for Texas, it's going to be difficult for USC — because it's not what other teams do."

"This has really been their secret, their toughness at the line of scrimmage, over the last few years. That's why they're the biggest threat. They're going to be excellent on defense. Very tough, very physical. The interior of that defensive line, you're not going to be able to move them."

"I understand that Ohio State has a great secondary. I understand that Ohio State has great edge rushers. But, does that matter if Michigan can run it 55 times? Maybe not! See, for the last three years they've said, 'Great, good for you. Look at all that skill on the outside, offensively and even defensively.' And then they said, 'Come on in here into a phone booth and see if you can win a fist fight.' And they've won the fist fight."

Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive lineman Drake Nugent (60) prepares to snap the ball during the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Ohio State lost 30-24. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Despite all the change in Ann Arbor, there's an insistence inside Schembechler Hall that, in reality, nothing about the program has changed.

"They believe their the king of the mountain, that's why they're the biggest threat. They believe it. You can walk around anywhere else in the country, and everywhere else in the country people are talking about Ohio State, people are talking about Oregon. In Ann Arbor, you walk into the building at Michigan, nothing's changed. It's the damnedest thing I've ever seen in my life. [We] go there for the spring game and I'm walking around and I'm like, man, look at that, new head coach, new coordinator, new strength coach, new quarterback, all the new, new, new. And Donovan Edwards is looking at me like, 'What do you mean, new? Nothing's new. Nothing's changed. We are Michigan.' So, their the biggest threat."

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