Michigan Football's 2024 Expected Win Total Shrinks By One

The Wolverines are now expected to win one fewer game in 2024 than they were three months ago...

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore leads the Wolverines into 2024, as the reigning national champions look to build on history-making 2023 season. /

While Michigan should field one of the top defenses in all of college football again in 2024, there are uncertainties on the offensive side of the ball for the Wolverines, most notably at the quarterback position. Michigan is also replacing the entirety of its defensive staff and will break in a first-time head coach in Sherrone Moore.

Given those question marks, and a daunting schedule which will feature three likely preseason Top 5 teams in Texas, Oregon and Ohio State, as well as Washington and USC, oddsmakers and sports bettors aren't as confident in the Wolverines' prospects for the 2024 season as they were three months ago.

FanDuel sportsbook has recently adjusted Michigan's expected win total for the upcoming season, dropping the Wolverines' over-under from 9.5 to 8.5 wins this season. Originally, bettors had -170 odds for picking Michigan to win less than nine games, and +138 odds to pick over nine wins. Essentially, FanDuel was telling bettors they expected U-M to win less than nine games.

Currently, bettors are getting -150 odds to bet over eight wins for the Wolverines, while under eight wins is yielding +122 odds. Given those numbers, FanDuel still expects Michigan to win nine games in 2024, though the oddsmakers over there think its less likely the Wolverines will win 10 games than they did back in March when the original numbers were released.

Ultimately, it won't be numbers on a gambling board that will determine the kind of season Michigan will have in the fall. If the Wolverines turn out to be as good as they're expected to be on the defensive side of the ball, they'll be a tough team for anyone to beat. If Michigan exceeds expectations offensively, and gets better-than-anticipated play from its starting quarterback, this team can contend for a whole lot more than nine wins.

Michigan opens the 2024 season by hosting Fresno State on Aug. 31 (7:30 p.m. EST/NBC) at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

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