Michigan 2011 Season Odds
(The Spread) – The Michigan Wolverines are looking for a fresh start with new head coach, Brady Hoke. How quickly can Hoke bring the Wolverines back to success?
Hoke comes to Michigan from San Jose State. He has a 47-50 career record as a Division I coach, as he also made a stop in Ball State. He was a former defensive line coach for the Wolverines. One of the first moves Hoke made was hiring then-Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator, Greg Mattison, to lead the struggling Michigan defense. He is making $750,000 annually to improve on Michigan’s 451 yards and 35.2 points allowed per game in 2010.
Despite having one of the top talents in all of college football in Denard Robinson, the Wolverines aren’t expected to make too much of a climb from their 7-6 2010 record.
According to oddsmakers from Bodog, The Wolverines have been given 70/1 odds to win their first national championship since 1997. Michigan also is listed with 18/1 odds to win the Big Ten Conference and 5/1 odds to win the Big Ten Legends Division.
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Michigan owns 42 conference titles in program history, the last of which came in 2004. Michigan has struggled the last three seasons under Rich Rodriguez, going 15-22 in that span. Oddsmakers have given Michigan over/under odds of 7.5 wins for 2011. Prior to Rodriguez, Lloyd Carr had failed to win less than eight games just one time in 13 seasons.
For Michigan to get to eight wins, they must improve against rivals Michigan State and Ohio State. The Wolverines have failed to beat the Spartans the last three years and the Buckeyes the last seven years. Michigan will not have a non-conference road game as it hosts the likes of Notre Dame and San Diego State.
Though Michigan wasn’t great overall, the Wolverines were even worse against the point spread in 2010, going 3-10. They were just 2-5 ATS at home and 1-5 on the road. The Wolverines were known for putting up points, averaging 32.8 per game, which allowed them to hit the over in 8 of 13 contests. Michigan went over in five of seven home games in 2010.
The point production came from Robinson, who threw for 2,570 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 1,702 yards and 14 scores. Robinson has 15/2 odds of winning the 2011 Heisman Trophy, but Michigan will need his production in the run game to tone down, as he was relied on too much, which led to nagging injuries in the second half of the season. Michigan returns a total of 18 starters, which should help the transition to Hoke’s new style of football.
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