Make Your Pick: Michigan vs. East Carolina
It's the first game of the season, so no one really knows exactly what to expect, but Michigan, without Jim Harbaugh, is supposed to roll to victory over an East Carolina team that won eight games last year.
The Pirates are expected to play a lot of new faces, while Michigan returns 81% of its overall production, which is good for No. 5 in the entire country. Because of that, the Wolverines are favored by 35.5 points and expected to start 1-0 with relative ease. Here's how we see it going down...
Chris Breiler
The Michigan Wolverines open the 2023 season in Ann Arbor against East Carolina, the first ever meeting between the two programs. While there isn't much intrigue in terms of the matchup itself, there will be several things to watch for during Saturday's contest.
Michigan will likely be down several starters in the secondary defensively, and there are several position battles on the offensive line that will continue into the early season. Blake Corum makes his official return after suffering a late-season ending injury in 2022, and JJ McCarthy enters the 2023 season as one of the top Heisman hopefuls.
Additionally, Michigan will be without head coach Jim Harbaugh as he serves the first of a three-game suspension to open the season.
Overall, Michigan will likely do what it does best this Saturday - which is running the football until someone proves they can stop it. East Carolina is definitely not the team that will do it.
Michigan 52, ECU 7
Brandon Brown
Even though Michigan will be without head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore, the Wolverines are expected to roll ECU. There's so much veteran leadership on this Michigan team that it feels like they could coach themselves to at least a 3-0 start.
I see a heavy dose of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards early on with some shot plays sprinkled in here and there. If JJ McCarthy is as dialed in as we've heard, he'll be on the same page as Cornelius Johnson, Roman Wilson and Colston Loveland, which could make a for a long day for the Pirates.
On defense, Jesse Minter's group should be keyed in as "their guy" takes on head coaching duties for the week. Players and coaches alike have talked about making Harbaugh proud, so expect some real intensity and a focused approach against a lesser opponent.
Michigan 48, ECU 10
Trent Knoop
Although East Carolina was an eight-win team in 2022, the Pirates rank 130th in returning production. Mike Houston is trotting out a relatively brand new team in Week 1 against Michigan and the Pirates will not have many playmakers that made them so special last year. On the flip side, Michigan has most of its playmakers back from 2022 after retiring 80% of its production. I look for the Wolverines to be dominate in Week 1 even without Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore on the sidelines. The Wolverines should be able to pick their poison on offense: run the ball or throw all over the ECU secondary. I got the Wolverines winning big.
Michigan 48, ECU 13
