Michigan Football: 5 Reasons Why the Wolverines Will (and Won't) Win the Big Ten

Winning the Big Ten championship used to be old hat for Michigan football. But things have radically changed since the Wolverines shared their last title with Iowa in 2004.

In his final few seasons,  Lloyd Carr's squads seemed to lose their magic, while all three of Rich Rodriguez's teams simply had none.

At the same time, Jim Tressel entered the picture to earn seven titles in his 10-year reign with the Buckeyes.

So it's been six seasons since Michigan won its last Big Ten championship.

Predicting the Wolverines will win a Legends Division crown in 2011 may be a bit much. Still, there are those who see Michigan winning its first division title and a trip to the conference title game in Indianapolis.

The first five slides show how this makes sense (Champs).

The final five slides show why it doesn't (Chumps).

Big Ten Champs: Denard Robinson

The Big Ten MVP a season ago, Robinson will naturally get better. 

In his second season as Michigan's starting quarterback, "Shoelace" will add to both his career passing (2,758) and rushing numbers (2,053).

More importantly, Michigan will control the ball, produce first downs and keep the defense on the sidelines.

Even more important will be Robinson's tendency to remain healthy. 

Big Ten Champs: Kicking Game

A disaster in 2010, Hoke has tried to shore up the kicking game for 2011 by bring in Matt Wile from San Diego.

Wile, who made 10-of-13 attempts as a high school senior last season, will turn a negative into a positive.

Will Hagerup, a potential All-American, will handle the punting chores impeccably.

Big Ten Champs: Brady Hoke

Brady Hoke has done everything right since taking over from Rich Rodriguez in January.

He immediately convinced Denard Robinson to remain at Michigan.

He then solicited the support of past players, coaches, boosters, alumni and fans.

With that accomplished, he brought in a first-class staff to bring back the hard-nosed brand of football missing in recent seasons.

While it may take a while to achieve it, Hoke now has the entire Michigan family on his side,

There's no doubt the Big House will be rocking this fall, as Michigan eventually returns to national prominence.

Big Ten Champs: Ohio State's Reign Is Finished

When the Big Ten expanded to 12 teams, the league decided a championship game between Michigan and Ohio State wouldn't be all bad.

So the league split the two teams into separate divisions, while keeping "The Game" as the regular-season finale.

Everyone seems to be happy, even though the conference title game may be a rematch from two weeks before.

How can this help Michigan reach the title game? No problem. Michigan could conceivably clinch the Legends Division crown before ever playing the Buckeyes.

And how can Michigan beat Ohio State? Begin with the two pictured Buckeyes (left) who obviously won't be there.

Big Ten Champs: Mike Martin Leads a Healthy Defense

Mike Martin will undoubtedly be named a captain of the Michigan defense. The 6'2", 300-pound nose tackle has recovered from last season's nagging ankle injury in hopes of becoming Michigan's best defensive player.

Being totally healthy, Martin can now be part of defensive coordinator Greg Mattison's new, aggressive look. Not only is Martin expected to wreak havoc from his regular nose tackle slot, he will occasionally move to outside linebacker in an effort to improve the pass rush.

Speaking of ankle injuries, Troy Woolfolk and J.T. Floyd return to man the cornerback positions. Woolfolk missed all of 2010 while Floyd missed the final five games.

Big Ten Chumps: Offensive Transition

Perhaps the biggest concern Michigan detractors have is the so-called offensive transition.

Who could forget the embarrassing attempt at running the zone-read option in 2008 with field generals Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan?

The 2011 season could be all too similar with Denard Robinson trying to mimic Elvis Grbac or Tom Brady.

If that's not enough, Michigan's top running back (other than Robinson) gained about 600 yards. He (Vincent Smith) stands 5'6" and weighs barely 180 pounds.

Sure, Brady Hoke's pro-style offense might be ideal for the Wolverines, but not until some players arrive who are suited to that type of attack.

Big Ten Chumps: Fighting Irish on the Rebound

By the time Michigan faces a tough San Diego State team, the Wolverines will be 1-1, after taking a pounding from the resurgent Fighting Irish.

Before Dayne Crist was temporarily knocked out of last year's Michigan win, he had no trouble shredding the Michigan defense. In fact, the combination of Crist and Nate Montana threw for nearly 400 yards.

The Wolverines have always had trouble with sure-armed quarterbacks, and Crist certainly fits the mold.

Notre Dame also plans on bringing a much-improved defense, as the Fighting Irish serious expect to contend for a BCS bowl berth. By game time, it's expected that the Irish will be legitimate 10-point favorites. Michigan's resurgence and its newfound confidence will be placed on hold.

Big Ten Chumps: Little Brother Isn't Little

Along with Wisconsin and Iowa, Michigan State is the prototypical Big Ten team.

A huge offensive line, a sound running game and an accurate passer are most of the attributes necessary to win the Big Ten crown.

Despite the expected improvement of Michigan's defense, the Wolverines are still no match for quarterback Kirk Cousins' stable of fine backs and receivers.

Big Ten Chumps: Physical Cornhuskers Just Another Group of Badgers

Even if the Wolverines somehow upset the Spartans, they will stumble against Nebraska.

The Pelini brothers (pictured) have put together another defense blessed with size and speed. Last year, the Nebraska defense gave up approximately 17.5 points per game. Michigan's defense gave up approximately 17.5 points per half.

Both quarterbacks can win by either running or passing, but the old adage—offense wins games and defense wins championships—doesn't necessarily apply here; defense wins this one.  

Big Ten Chumps: Defensive Statistics

On some football teams, interceptions are an integral part of defensive statistics. For some reason, they are rarely mentioned around Wolverines chat rooms.

Here are the career interception totals for cornerbacks and safeties you'd expect to see this fall.

Cornerbacks

Troy Woolfolk: 0

J.T. Floyd: 1

Courtney Avery: 0

Tony Anderson: 0

Greg Brown: Freshman

Safeties

Jordan Kovacs: 3

Marvin Robinson: 0

Carvin Johnson: 0

Thomas Gordon: 0

Josh Furman: Freshman

Grand Total: 4

OK, so the defense had trouble catching the ball. But it had to be better at stopping the run.