Michigan Football: Power Ranking the Teams Most Likely to Upset the Wolverines

When you win as many games as Michigan, losing can be very hard to swallow.

We all know how hard the last three years have been, but think back for a second. Throughout the last 40 years, the Wolverines were almost always the favorite.

Who can remember 1977, when 6-0 Michigan headed to Minnesota ranked No. 1, only to lose 16-0?

Or 1981, when Michigan was No. 1 during the preseason, then crumbled at Wisconsin in the season opener? 

Who can forget 1994, when Kordell Stewart's Hail-Mary pass to Michael Westbrook gave Colorado a 27-26 comeback win?

More recently, there was the shocking 2001 loss to Ohio State in Jim Tressel's first season.

Of course, the season-opening 34-32 defeat by Appalachian State in 2007 may have been the greatest upset in college football history.

Regardless of how bad Michigan fans felt after the Appalachian State game, more disappointments are on the horizon.  Let's look at the teams most likely to upend Michigan in 2011.

8. San Diego State

San Diego State's transition from Brady Hoke to Rocky Long would have been a tough one, especially with the loss of two key receivers to graduation. But the recent offseason claimed two more via season-ending knee injuries.

The Astecs' offense is built entirely around the arm of Ryan Lindley and running back Ronnie Hillman.

Lindley, who's one of the nation's top senior quarterbacks, threw for 3,380 yards and 28 touchdowns last season. 

Since Dylan Denso is his only experienced target, Coach Long has considered moving cornerback Leon McFadden back to offense where he began his career in 2009.

Hillman, on the other hand, is eager to repeat a noteworthy freshman year. The 5'10", 190-pound running back rushed for 1,532 yards and 17 touchdowns.

If San Diego State can find a few more receivers, the offense could still be quite formidable. Defensively, four starters and 17 lettermen return. If they can hold their own, the Aztecs can make a game of it.

7. Illinois

For the last several years, Michigan hasn't played extremely well in road conference games. While on paper, the matchup in Champaign looks like a game Michigan should win, this could be one of those trap games. 

Missing from the Illini attack is running back Mikel Leshoure, who rushed for 1,697 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. He also caught a pair during his five-touchdown performance in the Illini's 67-65, triple-overtime loss to Michigan.

Leshoure was hoping to make an impression with the NFL Detroit Lions this fall, but a damaged Achilles will cause him to miss the entire season.

Also missing from the Illinois roster are a pair of fledgling NFL defenders, linebacker Martez Wilson and Corey Liuget.

Illinois, however, returns dual-threat quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, who threw for 1,825 yards and rushed for 806 as a redshirt-freshman.

He's perfectly capable of keep Illinois in the game by himself.

6. Iowa

It's a mixed bag for the 2011 edition of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Starting with inexperienced junior quarterback James Vandenberg replacing Ricky Stanzi, Iowa will have someone new at several positions.

One spot Iowa can count on is head coach Kirk Ferentz. The native of Royal Oak, Michigan has compiled an 89-60 record in 12 seasons with the Hawkeyes, which includes a 4-4 mark against the Wolverines.

Ferentz will be looking to sophomore running back Markus Coker to help balance the attack. Coker came into his own during last season's 27-24 win over No. 12 Missouri in the Insight Bowl. Coker, who only made four starts in the backfield as a freshman, ran for 219 yards on 33 carries.

Vandenberg was used sparingly in 2010, but was impressive in a rare start against Ohio State in 2009. The freshman completed 20 of 33 passes for 233 yards in the 27-24 overtime loss to the Buckeyes.

Iowa is one of those prototypical big and strong Big Ten teams which should challenge Michigan, as the Wolverines transition away from the small, quick squads of the last three seasons.

5. Northwestern

The biggest concern in Evanston is about the condition of quarterback Dan Persa.

The senior signal caller suffered a season-ending Achilles injury last November 13th as he tossed the game-winning touchdown pass against Iowa.

Surgery was successful and Persa should be close to 100 percent when Northwestern opens its season at Boston College September 3rd.  But, of course, there are always worries.

"With any major injury, there will be an evolution," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told  the Chicago Tribune. "Will Danny make the pirouette spin move into the end zone, like he did against Michigan State? Probably not initially. But that will come with time."

Last season, Persa set the Big Ten single-season mark for highest completion percentage at 73.5 by connecting on 222 passes in 303 attempts. The 2011 Heisman Trophy candidate threw 15 scoring strikes against four interceptions. 

4. Nebraska

Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez could have been a clone of Tate Forcier. The Nebraska sophomore began last season with a bang, leading the Cornhuskers to five straight victories before an understandable loss to Texas. But it was how Nebraska lost it was troublesome.

Martinez, who had been in the Heisman conversation the previous week, pitched a real stinker at Texas. The freshman quarterback completed just four of 12 passes for 63 yards and rushed for a paltry 21. The 20-13 loss would have looked worse if it wasn't for a 95-yard punt return late in the game.

Injuries, fumbles and a visit to coach Bo Pelini's doghouse ensued. If fact, Martinez was chastised in front of the television cameras, similar to Forcier's bout with Rich Rodriguez at Iowa in 2009.

Forcier wound up losing the starting job to Denard Robinson, but it looks like Martinez is doing everything he can to keep his. 

"Taylor never did claim to be the finished product last year," Pelini told FreemontTribune.com. "It was his first year as a starter. He knows and understands as talented as he is, he's got a lot to learn. And I think he took the attitude in the offseason, ‘I'm going to make myself better.' I think he's done that."

With a youthful cast surrounding Martinez, Nebraska will depend on its defense if a Big Ten title run is in the works. Of course, this is the first year of competition for Nebraska in the conference. Despite the Cornhuskers' reputation for toughness, playing their first Big Ten schedule could be very difficult.

3. Notre Dame

When it comes to football lore, Notre Dame and Michigan provide volumes.

On one side, you have the Gipper, the Four Horsemen, Knute Rockne and Rudy.

On the other side, there's Fielding Yost, President Gerald Ford, Fritz Crisler, and Bo Schembechler. 

You can file away the history books because the Fighting Irish and the Wolverines will meet for the 39th time September 10th.

And the setting could be right out of Hollywood. The two teams will likely play before an NCAA-record crowd of some 114,000 at Michigan Stadium. ESPN will televise the event nationwide and in prime time (8 pm).

Notre Dame and Michigan will be playing with one thing in mind—a return to national dominance.

The Irish are led by second-year coach Brian Kelly, linebacker Manti Te'o and wide receiver Michael Floyd.

Michigan is led by first-year head coach Brady Hoke, Heisman Trophy candidate Denard Robinson and nose tackle Mike Martin.

Due to the home-field advantage, Michigan will be most likely be installed as a three-point favorite. The Wolverines have won the last two games in the all-time series, which they lead, 22-15-1. The last 27 games are dead even, 13-13-1.

And by the way, if you care to find your seats early, the Michigan Stadium parking lots will be open at noon. 

2. Michigan State

This is another rivalry game for which current statistics can be tossed aside.

What's important to the Spartans is their three-game winning streak over Michigan.

And, of course, Spartans cry that its been approximately 1,400 days since Michigan beat Michigan State in football or basketball.  Well now, they used to omit hockey, and now they should omit basketball since the Wolverines took both games last season, and looked good doing it.

They're also smarting about the "little brother" comment made by Michael Hart after he ran all over the Spartans in Michigan's 2007 victory.

Of course, it's OK that Spartan head coach Darryl Rogers called the Michigan fans a bunch of arrogant asses back in the late 70s. 

The real concern is that Michigan State is very talented in the skill positions but somewhat inexperienced in the trenches.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins, who's nominated for several postseason awards, will be throwing to Keshawn Martin, B.J. Cunningham and Keith Nichol. His running backs will be Edwin Baker, Le'Veon Bell and Larry Caper.

Even with a shaky offensive line, Michigan State will pound the ball up the middle, then strike with play-action passes.

On the other side of the ball, if the Wolverines' offensive line comes to play, Denard Robinson could outscore the Spartans by himself. Look for Michigan State to be a slight favorite, but it could be anyone's game. 

1. Ohio State

This game lately has been to Michigan what it was to Ohio State during the Cooper years.

Since Jim Tressel came aboard in 2001, the Buckeyes have won nine of 10 meetings.

But things are different now. Coach Tressel is gone along with quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who hardly broke a sweat when beating the Wolverines.

Interim Luke Fickell may select freshman Braxton Miller as his No. 1 quarterback. Add the NCAA's investigation into the mix, and it looks like OSU could be very vulnerable.

Sure, Michigan may be on its way back from three tough seasons, but will it be all the way back?