By Jesse Schule
Hawaii +41.5
The public loves Michigan this year, and it’s easy to see why. The Wolverines completely turned things around winning 10 games last season, after going just 5-7 in 2014. While Jim Harbaugh’s first year as Michigan’s head coach has come with plenty of fan fair, I believe this team is way overrated. It’s important to keep in mind that all 10 of last year’s wins came against teams that finished the season unranked. They lost at Utah, at home to Michigan State, and they were blown out at Ohio State.
The Wolverines will host the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in their season opener, and they are asked to cover an enormous number here. Despite the fact that they played their fair share of cupcakes last season, they didn’t win any games by as much as 40 points. Hawaii was brutal last year, losing 10 of 13 games. Many of those losses were blowouts, but even against the likes of Ohio State and Wisconsin, the margin of defeat was less than 40 points.
They lost 38-0 at Ohio State in Week 2, and it’s worth noting that Michigan didn’t fair much better losing 42-13 when they traveled to Columbus. Hawaii has plenty of talent returning from last season, and this team might just be more competitive than it was a year ago.
The Warriors will get a chance to work out the kinks a week earlier when they play California in Australia. The Wolverines will not have that luxury, with a new quarterback under center in their first game of the season. Even if everything goes smoothly for Michigan, and they somehow manage to build a big early lead, expect Harbaugh to pull the starters which would likely allow Hawaii to get a back door cover.