No. 9 Michigan will try to repeat as national champions without Harbaugh, McCarthy and Co.

Published Aug. 21, 2024 2:12 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — College football's defending national champions have a lot of new faces in important places.

Michigan promoted Sherrone Moore to replace Jim Harbaugh, who bolted to coach the Los Angeles Chargers.

A new quarterback, perhaps Alex Orji, will take snaps in place of J.J. McCarthy.

The offensive line does not have one returning starter after six players from last year's unit landed with NFL teams.

Harbaugh took defensive coordinator Jesse Minter with him and some of his assistants, forcing Moore to build a staff from scratch on that side of the ball.

And after playing a soft schedule in recent years, the ninth-ranked Wolverines have four games against preseason AP Top 25 teams: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas and No. 23 USC.

The game against the Longhorns — the second game of the season, on Sept. 7 at the Big House — has generated enough excitement that the cheapest ticket on the secondary market is going for more than $300.

“There's a lot of hype about both of our teams that are historically great programs,” said preseason All-America defensive tackle Mason Graham. “I look forward to those big-time games, where our team is going to show our true colors and it's going to help us in the long run.”

Who's back

Michigan is missing many key players, including a school-record 13 taken in the NFL draft, but there are elite players left behind for Moore's first team.

Graham is one of three players on the preseason AP All-America team, joining cornerback Will Johnson and tight end Colston Loveland. Defensive tackle Kenneth Grant is a fourth player on the team projected as a first-round pick in 2025.

Donovan Edwards, who had a pair of 40-plus-yard touchdown runs against Washington in the national championship game, gets his chance to shine after sharing time with star Blake Corum for three years.

“We got maybe four or five guys that might be drafted the first round," Moore said. “We got enough talent."

Under center

Moore's choices at quarterback include Orji, who played in six games last year without throwing a pass; Davis Warren, who went 0 for 5; and sixth-year quarterback Jack Tuttle. Like a seasoned leader, the first-year coach hasn't provided clues about who he may start in Week 1 against Fresno State.

Poll watch

The last time a national champion was ranked as low as Michigan in the preseason poll was 2011, when Auburn was No. 23. Prior to that, the only time a defending champion was ranked worse than seventh was in 1991 (No. 13 Colorado).

The Tigers and Buffaloes each won eight games in the year following those national titles.

Moore, though, is not lowering the bar.

“When you’re at Michigan, you always want to win it all and that should be our goal every year,” he said.

Lingering issue

The sign-stealing scandal that sullied last season hasn't gone away. Moore has and will continue to cooperate with the NCAA’s investigation, adding he looks forward to the release of his text messages with Connor Stalions, the former staffer who is breaking his silence Aug. 27 on Netflix.

The schedule

Michigan kicks off the season under the lights Aug. 31 against Fresno State, which won 29 games over the previous three years.

The Wolverines play Texas, USC (Sept. 21), Michigan State (Oct. 26) and Oregon (Nov. 2) at home. They visit national runner-up Washington Oct. 5 and the Buckeyes, who will be at home and fired up to end a three-game losing streak in the rivalry Nov. 30.

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