Independent of him, does the roster have a big season in it?
I think this was referring to Michigan. If so, it should at least be close. I posted recruiting rankings in another thread but here are Michigan's class rankings for 2017-2020 (s/b 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd year in 2021):
- 5th in 2017, 5th year seniors in 2021
- 22nd in 2018, 4th year in 2021
- 8th in 2019, 3rd year in 2021
- 14th in 2020, 2nd year in 2020
The 2021 rankings aren't complete yet but Michigan is currently 12th in 247's rankings with a 5*, 10 4*, and 9 3* recruits.
Those rankings don't necessarily scream "NC" but they also don't rule it out. They make Michigan easily #2 in the B1G behind only the Buckeyes. It certainly isn't impossible to imagine tOSU taking a bit of a step back post-Fields so it shouldn't be impossible for Michigan to make a run in 2021.
OTOH, they've been easily #2 in recruiting in the B1G for a LONG time but it has been more than a decade and a half since their last league title. Ohio State has obviously sucked most of the oxygen out of the room in that time (10 titles) but Penn State, Wisconsin, and "little brother" Michigan State have three each. Based on recruiting, it makes sense that the Wolverines trail the Buckeyes but not by THAT much and they shouldn't be trailing PSU let alone MSU and UW.
Part of addressing your question should be to define "big season". Indiana's 2020 is a "big season" for Indiana but Indiana is a school that has two B1G titles in their history so "just short" of a league title is a "big season" there. Here we are talking about Michigan. They have more NC's than IU has league titles so the bar is a bit higher. I would think "big season" at Michigan means AT LEAST a league title but an exception *MIGHT* be made if tOSU is all-time great and they come up a little short in THE GAME. However, die-hard Michigan fans are never going to accept that as the "ceiling", obviously. At an absolute minimum I would think they have to be Ohio State's main competition. Ie, another loss to tOSU *MIGHT* be acceptable if it is the ONLY loss and the team at least goes into the final weekend as a playoff contender.
