Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's ninth season on the Wolverines' sidelines starts Saturday at home against East Carolina. The 2023 campaign carries major expectations for the Wolverines. They start the year ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time since 1991and return a large number of starters from a team that has reached the College Football Playoff and won the Big Ten title in each of the last two seasons.
Star quarterback J.J. McCarthy enters the 2023 season with aspirations of becoming one of the top players at his position selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. McCarthy was named the starter over Cade McNamara following the Wolverines' Week 2 win over Hawaii last season and never looked back. And while McCarthy had a career day against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, a pair of interceptions ultimately swung the game in the Horned Frogs' favors and Michigan finished the season 13-1.
East Carolina finished the 2022 campaign with an 8-5 record, marking the program's best season since 2014. The Pirates are transitioning from star quarterback Holton Ahlers, who finished his career No. 11 all time in total passing yards in FBS history.
This will mark the first matchup between the two programs.
How to watch Michigan vs. East Carolina live
Date: Saturday, Sept. 2 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Michigan Stadium -- Ann Arbor, Michigan
Live stream: Peacock
Michigan vs. East Carolina: Need to know
Wolverines to be short staffed: Michigan will be without Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore on Saturday as part of the university's self-imposed penalties stemming from NCAA violations within the program. Moore will only miss the season-opener, while Harbaugh is set to serve a three-game suspension. Harbaugh is accused of providing false or misleading information to the NCAA, a Level I violation, after an investigation was launched into alleged Level II violations made by Michigan's staff during an NCAA-mandated COVID-19 recruiting dead period in 2021. He will return on Sept. 23 when Michigan hosts Rutgers.
It's J.J.'s time: McCarthy heads into the season as Michigan's undisputed starter, and he has the weapons around him to be a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Receivers Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson return and should provide McCarthy with reliable targets. Michigan's dynamic running back duo of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, combined with the Wolverines' two-time Joe Moore Award winning offensive line, should help take some of the pressure off McCarthy.
Corum's return: If Corum didn't get hurt against Illinois on Nov. 19 of last year, he likely would've been in New York as one of the finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Corum's knee injury forced him to miss most of the Ohio State game, the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. Instead of declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft, however, he elected to return to school for one final season. Corum and Edwards are arguably the best pair of running backs in the country, and their health the stretch will be critical to Michigan's success. Corum racked up 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last season in only 12 games. If he can duplicate that production, he will be in line to win the Doak Walker Award for the top running back in college football.
ECU's offensive overhaul: Replacing one of the top passers in FBS history won't be easy. The Pirates will turn to Ahlers' former backup Mason Garcia, who doesn't have much playing experience and has only appeared in 12 games. Garcia's big welcome to college football will be against the team that ranked sixth in total yards per game allowed last season. Since this game is on the road in one of the most intense environments in college football, you can see why this will be a monumental task for a young quarterback. East Carolina also has to replace star running back Keaton Mitchell, who rushed for 1,452 yards and 14 touchdowns, and its three top leading receivers from last year -- including Isaiah Winstead and C.J. Johnson, both of whom eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving.
Michigan vs. East Carolina prediction, picks
No one on Michigan's roster was alive the last time the Wolverines won a national championship in 1997, but this could be the year they make a serious run. Michigan has a future star in McCarthy, who Harbaugh compared to NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen earlier this summer. The Wolverines are facing a team rebuilding its offense from the ground up. Don't be surprised if Michigan's starters get pulled in the second half. Despite the large spread, Michigan should have no problem covering if it's going to stack up to its preseason billing. Prediction: Michigan (-36)
Watch CBS Sports Confidential: B1G Football 2023 for an inside look at every Big Ten program ahead of the 2023 season airing on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 1? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread -- all from a proven computer model that has returned almost $2,500 in profit over the past seven-plus seasons -- and find out.
