The “best version” of Michigan football features quarterback Jack Tuttle

Midway through the season, No. 24 Michigan is coming off a bye week and has a chance to rekindle some excitement this weekend and get a big road win at No. 22 Illinois.

The Wolverines (4-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) have become an afterthought in both the Big Ten and College Football Playoff races, but that perception could change this weekend, depending on what we see from new starting quarterback Jack Tuttle.

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt listed Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana and USC, in that order, as his top five teams in the Big Ten through the first seven weeks of the season, but also included Iowa , Illinois and Nebraska for No. 5. While Klatt doesn’t currently rank Michigan among the conference’s top eight teams, he admitted he doesn’t know what to expect from the Wolverines over the final six games.

“Aren’t they like the Great Anomaly? Do we really know what Michigan is at this point in the season,” Klatt asked. “So Jack Tuttle comes in after the first quarter against Washington and at the top end with Jack Tuttle, it’s like this team could be a playoff team. Be careful, they can win the remaining games on their schedule. Then, suddenly, in the three series after that, when they turn the ball over, you think, well, that’s not going to work. Any team in the Big Ten can beat Michigan.

Klatt said the Wolverines have a lot of margin between what they’re best at and what they’re worst at, and the version we’re seeing from Michigan boils down to turnover margin.

“If they can keep the football, they will be hard to beat,” Klatt said. “But if they continue to turn the ball upside down, a lot of teams can beat them. And if you look at the rest of their schedule, if they turn the ball upside down, it’s pretty easy to have two or three more losses.”

With that in mind, Klatt believes this team still has the best of 2024 ahead of them at Michigan.

“Jack Tuttle didn’t get a lot of reps before he played Washington,” Klatt said. “Something in me believes we will see the best version of Michigan in the second half of the season.”

After playing with three different quarterbacks in the first six games, Klatt believes Tuttle will provide some stability at the game’s most important position and that Michigan will improve as a result.

“We’ll see. So far they weren’t in my top 5, they weren’t really part of the group I was considering for the #5 spot. But you still reserve the right to stay with them.” Best with Tuttle, could they beat anyone left on their schedule? Yes, maybe this is still the team that beat Ohio State three times in a row, and I don’t think facing this Michigan team will be a bargain if Tuttle keeps the football.

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