College GameDay crew gives 2023 B1G champion picks
ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew opened the 2023 college football season Saturday morning with the show’s Week 0 broadcast. Along the way, the crew tackled the 2023 B1G race with their picks to win the league.
To no surprise, Michigan alum Desmond Howard went with the Wolverines, a team he also expects to go all the way to win the national title this fall.
“We talked about them earlier, I think Michigan’s gonna win it, 3rd straight B1G Championship,” said Howard. “I think JJ McCarthy is going to take a step up, he has the most talented backfield behind him, so I’m going with the Michigan Wolverines.”
Pat McAfee followed Howard but went with Ohio State to reclaim the top spot in the B1G. He pointed to an attitude the Buckeyes displayed while going toe-to-toe with eventual national champ Georgia in the Peach Bowl.
“I feel really good saying this because we have no idea who the QB is going to be, but give me Ohio State,” McAfee claimed. “Just strictly because of what has happened over the last couple of years and then given a chance to watch them play against Georgia who would obviously go on to do what they did against TCU, I think Ohio State has found an attitude and a culture.”
Kirk Herbstreit also went with Ohio State while acknowledging the defense still needs to find some improvements after struggling in the final 2 games a season ago.
“I think the defense, it’s going to be interesting to see after the way they played the last couple games against Michigan and Georgia where they gave up some explosive (plays),” said Herbstreit. “They had an entire offseason to really improve with Jim Knowles now in his second year in the system. ”
Those picks are unsurprising with Ohio State and Michigan headline the Big Ten Championship odds entering 2023. McAfee also pointed to Penn State possessing the pieces needed to make the conversation in the B1G interesting for a league that has been dominated by either side of The Game. Any fans looking to get in on the preseason title odds can take advantage of our Michigan Online Casinos promo code this fall!
