If you had told Michigan football fans at the start of the season that the Wolverines would be 4-1, nobody would be panicked.

With Texas and USC each on the schedule in the first four games, a loss in the first month, especially with so many starters going to the NFL isn’t crazy.

Michigan football did beat USC, which was ranked 11th at the time. And they have three other wins but even in the loss to Texas, this team didn’t feel like the same. It still doesn’t. The offense has been much worse than expected and the quarterback position has been a disaster.

The offensive line has under achieved, which is maybe the biggest surprise and the defense ranks outside the top 50 in scoring defense. I didn’t expect that either.

Of course, the defense is having some issues because the offense is so bad at times, it can barely stay on the field. The turnovers that keep putting opponents in prime positions to score don’t help either.

Those are all reasons why Michigan football is an underdog going into Saturday night’s showdown in Seattle against Washington. The Wolverines are a 1.5-point underdog but here are three reasons they can win.

The Wolverines won the national title in large part because they won the battle in the trenches. They ran all over Washington and dominated the Huskies Joe Moore Award winning offensive line.

The Huskies don’t have the same quality up front but Michigan football does. The Wolverines still have Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Josaiah Stewart, and Derrick Moore, not to mention TJ Guy and Rayshaun Benny.

Graham and Grant can’t be blocked with a single guy. Stewart can’t either and I think the start of the game will look a lot like the USC game. But can the defensive line hold up? I think so, but it’s going to depend on the offense doing its part.