ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With Michigan’s season opener 10 days away, here are 10 predictions about Jim Harbaugh’s future, a possible run at Georgia’s record for NFL Draft picks and the Wolverines’ quest for a Big Ten three-peat.

1. J.J. McCarthy will break Michigan’s single-season passing record.

John Navarre’s single-season record of 3,331 yards, set in 2003, survived the advent of the spread offense, outlived the Pac-12 Conference and is approaching the age of legal adulthood. Is this the year it finally falls?

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I say yes. McCarthy threw for 2,719 yards last season while splitting time with Cade McNamara early in the season. He averaged 23 passing attempts per game, which ranked 11th among Big Ten quarterbacks, and ranked ninth in yards per game at 194.2.

Michigan’s stated goal is a 50-50 split between runs and passes. Conservatively, that could mean five or six additional passing attempts per game for a quarterback who should be more efficient as a second-year starter. Assuming Michigan returns to the Big Ten championship game and McCarthy stays healthy all season, he’d need to average roughly 240 yards per game to break the record. That seems well within his grasp.

2. Michigan won’t have a 50-50 split between runs and passes.

Michigan had 600 rushing attempts and 370 passes last season. The year before, the Wolverines called 575 runs and 395 passes. It’s one thing to talk about being balanced, and it’s another thing to actually do it.

Michigan’s coaches recognize the need to develop the passing game, even if the Wolverines can bludgeon most of their Big Ten opponents on the ground. I expect a more balanced offense this season, but with a dominant offensive line and arguably the best running back tandem in the country, Michigan isn’t going to stray too far from what works.

3. Michigan’s defense will improve against the run and regress against the pass.

With run stuffers Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant in the middle, Michigan is going to make life difficult for opposing offensive lines. Even with Mazi Smith gone to the NFL, I expect Michigan’s run defense to be even better than it was last year, when the Wolverines allowed 3.26 yards per rush.

With rushing yards at a premium, I won’t be surprised if teams attack Michigan more aggressively through the air. The Wolverines should be fine as long as they have Will Johnson, Mike Sainristil and Rod Moore on the field, but they’re an injury or two away from being perilously thin in the secondary. It won’t be a shock if the Wolverines give up a few more big plays through air while they figure out the second cornerback spot.

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4. Michigan’s Big Ten winning streak will end at 21 games.

The Wolverines have gone nearly two years since their last Big Ten loss, a 37-33 defeat at Michigan State on Oct. 30, 2021. I’m projecting the winning streak will hit 21 games before ending with a loss at Penn State on Nov. 11.

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5. Michigan will beat Ohio State and win the East, but the Buckeyes will close the gap.

For two evenly matched programs, Michigan and Ohio State have played a bunch of lopsided games of late. There’s a theory about why: Both teams put everything into the rivalry, and when one gets the upper hand, the other is so mentally and physically spent that the game gets away. That was the case in 2018 and 2019 when Ohio State crushed Michigan and again in 2021 and 2022 when Michigan returned the favor.

With the series shifting back to Ann Arbor, I’m predicting a third consecutive victory for the Wolverines. Instead of another blowout, I’m optimistic that we’ll see the best of both teams in their final meeting as division rivals. Kyle McCord or Devin Brown will be settled into the Ohio State starting quarterback job by then, and the Buckeyes’ defense isn’t going to give up four touchdowns of 65-plus yards like it did in last year’s game.

That won’t be enough to break Michigan’s stranglehold on the rivalry, but it should be enough to ease the heat on Ryan Day and bring this series closer to equilibrium.

6. The Wolverines will lose in the CFP title game … to someone other than Georgia.

Georgia and Michigan are No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason. The Bulldogs are aiming for a third consecutive national championship, something no team has accomplished since Minnesota before World War II. Michigan is aiming for Georgia and even dedicated a portion of its practice schedule to the Bulldogs.

The setup feels a little too perfect to me. I can’t tell you who’s going to knock off Georgia — maybe LSU, maybe USC, maybe Alabama. Maybe a team nobody’s talking about, a la TCU last season. But my prediction is that Michigan wins the Big Ten, wins the Rose Bowl and falls to that mystery team in the CFP title game in Houston.

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7. Michigan will have two new coordinators in 2024.

Sherrone Moore has been on the cusp of a head coaching job for the past few cycles. If Michigan has another successful season and the offense thrives with Moore as the sole play caller, this could be the right time to make the leap.

Northwestern likely will be in the market for a new coach after the season. Indiana could have an opening unless Tom Allen can right the ship. Whether in the Big Ten or elsewhere, Moore should have head coaching opportunities.

Jesse Minter has the look of a future NFL defensive coordinator, and he interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason. Another good season for Michigan’s defense could put him on the same path as Mike Macdonald, who parlayed a successful year at Michigan into a DC job with the Baltimore Ravens.

8. Michigan will have double-digit draft picks but won’t break Georgia’s record of 15.

Harbaugh raised eyebrows when he said Michigan could have 20 players picked in the 2024 NFL Draft. The record in the era of the seven-round draft is 15, set by Georgia in 2022.

I can find 20 draft picks on Michigan’s roster without much trouble; the hard part is predicting which ones will declare for the draft and which ones will return in 2024. Kris Jenkins, Blake Corum, Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan and Cornelius Johnson are safe bets to be drafted. But what about McCarthy, Donovan Edwards, Junior Colson, Rod Moore and other third-year players with remaining eligibility?

If Michigan wins the national championship, I could see an exodus of players similar to the one from Georgia’s 2021 title team. A more likely outcome is that some of the underclassmen return and Michigan has between 10 and 15 players drafted in April.

9. The NCAA will impose additional sanctions, but Harbaugh’s three-game suspension will be the harshest penalty to come from Michigan’s infractions case.

Michigan’s decision to suspend Harbaugh for the first three games of the 2023 season was a preemptive measure intended to appease the NCAA. Will it work? We’ll find out after the season.

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If the Committee on Infractions was hesitant to accept a four-game negotiated suspension, it’s hard to imagine the NCAA being satisfied with a three-game self-imposed suspension. Michigan alluded to other self-imposed sanctions, including previously unannounced recruiting restrictions, so it’s possible the school can make up the difference in other ways. I predict more sanctions will come after the season, but nothing that rises to the level of the three-game suspension Harbaugh will serve in September.

10. After another round of NFL rumors, Harbaugh will sign a new contract and stay at Michigan.

Here I go again, doing the thing I’ve sworn to avoid. The only safe prediction is that Harbaugh and Michigan will spend the first six weeks of the offseason locked in their annual stare-down. Safe predictions aren’t what you came here to read, so I’ll go bold and predict that Harbaugh will take another run at the NFL before signing a contract extension that secures his future at Michigan.

If an NFL team wanted to offer Harbaugh the keys to the franchise, it’s hard to see him saying no. That could happen, though it didn’t happen in 2022 or 2023. The idea that Harbaugh is destined for a split from Michigan — or destined for a split from college football — seems less definitive now that Michigan has lessened the blow of future NCAA sanctions.

Suspending Harbaugh now is a way to make sure he doesn’t have to miss a substantial chunk of next season. That doesn’t guarantee he’ll return, but pushing the full punishment into 2024 would have created an obvious incentive for him to look for an exit strategy before the sanctions came down. The NCAA cloud won’t be quite as dark with this suspension out of the way.

Issues have been piling up for Harbaugh, from the NCAA ordeal to his relationship with Michigan’s administration to his clear interest in exploring the NFL. It’s hard to predict how that will shake out, but now that the NCAA saga is partially resolved, there’s a pathway for him to be coaching at Michigan in 2024 and beyond.

What are your Michigan football predictions? Let’s hear them in the comments section below …

(Photo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)