U-M football the most experienced team in nation

Based on pundits and NFL projections, Michigan does not have elite talent on its football roster.

But the Wolverines may be able to offset that with experience.

College football analyst Phil Steele today ranked every team's experience. Michigan topped the list, followed by Navy, Utah State, Air Force and South Alabama.

The past two years, U-M coach Brady Hoke repeatedly pointed out how young the Wolverines were and that it would take time for them to mature. But with the team's record trending the wrong way -- from 7-6 in 2013 to 5-7 in 2014 -- it wasn't enough to save his job.

As Steele noted, U-M ranked No. 122 on this list last year (there are 128 teams).

Steele's point system was based on his projected depth chart, with points given from senior starters on down: "3 points for every senior starter (2.5 for every additional senior in the two deep), 2 points for every junior starter (1.5 for every additional junior in the two deep), 1 point for a sophomore starter (0.5 for every additional soph in the two deep), then subtracted 1 point for every frosh starter and .5 for every frosh in the two deep."

He lists 14 projected senior starters for U-M, which would tie Navy, UMass, TCU and Texas State for the most in the country, plus another nine seniors in the two deep.

The biggest leap for Michigan would seem to come on the offensive line, which now has mostly veteran players after playing a few seasons with freshmen and sophomores.

It's no promise for success, as last year's most experienced teams were Texas-San Antonio, Louisiana-Lafayette, Indiana and Central Michigan, none which stood out. But No. 5 Mississippi State did pretty well, reaching No. 1 in the country at one point.

Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder.