michigan Big ten season preview

Michigan's Big Ten Gauntlet: A Nine-Week Preview 

This article will give a recap of Michigan’s season so far, and a look into Big 10 play for a group that looks to be serious playoff contenders.

So Far so Good for the Wolverines?

Michigan rolls into conference play 3-0, and it hasn't been boring. A walk-off hail mary beat Western Michigan 13-12 after officials put a second back on the clock (and the Wolverines still stormed the field as home favorites, which was definitely an interesting move).

Then came a statement 17-10 win over John Mateer and Oklahoma, the same team that beat Michigan in week two a year ago.

UTEP fell 52-17, with Underwood building momentum after a great performance. For the Wolverines, now the real test begins.

#17 Iowa, Sept. 26, in The Big House

This is as big as a Big Ten opener gets. Iowa arrives ranked #17, Michigan is ranked #18, and this game will kick off nine straight games of conference football in front of the home crowd.

Kirk Ferentz is in year 28 and running the same machine he always does. Iowa's defenses have been, and always will be truly elite. Last year, the Hawkeyes held fourth quarter leads against Indiana, Oregon, and USC before losing all three by a combined 12 points, so the margins with this team are razor thin and Iowa knows how to create a close game.

Hank Brown, a transfer from Auburn, is projected at quarterback, with RB Kamari Moulton leading a run game that also added South Dakota's national rushing leader LJ Phillips. Brown, Moulton, and Phillips create a triple-threat in the backfield that should worry the Wolverines D-line. Defensive tackles Trey Pierce, David Palepale, and DE Nate Marshall will have their hands full stopping the Hawkeyes rushing attack.

However, the real identity of this team is still the defense. Phil Parker returns for year 14 as coordinator and Iowa just keeps churning out elite units no matter who leaves, this year backed by portal add DL Kahmari Brown and returner LB Jayden Montgomery. Expect a physical, low scoring, nerve wracking opener against Iowa. Michigan will not walk over a team as physical as the Hawkeyes.

Minnesota, Oct. 3, @ Minneapolis

The Little Brown Jug is on the line here, the oldest trophy game in college football, and Michigan takes the rivalry into Minneapolis just one week after the Iowa opener. It's a quick turnaround with almost no time to breathe, and road trips to the Twin Cities have a way of being tougher than they look on paper. A win keeps the early season momentum rolling before the bye week hits. However,  Look out for this to be a trap game. First game on the road, pinched between two ranked opponents.

#13 Penn State, Oct. 17, in The Big House (Homecoming)

Penn State looks like a completely different, more formidable team than the schedule suggested when it first came out, and the credit goes to first year coach Matt Campbell. Campbell left a strong decade-long run at Iowa State and basically brought the whole Cyclones roster with him, including QB Rocco Becht, who has three years of starting experience under Campbell and gives Penn State instant command of the offense.

The continuity runs deep, just like Michigan’s new coaching staff. OC Taylor Mouser came along too, as did leading rusher Carson Hansen and a two headed tight end tandem in Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle.

On defense, Campbell landed a major hire in D'Anton Lynn from USC, who has created a top ten defense in Happy Valley to start the year. The linebacking room for Penn State is truly elite, led by a healthy Tony Rojas, who chose to stay in Happy Valley. Rushing the ball against Penn State will be quite difficult for this Michigan offensive line. This Homecoming game should be a real measuring stick for both programs and may very well have playoff implications.

#5 Indiana, Oct. 24, in The Big House

Simply put, this could be one of the biggest games Ann Arbor has seen that isn't the Ohio State game. Indiana enters as the defending national champion, and Curt Cignetti, now in year three, just wins. Replacing Fernando Mendoza was never going to be easy, and QB Josh Hoover, a TCU transfer with 30-plus career starts, is a step down in pure talent even if he's a reliable game manager.

What makes Indiana scary is the machine around him. OC Mike Shanahan hit big in the portal again, landing RB Turbo Richard, WR Nick Marsh, and WR Shazz Preston, while returning WR Charlie Becker adds continuity to what's an elite offense on paper. DC Bryant Haines returns for year three, and a linebacker duo of Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy anchors a defense that also grabbed portal corner AJ Harris. This one has the feel of a season defining game against an extremely experienced team. If the Wolverines enter the game with a loss, this game could define the rest of the season.

Rutgers, Oct. 31, @ Piscataway

A Halloween road trip caps off a brutal October stretch that already includes Penn State and Indiana at home. By this point Michigan will have a clear read on itself after three straight ranked or ranked caliber opponents, and Rutgers is the kind of game where fatigue, travel, and a letdown mentality can sneak in if the team isn't locked in. WR KJ Duff will be looking to feast, and if Michigan's secondary cannot stop him, an upset could be on the way.

Michigan State, Nov. 7, in The Big House

The Paul Bunyan Trophy renewal brings the Spartans to the Big House to open the season's final stretch. It's an in-state rivalry game, so records matter less than usual, and it sets the tone heading into the brutal Oregon-UCLA-Ohio State closing run. A statement win here keeps Michigan's margin for error alive down the stretch. While the Spartan's are not exactly a dangerous team on paper, this may very well be a trap game for the Wolverines.

#20 Oregon, Nov. 14, @ Eugene

This is the toughest true road test on the schedule, and the cold will be part of the story. Oregon needs a response after dropping a game to Oklahoma State earlier in the year. Dan Lanning is in year five and has turned the Ducks into a physically dominant team, though the two losses to eventual champions last season are still the gap he's chasing.

QB Dante Moore waited his turn and delivered, throwing for 30 touchdowns last season and turning down the NFL Draft to chase a title. The offense around him might be one of the most loaded in the country, with RB Jordan Davidson, receivers Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart, and TE Jamari Johnson.

The defense is just as stacked, with DL Matayo Uiagalelei and Bear Alexander up front and DB Koi Perich as the finishing touch. This is a night where Michigan will earn everything it gets against an Oregon roster that is one of the most talented rosters in the country.

UCLA, Nov. 21, in The Big House

UCLA serves as the Wolverines final home game of the year, and both Nico Iamaleava and the offense look good heading in. Coach Bo Chesney is one hell of a coach, and the numbers back it up: 132-52 as a head coach on his way up from DIII to a James Madison CFP berth. The one thing worth watching is how his East Coast style translates to a very different Big Ten environment.

Iamaleava has taken steps as a leader and as a runner after a rocky exit from Tennessee, and RB Wayne Knight, who topped 1,300 rushing yards last year, gives the offense a real one-two punch. The defense was UCLA's soft spot a year ago, but JMU transfers DC Colin Hitschler, DE Sahir West, and LB Sammy Omosigho arrived to fix it. Their most recent showing was a 52-38 win over Purdue where Iamaleava threw for 276 yards and three scores, though giving up 488 total yards is the kind of thing that should worry Michigan's defense too. The Bruin's defense has not played great to start the year, but the offense should worry Michigan fans as UCLA is experienced and talented. Sucks to say but another shot at a trap game at home the week before Ohio State.

#7 Ohio State, Nov. 28, @ Columbus (The Game)

Not much needs to be said here. Unless Michigan somehow gets left out of the postseason picture entirely, this will be the biggest game of the year for both teams, with bad blood in Columbus and everything from CFB standings to bragging rights on the line.

Ryan Day is in year nine, finally broke through with a national title in 2024, and snapped his losing streak to Michigan last year, though a rocky postseason against Indiana and Miami left some doubt. QB Julian Sayin, a Heisman finalist as a redshirt freshman, returns with the three headed monster around him still intact: RB Bo Jackson, WR Jeremiah Smith, and four returning O-line starters. The concern is on defense, where seven starters left for the NFL after a dominant season, leaving newcomers like DL Qua Russaw and John Walker to hold the line. Michigan will need every bit of momentum from ten weeks of Big Ten football to walk into that building with a chance.

The Michigan Ohio State rivalry needs no introduction, as long as both teams dont enter this game with more than 2 losses, expect this to be a season-defining game that shakes up the playoff picture in a massive way.

The Big Ten is No Joke

Nine Big Ten games, one open week, and a closing stretch through Oregon, UCLA, and Ohio State that will decide how this season is remembered.