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Michigan Football: The Importance of the Utah Game

By Jay Meade

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To some folks, Michigan football’s first game at Utah game is “just another game.” But those folks are dead wrong. Utah fans want to make sure last season wasn’t just a fluke, and Michigan wants retribution.

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A 26-10 beating in The Big House is nothing to sneeze at. This marked only the third time the two teams have played and it

pushed Utah to a 2-1 lead over Michigan in the series

.

As anybody who pays attention knows, not many teams hold a winning record against Michigan, but for now Utah is in the minority. Michigan fans and alumni pride themselves on being the winningest program in the history of the NCAA. This is all for a good reason; Michigan has a winning record against every one of its rivals.

So how about we go over some Michigan history really quick.

Michigan has a winning record against the Pac-12—as it does with most conferences—with a 40-23-1 record. The Wolverines are 8-11 in bowl games when matching up against the Pac-12. However, since the 2000s they are only 1-7 against the conference, with the only win coming in a 31-29 victory over Washington in 2002.

Jim Harbaugh is familiar with the conference in his own right. He took a non-contender Stanford team and made it a legitimate threat. That threat wasn’t just to the conference that Stanford resided in, but also to the rest of the nation. In his 2010 season, his last as Stanford’s coach, he took the Cardinal to their first 11-win season since 1996. That same year he would go to the Orange Bowl to demolish Virginia Tech 40-12.

Nov 1, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines cheerleader celebrates a touchdown in the second quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Michigan Stadium. Michigan won 34-10. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Too soon? Oops.

Now, back to current day.

Utah finished its 2014 campaign 9-4 (5-4). Popular Mechanics decided this team—returning eight offensive starters and eight defensive starters—would be a “cupcake” game for Michigan. Really? Among those returning is senior running back Deontae Booker, who snagged All-Pac-12 honors.

This is a solid team, the same team that looked like it was en route to beat Oregon until its receiver dropped a should-have-been touchdown at the goal line. Yeah, we remember. The Utes would finish the season with a 45-10 beatdown of Colorado State in their bowl game.

As if the cupcake comment wasn’t wild enough, Popular Mechanics would apologize by sending cupcakes to the same team they called cupcakes. Admittedly, it was a bit funny. Utah has had a fire lit under it, and you can be sure the Utes are looking to prove they are indeed a force to be reckoned with.

On the other side, Michigan has a bit of a chip on its shoulders as well. As I eluded to earlier, that 26-10 loss at home doesn’t happen too often.

Michigan will be returning nine offensive starters, only having to replace wide receiver Devin Funchess and quarterback Devin Gardner. On defense they will return eight starters.

Michigan fans haven’t been too pleased with the state of Michigan football. Many believe Harbaugh to be a savior for Michigan.

The importance of the Michigan-Utah game is that this is the first game of the Harbaugh era. We get to see if Michigan will begin its new era with a victory. Harbaugh didn’t come into a terrible situation—which I have stated previously—so he just has to develop top-of-the-line talent that was brought in by the Brady Hoke staff.

Fans are back. And with that, the excitement is back. The Big House is hitting sold-out numbers already. I’m sure that tomorrow we will see Michigan football is truly back, and in a big way.

Next: Michigan vs. Utah: Series History Recap

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