The 2023 Michigan football season is less than 100 days away and here are the three hardest games on the 2023 schedule for the Wolverines.
If you got sick of the complaints about Michigan football’s schedule in 2022, get ready for them in 2023, because they will return.
The non-conference opponents aren’t as bad as last year, based on last season, but East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green won’t impress anyone.
The toughest games will be in the Big Ten. Michigan football does avoid some of the top teams in the Big Ten West as Iowa and Wisconsin aren’t on the schedule, but there are still games against Nebraska, Purdue, and Minnesota.
The schedule isn’t overly daunting though. Only two teams that will likely be ranked in the preseason top 25 are on the Michigan football schedule for 2023 and one of those games is at home.
Yet, the schedule can look a lot tougher or easier depending on September and October. But as of now, here are the three most difficult games on the 2023 Michigan football schedule.
3. Michigan at Michigan State (Oct. 21)
Lots of Michigan football fans are poking fun at the Spartans right now, but if the Wolverines don’t take the trip to East Lansing seriously, they will lose.
We have seen way too many superior Michigan teams get tripped up by Sparty and Mel Tucker has already pulled the trick twice.
I know the Spartans lost Keon Coleman and Payton Thorne in the transfer portal this spring. They need to find a quarterback and improve their defense.
But Michigan is the Super Bowl for them and the Spartans, even last year, made it a game until the fourth quarter. Anyone thinking this will be a cakewalk is flat wrong.
2. Michigan at Penn State (Nov. 11)
If this was going to be a night game in Happy Valley, it very well could be in the No. 1 spot in terms of most difficult games for Michigan football in 2023.
The Nittany Lions are going to have one of the best running back combos in the country and former five-star quarterback Drew Allar is poised to take over as the starter.
He’s inexperienced but looked good in limited opportunities last season. There’s no doubt Penn State is talented and Jim Harbaugh is 2-2 on the road against Franklin.
Both wins came during the day and both losses came at night. That’s probably why Michigan fans were so excited about the kickoff being in the afternoon. That doesn’t guarantee anything and Penn State is a legit contender to give Michigan its only loss in 2023, as well as win the Big Ten.
1. Ohio State at Michigan (Nov. 25)
I would caution Michigan football fans about being too overconfident when it comes to the Buckeyes. Pride comes before the fall.
I don’t think Michigan football will be overconfident in the slightest. They know that they can beat Ohio State now and that’s a powerful thing.
They also know they have a formula that the Buckeyes are struggling to solve, which was the exact opposite scenario when Don Brown and the U-M defense were being made to look foolish by Ryan Day.
Ohio State lost C.J. Stroud but Kyle McCord will be just fine. Actually, he’ll probably be the second-best quarterback in the Big Ten behind J.J. McCarthy. The defensive line is loaded and Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best player in college football.
Harrison Jr. isn’t a quarterback, yet he can change the game by himself and is one of the best receivers we’ve ever seen.
However, Michigan will be at home again and until the Buckeyes show they can stand up to the Wolverines in the trenches, it’s going to be tough to believe they’ll beat U-M.
McCarthy will be more seasoned, the offensive line should be elite, the defense will be too, led by Will Johnson — probably the one dude in college football that can cover Harrison Jr. — and the Wolverines have the best running back duo in the country.
It’s going to be an epic game. It’s also the most difficult.