Everyone is talking about Michigan football as a national title contender but here are three trap games to be aware of for the Wolverines.
Michigan football has gotten plenty of criticism for its non-conference schedule for the second year in a row.
But once Arch Manning and Texas come to Ann Arbor in 2024, people will likely stop that complaint. It’s true that the non-conference schedule isn’t daunting, although East Carolina is better than people realize, yet the Big Ten is always tough.
Michigan football gets a couple of breaks this year. The Ohio State game is in Ann Arbor. Plus, the Wolverines avoided having to play Penn State at night.
The Wolverines also don’t have Wisconsin or Iowa on the schedule. Instead, the three Big Ten West opponents are Nebraska, Purdue, and Minnesota.
All of those games present different challenges. One thing we can be sure of is that Michigan football will be tested at some point beyond Penn State and Ohio State.
Rutgers led the Wolverines at halftime last year. Two years ago, Michigan needed a late field goal to beat Nebraska, and the win over Michigan State last season could have been much closer. The one over Maryland was close.
So looking ahead to the 2023 season, here are three potential trap games for the Wolverines.
Nebraska
Nebraska might be the first true test of the season for the Wolverines who open with four straight home games. After hosting East Carolina, Bowling Green, and UNLV, Michigan football will host Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights have played the Wolverines tough the past two seasons, but Michigan should be 4-0 heading into Lincoln.
Nebraska has had talent the past few years but Scott Frost was never able to get the Huskers to reach their full potential. Maybe Matt Rhule can.
The defense should be pretty good. There are essentially eight returning starters and a new DC, as well as some transfers. Nebraska added Jeff Sims at quarterback and Thomas Fidone is a former top-50 overall recruit at tight end.
Sims is a dual threat that has gotten some Heisman publicity. Michigan always seems to struggle with the mobile quarterbacks and I’m wondering if that’s all a recipe for a close game.
You know Lincoln Memorial Stadium will be rocking, especially if the Huskers are able to start fast.
Michigan State
I know that Michigan State struggled last season. The Spartans also lost their starting quarterback Peyton Thorne to the transfer portal, as well as their best player overall, at least in my opinion, Keon Coleman.
Yet, Michigan State can’t be as bad as they were a year ago and when Michigan football comes to town, it’s like the Super Bowl for Sparty.
Michigan had a much better team last season and it was still a competitive game late. If the Spartans have converted a couple of fourth downs and avoided some mistakes, it could have been a lot more nerve-wracking.
The point is, Michigan football can’t overlook the Spartans. We know crazy things happen in this series and those crazy things tend to favor MSU.
Winning in East Lansing is never a gimme and if Michigan football isn’t focused, the Spartans could certainly pull an upset, which would be the defining moment of their season.
Maryland
There are two reasons why I think Maryland deserves to be on this list. For one, they have been steadily improving under Mike Locksley.
The Terps have started to land some pretty talented recruits, which isn’t a shock considering all the good ones in the DMV area.
Taulia Tagovailoa is another reason. Maryland has him back for another season. He’s only 5-foot-11, but he’s one of the most productive passers in the country and was Second-Team All-Big Ten a year ago.
Maryland also gave Michigan football fits last year in Ann Arbor. It was one of the few games where the Wolverines allowed an opponent to be within eight points in the fourth quarter.
The fact that the game will be the week before Ohio State also concerns me. I have complete faith that this Michigan team won’t overlook anyone. They overlooked TCU and it cost them a chance at Georgia and the national title.
But this game won’t be easy, especially on the road, against a team with a really good quarterback.