When Notre Dame dropped Michigan from its schedule in 2015-17, it may have actually done the Wolverines a favor. With openings those three seasons, U-M can balance out a schedule that was threatening to get out of control.

Trivia: Denard Robinson's four-interception evening at Notre Dame harkened back memories of Demetrius Brown's single-game record seven-pick performance against Michigan State in 1987. Surprising probably to many at the time, Brown started a week later against Iowa. What was his touchdown to interception ratio on that day?

Now back to the column ...

A year ago, fans and pundits alike remarked that Michigan may have fielded the best home schedule in program history, with Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State coming to Ann Arbor. The flip side of that, however, is this fall, when U-M's road schedule might be the biggest nightmare in program history as the Maize and Blue traveled to South Bend and have visits to Lincoln and Columbus on the docket (and that doesn't even include the opener against Alabama in Dallas).

This back and forth - a great home schedule and a terrifying road schedule - was bound to continue for the foreseeable future, until a two-year hiatus with ND began in 2018-19, and it even threatened to get worse in 2016 when Michigan would travel to Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Ohio State, with the addition of the Badgers to the schedule in 2015.



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