This is part six of a 12-part series in which we count down Michigan Wolverines football's 2021 strength of schedule from its easiest game (No. 12) to its most difficult (No. 1).
Checking in at No. 7 is the Sept. 11 showdown against Washington at The Big House. A complete breakdown of the Huskies is below.
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Head Coach: Jimmy Lake (2nd season); 3-1 record (75 winning percentage)
Recruiting Rankings:
• 2017 — 23rd nationally
• 2018 — 15th
• 2019 — 16th
• 2020 — 19th
• 2021 — 42nd
2020 Record: 3-1 (3-1 in Pac-12 play)
The 2020 season was short-lived for Washington, with the Huskies only playing four games and seeing three canceled (at California, at Washington State and at Oregon). It was also the debut campaign for first-year head coach Jimmy Lake, who took over for Chris Petersen after he resigned following 2019.
The Huskies enjoyed a nice 3-0 start to 2020, though it's worth noting those three wins came against Oregon State, Arizona and Utah by an average of just 8.6 points. Additionally, the Beavers, Wildcats and Utes went a combined 5-12 in 2020.
The Huskies' lone loss of the year occurred in the final game it played — at home versus Stanford, 31-26, on Dec. 5. Washington technically finished as the North division winner, but was forced to back out of the conference title game against USC and saw runner-up Oregon go instead.
Washington finished 2020 with a mediocre offense (57th nationally), but a stellar defense (27th).
Did You Know?
• Michigan and Washington were supposed to square off last year in the season opener in Seattle, but saw the game canceled.
• The Huskies played all four of their 2020 games at home, and did not play a road or neutral-site game.
• U-M and Washington last met in the 2002 season opener, a thrilling 31-29 Wolverine victory at The Big House.
• Michigan has been no stranger to Pac-12 competition in recent years, with the matchup against Washington marking the fifth regular-season contest against against a Pac-12 foe since 2014 alone. The previous four came against Utah in 2014 and 2015, Oregon State in 2015 and Colorado in 2016.
2021 Preview
Lake's debut season as a head coach in 2020 had to be considered a success, and he will be bringing back several of the club's top weapons once again this fall. Quarterback Dylan Morris burst onto the scene last year as a redshirt freshman, completing 60.9 percent of his passes and racking up 897 yards, four touchdowns and three picks.
He'll be back to run the show once again as a redshirt sophomore, though he'll have a bit of a revamped receiving unit he'll have to acquaint himself with. Two of the Huskies' top three pass catchers from last season — Puka Nacua and Ty Jones — are gone, though the best player of the bunch, senior tight end Cade Otton, is back.
Otton's 18 receptions, 258 yards and three touchdowns all led the team last season, and helped him earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors. Washington's passing attack finished 67th nationally in yards per game and 59th in completion percentage, and with Nacua and Jones gone, it's not expected to be a dominant attack in 2021.
Experience and continuity is the name of the game with the Huskies' ground game. The team's top three rushers from last year — sixth-year senior Sean McGrew, sixth-year senior Kamari Pleasant and redshirt junior Richard Newton — all return.
McGrew's 227 yards paced the bunch last fall, with the trio having combined for nine rushing touchdowns. Washington's yard-per-carry-average only ranked 56th in the country last year, however, so the Huskies had a decent, but not great, running game.
Defense is what Washington hung its hat on in 2020. The club had an elite secondary, finishing 13th in the country against the pass. First-team All-Pac-12 cornerback Elijah Molden is off to the NFL, though the squad brings back its next three leading tacklers in the defensive backfield in junior cornerback Kyler Gordon, junior safety Asa Turner and junior cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Washington's front seven wasn't as good as its secondary was, finishing 59th in the country against the rush. The Huskies are bringing back their four leading tacklers in the front seven, however, including a pair of All-Pac-12 members in junior outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui (first team) and junior linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio (second team).
Why No. 7 in the Countdown?
Washington wasn't tested significantly in a lot of ways in 2020, never playing a contest away from Seattle. The cross-country trip to Ann Arbor will be the first road game Lake will coach in as the program's head man, so it's fair to wonder how his team will respond on a journey like that.
The matchup will be the second game of the year for both clubs, with Washington opening a week earlier against Montana and Michigan doing the same against Western Michigan.
This won't be an 'easy' game for U-M by any stretch of the imagination, despite its placement at No. 7 on this list. The Huskies have the feel of a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten squad, and since the game is in Ann Arbor, it's fair to give the Maize and Blue a slight edge (as of now).
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