Michigan Wolverines football is set to open the regular season Sept. 4 against Western Michigan and conclude it Nov. 27 against Ohio State. The Maize and Blue will play five ranked teams in the preseason, and its slate checks in 12th on college football expert Phil Steele's strength of schedule rankings.
Below, we've ranked Michigan's games from most to least difficult. Our projection is based on how strong we expect each opponent to be, where the contest is placed on the schedule and where the game is played (home or road).
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12. Northern Illinois (Sept. 18 in Ann Arbor)
The Huskies went winless in a six-game 2020 slate, and appear to be stuck at the bottom of the MAC and are expected to remain there this season, with the MAC media picking them to finish last in the West Division. While NIU returns 19 starters, it doesn’t have the firepower to hang with Michigan, which will be attempting to fine tune its play heading into the Big Ten schedule.
11. Western Michigan (Sept. 4 in Ann Arbor)
At the very least, the Broncos, who ranked 16th in total offense a year ago (though it should be noted they only played MAC opponents), should test Michigan’s new-look defense in the season-opener. WMU will come in confident and aggressive, but Michigan is going to be eager to show that 2020 was a fluke. This won’t be a cakewalk, but Michigan should win by multiple possessions as a 17.5-point favorite over WMU, which was picked to finish third in the MAC West.
10. Rutgers (Sept. 25 in Ann Arbor)
The Scarlet Knights missed a 45-yard game-winning field goal in overtime that would’ve sent Michigan home with a fourth-straight loss last season. Instead, the Wolverines celebrated a thrilling triple-overtime victory in Piscataway. Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano has injected some life into the program, and the team returns 21 starters, but he still has a long way to go before they’re expected to win a game of this magnitude on the road.
9. Maryland (Nov. 20 in College Park)
Michigan travels to College Park Nov. 20 one week before hosting Ohio State, with this one having all the makings of a classic ‘trap game.’ The Wolverines can’t overlook the Terrapins, who have a gunslinger at quarterback in sophomore Taulia Tagovailoa, who threw for 1,077 yards and seven touchdowns in four games last season.
