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Seldom does a Week 2 game determine a team’s postseason fate. One early meeting in Ann Arbor has playoff implications for two blue bloods.
The Texas Longhorns and Michigan Wolverines play this season. It’s their first meeting since Texas quarterback Vince Young carried the Longhorns to a Rose Bowl one-point victory in the 2004 season.
The winner of the game launches itself toward the top of college football. The loser significantly decreases its margin for error.
On3 Sports’ JD PicKell described the Michigan team Texas will face on his show, The Hard Count.
“You’ve got some really key pieces back… with Kenneth Grant (and) Mason Graham on the D-line, with (tight end) Coleston Loveland, but it’s a new team in regards to, you’re gonna have a new quarterback, I believe they are 128th in returning production. For context, there’s only 134 teams.”
In contrast, PicKell views the game as an opportunity to prove Texas’ 2023 season wasn’t a fluke.
”For Texas, this is a chance for them to reemphasize what happened last year and say, ‘no, no, no. That’s who we are now. Folks talk about Texas having a flash in the pan… ‘Texas will come back to being Texas. Don’t worry about it.’ You go and beat the national champion at their place early on in the season? That is an identity defining thing for this team and for Steve Sarkisian and what he’s built there.”
Despite the above points in Texas’ favor, PicKell reasons that a game played in the 20’s could favor Michigan. The Wolverines figure to have a strong defense despite all that they lose. That said, there’s a reason Texas has been viewed as a road favorite. The reason is the other side of the football.
Michigan is set to replace starting quarterback JJ McCarthy, all five offensive linemen and its top two wideouts from last season. It’s not…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jd-pickell-previews-week-2-172340972.html
Author : Longhorns Wire
Publish date : 2024-03-27 17:23:40
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