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Michigan football is used to big games, but hasn’t faced team like Texas this early

The Michigan football team saw just about everything last season on its march to the College Football Playoff.

Top-10 road game at Penn State, top-10 home game against Ohio State, before neutral site semifinal matchups against Alabama in the Rose Bowl and Washington in the national championship game.

One challenge it did not experience: a top-10 opponent before the weather turned cold.

In recent years, the Wolverines have had a weak nonconference schedule. Hawaii, Colorado State and UConn in 2022 were outscored 166-17. In 2023, East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green all lost by at least four scores as well.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore yells out from the sidelines after multiple flags are thrown against Fresno State during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.

That already changed Week 1 when U-M found itself up just 16-10 with 11 minutes remaining against Fresno State — though the Wolverines did pull away for a 30-10 victory — and heading into a Week 2 matchup with No. 3 Texas (1-0) it feels a certainty Michigan will be in its toughest nonconference test yet in more than half a decade.

“Here at Michigan, we strive, we live for moments like these,” linebacker Ernest Hausmann said. “Having a top-10 opponent coming to our house, the Big House. We play our best in moments like these, so we’re excited.”

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Another key difference in this contest: For the first time since playing at Ohio State in 2022, Michigan is projected to lose a football game by the sportsbooks. The game spread opened at Texas favored by 3½, but has continued to surge toward the burnt orange and sits at Texas -7½ as of Wednesday afternoon.

Michigan defensive back Will Johnson (2) celebrates after returning an…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-football-used-big-games-183559286.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2024-09-04 18:35:59

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

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