The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 41 Opponent: Indiana (5-7) Date: Nov. 23 Venue: Memorial Stadium ESPN FPI Rank: 47th DEFCON Level: 3 Massive trap game No. 2 involves a major thorn in Michigan's side of late. Yes, the Wolverines have won 23 straight in the series. They've also had to go overtime to extend that streak the last two visits they've paid to Bloomington. This one — wedged between the Michigan State and Ohio State games — might not be any easier. Indiana returns six of the eight pass catchers who eclipsed 150 receiving yards last year. They still have sopho- more tailback Stevie Scott, who scored 11 times and rushed for 1,137 yards a year ago. They also run an up-tempo offense, which means this one could turn into a major shootout given Mich- igan's new look. Brown and his defensive crew will no doubt have something to say about that. A less nail-biting fourth quarter (and nothing beyond) would be what the doctor ordered entering The Game. Opponent: Ohio State (13-1) Date: Nov. 30 Venue: Michigan Stadium ESPN FPI Rank: 13th DEFCON Level: 1 Anyone imagining Michigan has forgotten what happened last Novem- ber in Columbus is likely residing in a mountaintop hut in the Himalayas. Emotion only gets you so far, though. The Wolverines actually enjoy a lot more going for them. They're home, Urban Meyer is gone and so is the OSU quarterback who tore them up last fall. Still, the architect of that offense, Ryan Day, is now the man in charge. The Buckeyes continue to bring in top talent, year after year. Prior to 2019 (No. 21 per Rivals.com), they have inked a top-10 recruiting class every cycle since 2011, with all but one of those groups ranked among the top five. And they come into this one with all the confidence in the world, through a decade and a half of owning the series (one U-M victory in the last 15 years). It has to end sometime. It's Michi- gan's job to make it now. Predicted Michigan record through November: In our Football Preview, we tagged U-M at 11-1 this year. If the Wolverines are 7-1 through October … well, you do the math. That may sound like a stretch, and maybe it is. But the toughest games are at home, and Michigan has the talent to pull it off. ❏ Michigan has not beaten Ohio State since 2011 and has won the rivalry contest just twice since 2001, but the Wolverines don't need to look further than last year's 62-39 defeat for motivation. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Yardbarker.com: "Their final six games are at Penn State, Notre Dame, at Maryland, Michigan State, at Indiana and the season finale against rival Ohio State. The silver lining is their three toughest games in that stretch are all at home. The problem is that Michigan has had a tough time beating any of those teams of late." BleacherRepor t.com: "Aside from the home game against Rutgers, it's going to be tough sledding all season long. The worst part, though, will be the back-to-back weeks against Penn State and Notre Dame. If the Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish are anywhere close to as good as they have been for the past two seasons, there's a good chance at least one of those games turns into an L." AthlonSports.com: "If Michigan is to finally break through in 2019 and make its first appearance in the Big Ten Cham- pionship Game, the Wolverines will have earned it with this year's upcoming schedule. Non-conference bouts are on tap against rival Notre Dame and an Army squad that fin- ished last year with an 11-2 record. Big Ten cross-divisional matchups are against Iowa and Wisconsin, two teams that have given the Wolverines trouble in recent years. And there's still the annual matchups with Penn State, Michigan State and, of course, Ohio State. That slate is not for the faint of heart." ESPN.com: "Now's the time, right? It seems coach Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines have never had a better chance to get over the hump than they do in 2019. Ohio State is finally not employing Harbaugh conqueror Urban Meyer anymore. Penn State has a new quarterback. Michi- gan State could still be hopeless offensively. The dominoes are all lined up and ready to be tipped. "Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State are also all po- tential top-15 teams. The Buckeyes still have all the talent in the world. Penn State could have its best defense yet under coach James Franklin, and new quarterback Sean Clifford is pretty well regarded. And, hey, Sparty has beaten Michigan and won tons of games without an offense before. [The Big Ten East] still will be a heavyweight division in 2019. Michi- gan's not going to be able to back into a breakthrough." — John Borton What They're Saying About Michigan's Schedule