The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME U -M football program will face a very challenging Big Ten conference schedule next fall with games against three of the four new schools — USC, UCLA, Or- egon and Washington — making their debuts next season. The Big Ten had previously re- vealed locations and opponents for the nine-game conference slate, but on Nov. 2 made it of- ficial as to where and when the Wolverines will take the field next season. Michigan opens Big Ten play in 2024 against USC, set for Sept. 21 in Ann Arbor. This will be the first time that the storied pro- grams have met since the 2007 Rose Bowl and only the second time that the Trojans have played at Michigan Stadium — the first was a 20-19 U-M victory in 1958. From there, U-M will host Minne- sota in a battle of the Little Brown Jug at home on Sept. 28, which would be its fifth-straight home game to start the season after a non-conference lineup that includes Fresno State (Mountain West), Texas (SEC in 2024) and Arkan- sas State (Sun Belt). The latter game with the ASU Red Wolves was moved up a week to Sept. 14 to accommodate the revamped Big Ten schedules. The Wolverines will hit the road for the first time on Oct. 5 in a trip to the Pacific Northwest to play the Wash- ington Huskies. The two schools were previously scheduled to play the second leg of a home and home series in Se- attle in 2028, but the programs agreed to terminate that contract upon UW's admission into the Big Ten during the summer. Michigan will have a bye week on Oct. 12, its first of two scheduled for next season. The Wolverines return to game action at Illinois on Oct. 19 before re- newing its in-state rivalry with Michi- gan State on Oct. 26 in Ann Arbor. On Nov. 2, Michigan will play its third Big Ten newcomer of the season when it hosts Oregon for the first time since 2007, a 39-7 win for the Ducks. The Wolverines head to Indiana on Nov. 9 before a second bye week scheduled for Nov. 16. The last two games of the season are set as a home date with the Northwest- ern Wildcats on Nov. 23 and the regular- season finale at Ohio State, which stays on Thanksgiving weekend on Nov. 30. Michigan's protected rivalries will remain with Michigan State and Ohio State on the slates announced through 2028 as part of the conference's new scheduling model. "The 2024 Big Ten football sea- son will debut the Flex Protect XVIII model, which features a combination of protected oppo- nents and rotating opponents for universities," the Big Ten wrote in its schedule release. "Each mem- ber institution will continue to play nine intraconference games per season, and teams will play every other conference opponent at least twice – once home and once away – and will play rotat- ing opponents no more than three times in a five-year period." The Big Ten also says that the primary objectives considered in its schedule making include a bal- ance of annual travel by distance, regions of the conference and time zones. It also seeks to main- tain control and flexibility with an expanding College Football Play- off, hoping to create a pathway for multiple members to crack the field of 12 starting next season. Historic com- petitiveness and recent trends were also used in setting the schedules. ❑ ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS 2024 Dates Set For Loaded U-M Football Schedule Head coach Lincoln Riley will bring his USC squad to Ann Arbor on Sept. 21, 2024, for the first meeting between the two pro- grams since Jan. 1, 2007. The Trojans hold a 6-4 edge in the series, which dates back to 1948. PHOTO COURTESY USC ATHLETICS 2024 U-M FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Aug. 31 FRESNO STATE Sept. 7 TEXAS Sept. 14 ARKANSAS STATE Sept. 21 USC* Sept. 28 MINNESOTA* Oct. 5 at Washington* Oct. 12 — Oct. 19 at Illinois* Oct. 26 MICHIGAN STATE* Nov. 2 OREGON* Nov. 9 at Indiana* Nov. 16 — Nov. 23 NORTHWESTERN* Nov. 30 at Ohio State* * Big Ten games