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Hooray for football!
After a long off-season of satellite camp debates, subtweets, a new apparel launch and more, real games are upon us.
Jim Harbaugh’s seventh-ranked Michigan Wolverines enter the season as one of the team’s to watch in college football. They are expected to a contend for a conference title and perhaps even more.
The first step comes against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (0-1), who have a game under their belts already having lost to California in Australia last week and travel another 9,000-plus miles to play in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
Michigan should not face much of a challenge on their 2016 debut, but there are a fair amount of questions that will be answered as soon as the Wolverines hit the field.
The biggest is at quarterback, where redshirt sophomore Wilton Speight seems all but officially the starter. John O’Korn and Shane Morris were also in the mix. To see who takes the field as the first-team signal caller is probably the most drama that Saturday’s game will generate.
The Wolverines still have questions on the offensive line, but return an experienced group that will look to push around some of these easier opponents earlier on their schedule. Look for Michigan to defer to their ground game and get guys like De’Veon Smith and Ty Isaac going early.
Hawaii has some solid playmakers in space, but Michigan’s defense is far too talented to give up much. This is not the week for them to be tested all that much.
Prediction: There are going to be a lot of great games this weekend that are competitive. This will not be one of those. Michigan 49, Hawaii 6
Game Info
Teams: Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (0-1) vs. No. 7 Michigan Wolverines (0-0)
Date: September 3rd, 2016
Location: Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. (107,601)
Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN/WatchESPN App
Radio: Michigan/IMG Sports Network (for a list of affiliates, click here)
Spread: Michigan -40.5, O/U 54.5
Fun Facts
- Michael Jordan will serve as Michigan’s honorary captain. The athletic department switched to Nike on Aug. 1 and became the first football program to be outfitted by the Jordan brand.
- Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham and Dr. Jerry Punch will be on the call for ESPN.
- Michigan is 111-22-3 in season opening games.
- This is the third meeting between Michigan and Hawaii. The Wolverines have won both previous matchups. Jim Harbaugh quarterbacked them to a 27-10 win in 1986 and the 1998 squad beat the Warriors 48-17.
- Hawaii is flying over 9,000 miles to take on the Wolverines and will have flown 19,060 miles before their first home game.
- Harbaugh is 9-3 in season openers as a head football coach. All three of those losses came in his first season on the job in college (San Diego, Stanford, Michigan).
- Michigan has not opened the season against the Mountain West Conference since 1964, where they beat Air Force 35-0. They are 5-1 against the conference overall and 8-0 against teams that currently comprise the MWC.
Hitting the Links: MnB’s Michigan vs. Hawaii Coverage
9-1: The Michigan Man Podcast 321: Hawaii Visitors Edition
9-1: Hawaii is Flying 9,530 Miles to Play Michigan
9-1: S&P+ Projects the Michigan-Hawaii Score
9-1: Behind Enemy Lines: Q&A w/ Mountain West Connection
8-31: Getting to Know Michigan’s Week 1 Opponent: Hawaii
8-31: Inside the Numbers: 2016 is the Year for Michigan to be Champions
8-30: The Michigan Man Podcast 320: Jamie Morris Joins the Show
8-30: Betting the Big Ten: Week 1
8-30: Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh Knows the Starting Quarterback
8-30: Michigan Football: Most Fascinating Storylines of 2016
8-29: What We Learned: The 2016 Offseason
8-29: The 2016 Michigan Football Preseason Roundtable
Week One College Football TV Schedule
Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016 | ||
---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
Charlotte at (19) Louisville | 7:00 p.m. | FSN / WatchESPN |
UT Martin at Cincinnati | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Tulane at Wake Forest | 7:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
Maine at UConn | 7:00 p.m. | ASN / ESPN3 |
Presbyterian at Central Michigan | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Appalachian State at (9) Tennessee | 7:30 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
Indiana at FIU | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
William & Mary at NC State | 7:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
South Carolina at Vanderbilt | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Southern Utah at Utah | 8:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
Jackson State at UNLV | 8:00 p.m. | MWN |
Rice at WKU | 8:00 p.m. | CBSSN |
Oregon State at Minnesota | 9:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
South Dakota at New Mexico | 9:00 p.m. | ROOT Sports |
Montana State at Idaho | 9:00 p.m. | ALT / ESPN3 |
Weber State at Utah State | 10:00 p.m. | MWN |
Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 | ||
---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
MVSU at Eastern Michigan | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Furman at (12) Michigan State | 7:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
Ball State at Georgia State | 7:00 p.m. | ASN / ESPN3 |
Colgate at Syracuse | 7:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
Army at Temple | 7:00 p.m. | CBSSN |
Albany at Buffalo | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Northwestern State at (23) Baylor | 7:30 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
Colorado vs. Colorado State (at Denver, CO) | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Kansas State at (8) Stanford | 9:00 p.m. | FS1 / FS Go |
Toledo at Arkansas State | 9:00 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
Cal Poly at Nevada | 9:30 p.m. | MWN |
Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 | ||
---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
Georgia Tech vs. Boston College (in Ireland) | 7:30 a.m. | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
(3) Oklahoma vs. (15) Houston (at NRG Stadium) | Noon | ABC / WatchESPN |
Bowling Green at (6) Ohio State | Noon | BTN / BTN2Go |
Hawaii at (7) Michigan | Noon | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Boise State at UL Lafayette | Noon | ASN / ESPN3 |
EKU at Purdue | Noon | ESPNNEWS / WatchESPN |
Fordham at Navy | Noon | CBSSN |
Howard at Maryland | Noon | BTN / BTN2Go |
Missouri at West Virginia | Noon | FS1 / FS Go |
South Alabama at Mississippi State | Noon | SECN / WatchESPN |
Western Michigan at Northwestern | Noon | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
Liberty at Virginia Tech | 12:30 p.m. | ACCN / WatchESPN |
Villanova at Pittsburgh | 1:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
Abilene Christian at Air Force | 2:00 p.m. | MWN |
Rutgers at (14) Washington | 2:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
(5) LSU vs. Wisconsin (at Green Bay, WI) | 3:30 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
(16) UCLA at Texas A&M | 3:30 p.m. | CBS / cbssports.com |
Miami, OH at (17) Iowa | 3:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
SE Louisiana at (21) Oklahoma State | 3:30 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
Kent State at Penn State | 3:30 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
Murray State at Illinois | 3:30 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
Richmond at Virginia | 3:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
Texas State at Ohio | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
Louisiana Tech at Arkansas | 4:00 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
UC Davis at (24) Oregon | 5:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
(18) Georgia vs. (22) North Carolina (at Atlanta, GA) | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Austin Peay at Troy | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Florida A&M at Miami (FL) | 6:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
Hampton at Old Dominion | 6:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV |
NC Central at Duke | 6:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
Savannah State at Georgia Southern | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Southern Illinois at Florida Atlantic | 6:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV ($) |
Western Carolina at East Carolina | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
VMI at Akron | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Alabama A&M at Middle Tennessee | 7:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV ($) |
Alabama State at UTSA | 7:00 p.m. | KMYS-CW 35 |
Rhode Island at Kansas | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
San Jose State at Tulsa | 7:00 p.m. | CBSSN |
SE Missouri State at Memphis | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
SMU at North Texas | 7:00 p.m. | ASN |
South Carolina State at UCF | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Southern at ULM | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Towson at USF | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
UMass at (25) Florida | 7:30 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
Southern Miss at Kentucky | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
(20) USC vs. (1) Alabama (at Arlington, TX) | 8:00 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
South Dakota State at (13) TCU | 8:00 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
EWU at Washington State | 8:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
Fresno State at Nebraska | 8:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
New Mexico State at UTEP | 8:00 p.m. | beIN SPORTS |
Northern Iowa at Iowa State | 8:00 p.m. | Cyclones.tv ($) |
Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech | 8:00 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
New Hampshire at San Diego State | 8:30 p.m. | TBA |
(2) Clemson at Auburn | 9:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Arizona vs. BYU (at Glendale, AZ) | 10:30 p.m. | FS1 / FS Go |
Northern Illinois at Wyoming | 10:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
Northern Arizona at Arizona State | 10:45 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 | ||
---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
(10) Notre Dame at Texas | 7:30 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 | ||
---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
(11) Ole Miss vs. Florida State (at Orlando, FL) | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |