Predicting Michigan Football’s record in the new fall schedule

The Big Ten Conference released the third edition of a football schedule for the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday morning and now we know what the slate looks like. With the dawn and promise of a new campaign comes bloggers and pundits alike pulling every aspect of the schedule apart. Let’s take a quick look at the eight-game conference-only slate and predict Michigan’s record.

10/24 at Minnesota — LOSS

Minnesota broke out last year in PJ Fleck’s third season at the helm and appears primed to be a contender in the Big Ten West as long as he sticks around. Michigan has problems winning on the road as is and still might be green in a lot of areas of the roster when this game comes around.

10/31 vs. Michigan State — WIN

MSU gets a bit of a tough draw here given that this game was originally set for East Lansing, but it fixes a schedule quirk that has seen Michigan play all of their rivals either at home or on the road in a given season. This is going to be a rougher year than expected for the Spartans given the pandemic and a first-year staff and we are looking at another blowout here.

11/7 at Indiana — WIN

Schedule giveth, schedule taketh, as Michigan will have to travel to Indiana for the second year in a row. This year’s Indiana team is legitimately good and might put another scare into the Wolverines, but Michigan has won 24-straight games in the series and is 59-9 overall. History is overwhelmingly on Michigan’s side.

11/14 vs. Wisconsin — WIN

Wisconsin has a fair amount of talent to replace this year, especially at running back. But they are the Big Ten’s most consistent and known commodity when it comes to the type of team they will bring to town. Expect a physical and low-scoring contest, but revenge for last year from the Wolverines.

11/21 at Rutgers — WIN

It’s Rutgers.

11/28 vs. Penn State — WIN

Penn State on paper might be the biggest threat to Ohio State in the Big Ten East, but these two teams typically take care of business on their home fields against each other. Michigan will look to avenge a loss last year that quite literally may have slipped through their fingers.

12/5 vs. Maryland — WIN

Maryland should make some incremental steps forward this year, but there is no reason this should not be a win for Michigan at home.

12/12 at Ohio State — LOSS

By far the biggest change to the schedule is The Game coming in October and being moved from the last weekend of the year. OSU is better on paper in nearly every category and has an overwhelming amount of momentum in the series, so we cannot in good faith predict a win here. However, Michigan still has a chance to end the season on a positive note instead of it abruptly coming to a halt.

12/19 vs. TBD — IDK

We don’t know who Michigan will be playing in this game or where other than it will be against the team that finishes in the same spot in the standings as them. It could mean seeing a team like Iowa or a rematch with Minnesota or Wisconsin.

Final record: 6-2* (Maybe 6-3 or 7-2)

How do you see Michigan faring in this schedule? Sound off in the comments below.