Michigan

Why Michigan’s 2024 schedule won’t be as tough as we think

Published

2 years ago

April 9, 2024

Why Michigan’s 2024 schedule won’t be as tough as we think

Michigan’s 2024 college football schedule is brutal compared to its 2023 schedule. On top of that, Michigan fans have a ton of questions about the roster heading into the spring game. This combination is a prime breeding ground for pessimism.

There is no question the Wolverines will play some talented teams in the fall. They’ll open the season with Fresno State before hosting Texas. They also play conference newcomers in USC, Oregon and Washington.

While you’d still expect them to win Big Ten matchups against Indiana, Minnesota and Illinois, they have David Braun’s Northwestern team the week before The Game.

They’ll host rival Michigan State in Ann Arbor this season, but take on the Buckeyes on Nov. 30 in Columbus.

Despite the tough competition in 2024, here are some reasons why Michigan’s schedule won’t be as tough as we think.

The toughest opponents are relatively spread out

Unlike last season, Michigan’s 2024 schedule is not as backloaded. Michigan was the far superior team in every game last year up until the Penn State game in November.

Here are what we would consider the tougher games on the schedule, and when and where they’re played this fall.

Sept. 7: vs. Texas
Sept. 21: vs. USC
Oct. 5: @ Washington
Nov. 2: vs. Oregon
Nov. 30: @ Ohio State

This year’s team won’t need to artificially hype themselves up for more than half the games this season. There are some big challenges on the schedule, but none of them are back-to-back, which is a relief for a team like Michigan that just lost a lot of talent to the NFL.

Most of the tougher games are at the Big House

As you can tell from above, many of the bigger games on the schedule are at the friendly confines of Michigan Stadium this year, and that is a huge benefit.

In 2023, Michigan had one of its toughest games of the season in one of the toughest environments at Penn State. We won’t necessarily see too many hostile road environments this year either, as Michigan will host Texas, USC, Oregon and Michigan State in 2024.

Of course, The Game is in Columbus this season, and Washington does provide a good home crowd, but outside of that, tough road games are nonexistent for the Wolverines.

The Big House might not always be as loud as some other stadiums, but coming off a national championship, Michigan Stadium should be as energetic this fall as it ever has been. Regardless, the Wolverines haven’t lost at home since 2019, so it has given the team the juice it needs to succeed on the field in recent years.

Texas is in Week 2

An early season game against Texas also allows the Wolverines to evaluate where they need to improve early. We will learn about the offensive line and how it holds up against some talented defensive linemen, and we’ll also get a chance to see how Michigan’s secondary holds up against Texas’ receivers and returning quarterback, Quinn Ewers.

The bright side to a big game like this early in the year is that it’s a non-conference game. Even if Michigan loses, the hope of winning another conference championship is still alive. That could be a big boost to the team’s mentality in Big Ten play.

All of that is great prep work for what’s to come later in the season. Unlike The Game, this one won’t be for all the marbles.

The loss of big-name quarterbacks

Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr. and Caleb Williams are all joining J.J. McCarthy in the NFL. While fans are understandably disappointed and uncertain about the future of quarterback play at Michigan, there are also questions for other teams joining the Big Ten.

While there’s a lot of hype around Miller Moss at USC, especially after his Holiday Bowl performance, it isn’t a done deal his success will translate to a full season of play.

Dan Lanning brought Dillon Gabriel to Oregon this offseason, who spent five seasons at UCF and Oklahoma before landing with the Ducks. He’s an experienced and talented player, but he will still need to learn with a new coach in Eugene. As Michigan fans know all too well, Dante Moore also transferred to Oregon, we’ll have to see how that quarterback battle plays out.

No one knows what to expect at Washington this season, at quarterback and in general. The Huskies very well could be this year’s TCU.

You can even lump in Ohio State here, as nobody knows if Will Howard will be better than Kyle McCord was a year ago. While McCord played well, Ryan Day made it clear it wasn’t good enough for him, so he picked up Howard from Kansas State to be the program’s — and his — savior. But will he really be able to turn the tide in the conference? There are plenty of question marks at the position conference-wide heading into the fall.

The offseason may not have fixed what’s broken in Columbus

Ohio State brought in some talent from the transfer portal, like the aforementioned Will Howard, as well as Chip Kelly at offensive coordinator.

The thing is, we know how important the run game is when predicting the winner in November. Michigan has Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings returning, giving them at least two strong options despite losing Blake Corum. Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson is a good player, but is Chip Kelly going to be a coach that puts the game in his hands on fourth and short?

We’ll have to wait and see the answer. But we do know Mason Grant and Kenneth Grant will be there to stop him, if so.

The schedule could have been worse

Michigan will travel to Washington in October. Despite playing the Huskies in the National Championship, we know this season’s Huskies won’t look anything like they did last season.

Had Kalen DeBoer stayed with the program, the trip to Washington would be completely different. Instead, Jedd Fisch is leading the Huskies in his first season and is trying to keep the ship in the right direction.

Michigan State will have a better coach this season, but it’s nice to know Michigan just came off a 49-0 win in East Lansing last season. The guys playing for Michigan this year had plenty of playing time against the Spartans last year. It’s easy to see a different year where that game looms larger on the schedule.

So yes, there’s plenty to be concerned about on Michigan’s schedule, but it may not be as bad as we expect it to be.

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Michigan

Woman struck, fatally injured, while walking on the Lodge Freeway, state police say

Published

11 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Woman struck, fatally injured, while walking on the Lodge Freeway, state police say

March 27, 2026 / 7:44 AM EDT
/ CBS Detroit

A pedestrian was struck and died of her injuries early Friday on the Lodge Freeway in Detroit.

Emergency dispatchers started to get calls about 2:30 a.m. about someone who was walking along the Lodge, and then were notified that the person had been struck by a vehicle, the Michigan State Police reported.

When troopers arrived, they found multiple cars stopped along the freeway, and people standing around a woman who was severely injured.

Detroit EMS pronounced the woman dead at the scene, state police said. She has not yet been identified.

The driver who struck the woman did not stay at the scene.

“Troopers are currently using technology that is available in the area to identify the vehicle involved,” MSP F/Lt. Mike Shaw said.

The Lodge Freeway, also known as M-10, was closed at about 2:46 a.m. Friday between Chicago Boulevard / Hamilton Avenue and Clairmount Street for the investigation and emergency assistance, according to Michigan Department of Transportation reports. The Lodge was reported back open at 6:05 a.m.

Michigan Department of Transportation traffic reports are at the MI Drive site.

State police said their investigation is continuing. Those who witnessed the crash or have other information are asked to call the MSP Metro South Post at 734-287-5000 or Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 800-SPEAK-UP.

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Michigan

List of active weather alerts as severe weather moves through Southeast Michigan

Published

23 hours ago

March 26, 2026

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List of active weather alerts as severe weather moves through Southeast Michigan

Severe storms bring risk of tornadoes, hail, flooding

4Warn Weather – The severe thunderstorm warnings in Monroe and Lenawee counties have expired.

A ground stoppage has also been deployed.

Click here for the latest forecast from our 4Warn Weather team.

Here’s a list of the alerts by county.

Wayne County

No active weather alerts.

Oakland County

No active weather alerts.

Macomb County

No active weather alerts.

Washtenaw County

No active weather alerts.

Monroe County

Severe thunderstorm warning expired at 8 p.m.

Livingston County

No active weather alerts.

Lenawee County

Severe thunderstorm warning expired at 7:45 p.m.

Lapeer County

No active weather alerts.

Genesee County

No active weather alerts.

St. Clair County

No active weather alerts.

Sanilac County

No active weather alerts.

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Michigan

Michigan football emphasizes return of discipline under new regime

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Michigan football emphasizes return of discipline under new regime

The buzzword continued to come up in Schembechler Hall, from each one of the captains.

From Bryce Underwood to Jordan Marshall, Rod Moore to Trey Pierce − Michigan football players around for the previous regime and in the case of the latter two, the one before that too − each said Wednesday, March 25, that there’s a noticeable difference within the program under new coach Kyle Whittingham.

For Moore, a sixth-year player who will likely become a third-time captain when the official leaders are voted on later this summer, he recognized the vibe.

“I would say it’s kind of a similarity to coach Harbaugh’s regimen,” he said. “It’s a lot more strict than the past two years, and the weight room has kind of been a night-and-day difference than the past two years. We feel a lot stronger, a lot more progress.”

The Wolverines finished winter conditioning and Whittingham graded it with an “A+.” Hope is often the dominant mode at this time of year and adding a new coaching staff to what’s generally a positive time creates little surprise that the Wolverines are raving about the new system.

But beyond the platitudes and clichés, there are tangible examples. Take Pierce: The projected starting defensive tackle has trimmed his weight to 300 pounds while adding muscle mass to his overall frame.

“Something new that we have now is that whenever we start meetings, there’s like a loud air horn that goes off throughout the whole building,” Moore said. “The past two years, we would start the meeting at 2:30, but now we start the meeting at 2:25, even though it’s a 2:30 meeting. Just everyone being five minutes early. The coaches are holding everyone accountable in the meetings, going to class.

“Just the little things that makes a team great, not just the big, broad things that everyone sees.”

There was an implication from everyone, though nothing said explicitly, that the past two seasons featured little enforcement. Most players would show up on time for lifts, but there were those who didn’t, with few repercussions.

“It’s the little things,” Pierce said. “Guys being late for lifts, guys not being where they’re supposed to be, whether it’s [missing] class. Just enforcing that a little bit heavier, that type of thing. … A lot of coaches say that when you’re being recruited in front of your parents. But for [Whittingham] to say that in front of the huddle after practice and say, ‘That’s why I’m here,’ I would say, ‘OK, he cares. He gets it.’”

Throughout the offseason, some who’ve spent time inside the facility said the weightlifting sessions had notably more juice. The past two years felt like a carryover of the previous years in terms of style, but accountability and discipline wavered.

Now, with Doug Elisaia leading the strength and conditioning room, there are different philosophies.

Practices are a bit shorter these days – two hours – but as Marshall said, “I don’t stop moving at practice, like, we’re always doing something that’s not only going to help with us competing with teams, but our conditioning.”

Marshall believes it can take the Wolverines to the next level, he said.

Just more than a week into spring ball, players are oozing confidence. Not just in their skills − the running back room is deep, the wide receiver room has as much raw talent as at any point the past decade, the offensive line returned multiple key pieces, the secondary added depth and the defensive tackles feel underrated − but in mindset.

U-M had early, demanding lifting sessions during winter conditioning, with a clear organization.

“It introduces that factor of toughness, like we’ve been through this at 6:30 a.m., 6:15 a.m., all these days in the grind together,” Pierce said. “It improves team bonding, and puts you in the headspace of, we’ve done harder stuff than this, and nothing can break us.”

The difference between winning and losing can often be razor-thin. Will this pay off when it counts during the season?

“If I can trust you to do things maybe you don’t want to do,” Marshall said, “then I can trust you on the field when it’s the fourth quarter and we have one minute left.”

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

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