With the new 10-game Big Ten schedule released, I figured it was only fitting to make a new, (and hopefully improved), prediction for Michigan’s season in 2020.
Along with Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton fighting for the starting QB spot, it’ll be very interesting to see how each game plays out, and if Michigan can do better than previous years in this slightly-shortened season.
Without further ado, here are my new 2020 predictions for Michigan football. (Also note that the winning team will be italicized and underlined.)
Week 1 – #12 Michigan VS. Purdue
Even with the starting QB battle still being in play in the first week of the season, Michigan should be able to pull off a 14-24 point victory against Purdue.
Week 2 – #11 Michigan @ #17 Minnesota
Minnesota will have a solid squad this year, but Michigan will do just enough to beat the Gophers.
Week 3 – #8 Michigan VS. #7 Penn State
This will be a great matchup between the Wolverines and Nittany Lions, and Penn State will narrowly take this victory, handing Michigan their first loss of the season.
Week 4 – #12 Michigan @ Rutgers
This should be a fairly easy victory for the Wolverines. The Rutgers obviously aren’t the best program in the Big Ten, so Michigan should be able to take this win to bounce back from last week, and maybe even get our backup QB some snaps.
Week 5 – #11 Michigan VS. Michigan State
Even though MSU’s program has fallen off mightily in the past couple years, Michigan can’t take their long-time rivals lightly. The Wolverines will take this game by about two touchdowns, but MSU will keep it a nail-biting game in the first three quarters.
Week 6 – BYE
Week 7 – #11 Michigan @ Indiana
Somehow Michigan always manages to face Indiana before Ohio State almost every year nowadays, even in this new schedule. Michigan will take this game, but it’ll drain their energy as Indiana is almost always competitive with almost every team they face.
Week 8 – #10 Michigan @ #2 Ohio State
Another year, another loss. MU will be very competitive here, and possibly even take this game into OT, but Ohio State’s fire-powered offense and solid defense will be too much for Michigan to handle, as they fall once again at the hands of Ohio State.
Week 9 – #13 Michigan VS. #12 Wisconsin
With Michigan’s confidence nothing but drained at this point, Wisconsin will take this game on the road by 2-3 touchdowns as Michigan’s record is dropped to 5-3 on the season on Halloween.
Week 10 – #16 Michigan VS. Maryland
After back-to-back losses, Michigan takes this matchup against Maryland fairly easily, as they improve to 6-3.
Week 11 – BYE
Week 12 – #15 Michigan @ Northwestern
Northwestern is another program that the squad in Maize and Blue should be able to beat. This game will primarily serve as momentum going into their Bowl game, (assuming they are played), against a team ranked around 11-20.
Bowl Game – #13 Michigan VS. #11-20 Ranked Team
At the end of the season, Michigan does come away with a bowl game victory. Even though this season wasn’t much of a success, they still finish with a 8-3 record that should get them another solid recruiting class for next season.
Now, I could be entirely wrong here, and Michigan could leave this season with one loss, or even go undefeated.
However, with the pattern we’ve been seeing these last few years, a 2-3 loss season is the most probable scenario this year, especially with a new starting QB now that Shae Patterson is looking for an NFL job.
