The past two years, rival fans of Michigan football decried the nonconference schedule, but this year, the Wolverines will be center stage when Week 2 comes around.
That’s because, for the first time ever, the maize and blue will be hosting Texas, the second time the Wolverines and Longhorns will face each other, and the first time in the regular season. The opening salvo of a home-and-home will also pit the Big Ten and new-look SEC against each other as Texas represents its new conference with a high-profile matchup at the start of the season.
And one Longhorn cannot wait to see the atmosphere in Ann Arbor: senior quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Ewers earned the starting job at Texas in 2022 but was injured in the Week 2 matchup against Alabama. He started all of last year and helped lead Texas to a College Football Playoff semifinal berth, but was taken out by eventual runner-up, Washington. But in a meeting that could have been in the national championship game, Ewers will see winged helmets across the line of scrimmage from him while in hostile territory.
But it’s not the first time Ewers will have made the trip to Ann Arbor. Originally a commit to Ohio State, he was a backup in the groundbreaking 2021 upset victory by the Wolverines over the Buckeyes. Still, he’s thrilled to get another crack at his former rival.
“It’ll be my second time up there, so I’m excited to get back up there,” Ewers said at the Manning Passing Academy held at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. “Defending champs, it’s gonna be a great environment, lot of people. It’s gonna be a good time.”
While a loss for either team won’t necessarily be earth-shattering given how loaded both teams’ schedules are, whether it’s Ewers and Texas or the Michigan Wolverines, the winner will have a ton of hype behind them moving forward in the season.
As for the maize and blue, they haven’t lost a game in The Big House since the ill-fated 2020 COVID season and they haven’t lost in front of fans at home since the 2019 regular-season finale against Ohio State.
Michigan and Texas’ Week 2 tilt will kick off at noon EDT and will be broadcast on Fox as part of the Big Noon Kickoff.