4. Minnesota – AWAY – Oct. 17
(Admittedly arbitrary) Chances of winning
55%
What poses difficulty
A difficult four-game stretch culminates in Minneapolis, against a team that head coach P.J. Fleck has on the rise. But how much was 2019 an omen or an aberration?
Minnesota did beat a higher-ranked Penn State team at home, but lost at Iowa before getting smacked two weeks later at home by an intermittent Wisconsin. It’s schedule, otherwise, was easy in 2019.
In recent history, Michigan has struggled on the road against ranked teams, with MSU in 2018 being the lone ranked win on the road for the Wolverines in the Jim Harbaugh era — and that team didn’t finish ranked. This year, the maize and blue will have to face the Golden Gophers midseason, but after having played Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State consecutively in the three prior weeks.
The battle for the Little Brown Jug will be against a prolific offense led by quarterback Tanner Morgan, but he loses some of his big targets. The defense was even better than the offense, ranked No. 10 in 2019. So it will be a thorough battle with much of the odds against the Wolverines.
The one thing in Michigan’s favor? It’s still arguably more talented from top-to-bottom.
How Michigan wins
If the defense keeps Tanner Morgan in check while the offense moves the ball consistently. By Week Seven, any inexperience issues should be rendered moot, and Michigan should likewise be battle-tested by this point, having played Washington and MSU on the road while having also faced down Wisconsin and Penn State. However, it could be worn down by the time it gets to this game, and even very good Michigan teams have struggled in Minneapolis.
Your Turn
[opinary poll=”how-confident-are-you-that-michigan-will-vvj0ge” customer=”collegewires”]