College Football Preview: Michigan and Michigan State

Ian Campbell '21, Contributor
October 19, 2020

In what has been a tumultuous college football season so far, the Big Ten is finally ready to return. The season was originally slated to begin September 26th, but shortly after the release of an official schedule, the school presidents and first year commissioner, Kevin Warren, decided to postpone the season to the spring.

After pressure and outcry from fans, players, coaches, and athletic directors, the Big Ten reversed their decision and decided to reinstate the season. This has led to an even more abbreviated season, now being an 8 game slate with 6 divisional opponents and 2 cross-division foes. 

Michigan drew Minnesota (Oct. 24) and Wisconsin (Nov. 14)  as their West division opponents, while the Spartans drew Indiana (Nov. 14) and Northwestern (Nov. 28). The bitter state rivals will square off themselves on Saturday, October 31st at The Big House. MSU will be led by RS Freshman Payton Thorne at QB, but RS JR Rocky Lombardi and RS SO Theo Day may also split time. The starlet of their offense is definitely RS Sophomore Elijah Collins ‘18, who finished just 12 yards shy of the century mark last season. MSU will definitely struggle under first year head coach Mel Tucker, and is optimistically looking at a 2-6 record for the year.

Elijah Collins ’18 fights for yards against the Michigan defense at The Big House (Courtesy: clickondetroit.com)

Michigan is led by RS Sophomore Joe Milton, and has a tough schedule to look forward to. The Wolverines drew the two toughest teams in the Big Ten West division, as well as their yearly games with Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State. 

Michigan is looking at a potentially tough season, replacing 4 starters on the offensive line, as well as losing two starters, Nico Collins and Ambry Thomas, who chose to opt out to focus on the NFL Draft. Michigan is anchored on defense by Kwity Paye and Cam McGrone, and are looking at some toss up games. They could reasonably look to finish anywhere from 7-1 to 4-4, depending on offensive line and quarterback play. This looks to be an exciting season for both teams, and the idea of finally being able to sit down to some Big Ten football should be a positive for fans.