Texas vs. Michigan
Saturday, Sept. 7
12:10 p.m. Eastern, 9:10 a.m. Pacific
Fox
The 2024 college football season is giving us some heavyweight battles in the first few weeks of competition. This is the crown jewel for Week 2, with bluebloods Texas and Michigan meeting in Ann Arbor. This is a loaded September for Michigan season ticket holders. They get Texas coming to town in Week 2. Then in Week 4 on Sept. 21, USC visits the Big House.
Michigan did not look great in Week 1 against Fresno State. Naturally, replacing all the stars from last season’s national championship team and having Sherrone Moore in place of Jim Harbaugh led to the rusty, sluggish performance. It would have been surprising if everything fell exactly into place for the Wolverines. A less-than-great display was the predictable, probable outcome. Now we get to find out if what happened in Week 1 will remain part of Michigan’s identity, or if the Maize and Blue make significant improvements and can clean up their mistakes against Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns, who made the College Football Playoff last year and will be expected to do so again in 2024.
Texas looked solid in an easy Week 1 win over Colorado State. Quinn Ewers is a quarterback in command of his offense. That gives Texas one of the central and most obvious advantages in this game. Michigan’s offseason was filled with questions about who would take the wheel of the offense on day one. Alex Orji was viewed as the likely starter for much of the offseason, but Davis Warren got the start against Fresno State. He didn’t look particularly sharp, but again, this was a position where Michigan didn’t have an immediate answer to J.J. McCarthy. The Wolverines were always going to be a work in progress under center. The real key here is how much Michigan can learn and grow from Week 1 to Week 2, especially at quarterback.
Texas Longhorns-Michigan Wolverines Odds
Spread: Texas -7.5 (-105), Michigan +7.5 (-115)
Total: 42.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: Michigan +240
How Will This Game Play Out?
The biggest key to this game might be the Texas defensive line going up against Michigan’s offensive line. Michigan has to be able to run the ball to win this game. The Wolverines need to chew clock and keep the Texas offense off the field. Michigan has to be able to shorten the game and also establish great field position so that the Texas offense must contend with a maximum degree of difficulty.
Will the Texas offense have a field day? Probably not. However, if the Michigan offense can’t establish the run, the Wolverines will have a hard time keeping the ball and scoring. The Michigan defense could play a spectacular first half, but if the offense doesn’t do its share to help the UM defense, those 11 men could get very tired in the second half and the Texas offense is bound to hit some big plays.
Michigan is getting over a touchdown at home. That should tell you how much better Texas is – or at least, how much better Texas is perceived to be. If this game was in Austin, the Longhorns would be close to a 14-point favorite. If you are in the mood to pick the underdog, we would recommend not a full-game bet, but a first-quarter or first-half bet on Michigan. Over the course of 60 full minutes, the limitations of the UM offense are bound to leave the Wolverines’ defense exhausted and unable to keep up. This feels like a game which will be close for 45 to 50 minutes and will then feature Texas getting on a roll in the fourth quarter. We don’t like taking Michigan plus the 7.5 – not for the full game.