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The Texas Longhorns’ 2024 schedule features a number of contests against name-brand programs like Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, and Texas A&M. Starting this year, those are all conference battles. But among non-conference tilts, the Longhorns’ Sept. 7 trip to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face the defending national champion Wolverines stands above the rest.
On3’s Jesse Simonton ranked Texas at Michigan as the No. 1 non-conference game in the 2024 season . Here was his explanation.
The Wolverines will put the nation’s longest active winning streak to the test against a Texas team looking to make a road statement for the second straight season. Last year’s win over Alabama propelled Steve Sarkisian’s team to a Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff berth, and a victory in the Big House — even against a depleted Michigan team — could similarly catapult the Longhorns to a special season in Year 1 of the SEC. Sherrone Moore takes over the reigning national champs, and the former Wolverines’ OC isn’t a stranger to coaching in major matchups — beating Penn State and Ohio State as the team’s interim last season. A win against a Top 5 Texas team would more than validate Moore’s promotion, though.
In what will likely be a matchup between top-10 teams, there are a number of significant storylines in addition to the ones Simonton mentioned such as…
The Michigan quarterback battle : Texas knows Quinn Ewers will be the guy under center in Michigan Stadium barring anything unforeseen between now and September 7. It’s not quite clear who will be the signal-caller for the Wolverines. JJ McCarthy is off to the NFL, leaving Alex Orji , Jack Tuttle , and Davis Warren to compete for the job.
A first matchup since a legendary game almost 20 years ago : The last time these two teams played was the first time these two teams played each other. Mack Brown brought a 10-1 team lead by Vince Young to Pasadena for the first time in program history. Lloyd Carr and the 9-2 Big 10 co-champion Wolverines made yet another trip to the Rose Bowl, setting up January 1, 2005 to be the first-ever matchup between two blue blood programs. Dusty Mangum ‘s game-winning kick capped a contest where Young dazzled in what would be a prelude to another titanic battle in the Rose Bowl one year later.
A lot of people will be watching in Ann Arbor: Texas is used to playing in front of a lot of people. Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium holds over 101,000 people and it was filled to the brim for nearly every contest last season. Michigan Stadium, at least in this instance, goes to show that not everything is bigger in Texas. The record for attendance at a game featuring the Texas Longhorns was set in 2005, when Young and company defeated Ohio State in Columbus in front of 105,565 at Ohio Stadium.
Michigan Stadium’s average attendance last season? 109,971.
A lot of people will be there to see Texas and Michigan meet, maybe the most ever for a UT contest.
Can Quinn Ewers and company do it again?: Simonton mentioned how the Longhorns’ win in a 2023 non-conference game at Alabama boosted Texas to the College Football Playoff. Can Ewers lead Texas to a road victory again?
Last year, Ewers was 24-for-38 for 349 yards and three touchdowns of the deep passing variety. The 38 pass attempts were one more than the 37 rush attempts, even acknowledging the Longhorns ran the ball out over the final seven minutes to win the game. That was a sign of the trust Sarkisian had in his quarterback in Tuscaloosa. The piece of evidence that shows Ewers was worthy of that trust? The 9.2 yards per attempt and zero interceptions.
Texas may look to Ewers once more. The final drive was a reversal of the way the game had mostly trended for the Longhorns. Texas rushed 37 times for 105 yards, a paltry 2.84 yards per attempt.
Running was tough for Texas in Tuscaloosa. It may be once again in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines return two standout defensive tackles second-team All-American Mason Graham and second-team All-Big 10 selection Kenneth Grant , along with other regular contributors from the national champion defense. If the ground game is a task, even with a veteran offensive line, Texas might ask Ewers to win one on the road once again.
The defeated party won’t be a debilitated party: The College Football Playoff is moving to a 12-team format in 2024. In previous years, a single loss was often the difference between making or missing the CFP. Now? A September defeat won’t knock a team halfway out of national championship contention.
The 12-team playoff gives breathing room to teams where previously there was none. The loser of this game could likely sustain one more loss in conference play and still safely find themselves among the top 11 teams at the end of the season. The loser could even go on to win their own conference and earn a bye.
That’s not to detract from the quality of this game. But at least in this season, the stakes are a slight bit lower.
A media partner the result of realignment : This game was supposed to be in Austin this year with the return trip to Michigan scheduled for 2027. As Texas accelerated its move to the SEC one year earlier than scheduled, the two teams swapped dates. This was likely done so that Fox, who no longer has access to Texas home games due to the move to the SEC, could get one more contest featuring the Longhorns on its airwaves and place them in the Big Noon Kickoff slot at 11 a.m. Central.
Of course, realignment has this game as a matchup between a SEC team and a Big 10 team. That won’t be the only iteration of that type of inter-conference battle, but the Longhorns’ move to the SEC had a hand in determining what game this channel would air on.
The second ever meeting between Texas and Michigan is certain to be one of the most watched and covered games of the 2024 season, more so than any other non-conference matchup according to On3.
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The best of the rest
- Texas at Michigan – Sept. 7
- Miami (Fla.) at Florida – Aug. 31
- LSU vs. USC – Sept. 1 (Las Vegas)
- Georgia vs. Clemson – Aug. 31 (Atlanta)
- Notre Dame at Texas A&M – Aug. 31
- Penn State at West Virginia – Aug. 31
- Florida State at Notre Dame – Nov. 9
- NC State vs. Tennessee – Sept. 7 (Charlotte)
- Alabama at Wisconsin – Sept. 14
- Colorado at Nebraska – Sept. 7
The post Texas at Michigan named On3’s top non-conference matchup of the 2024 season appeared first on On3 .
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