Texas Longhorns vs. Michigan Wolverines Preview

When Texas travels to the Big House to meet Michigan tomorrow, they'll come in ranked fourth in the country, while the Wolverines will take the field at ninth. Both teams come in 1-0, but those wins came against undermanned smaller schools, so there's a mystery element here as to how good these two teams really are.

We're going to learn a lot, and it's going to be an intriguing battle. Texas is favored by just over a touchdown even though they're visiting one of the toughest road venues in college football, while Michigan's unknows include trying to replace many key players from last year's title team.

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Game Details

Fixture: Texas Longhorns vs. Michigan Wolverines

Date and Time: September 7, 2024 @ 12:00 Noon EST

Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor MI

Texas Longhorns Team Review

The Longhorns routed Colorado State in their home opener by a 52-0 count, but this hardly qualifies as news. The starters didn't play for long, with QB Quinn Ewers completing 20 of 27 with 3 touchdowns while throwing a lone interception.

The biggest news of the day was that Arch Manning actually made his debut. He ended up 5 of 6 for 95 yards and a TD, but once again those numbers are largely meaningless against a Mountain West opponent.

The running game was similarly muted. Jerrick Gibson had 67 yards in just 10 carries to go with a TD, and Jaydon Blue had 57 yards on 11 carries as the Texas offense line lived up to its preseason reputation as a well-oiled machine. Running against Michigan will be a lot tougher, of course, especially with a 100,000 or so rabid Wolverines fans yelling their lungs out during the snap count.

Michigan Wolverines Team review

For Michigan, it's all about the replacements. They lost JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum, Mazi Smith and a bunch of others to the NFL draft, not to mention coach Jim Harbaugh, who returned to the pros to coach the Chargers.

The early returns against Fresno State were uneven, to say the least. The Wolverines led by just a touchdown at the half, 10-3, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that Michigan was able to break the game open, putting up 17 points to post a final score of 30-10.

The defense definitely held up its end, but new QB Davis Warren came up short in trying to step into JJ McCarthy's big shoes. Warren was 15 for 25 for just 118 yards with a TD and a pick. Warren's a great story--he's a walk-on and a cancer survivor who got zero attention as a recruit, but he'll have to do a lot better to give this story line a happy ending.

Mountain West opponents are supposed to be a tune up for schools the size of Michigan, but the relative closeness of the score raised questions about the quarterback. The wolves will be out if Warren underperforms in what's being billed as the biggest non-conference game in decades at the Big House, and new coach Sherrone Moore will find his seat going from warm to hot.

Who to Watch

Texas Longhorns

Ewers will be tested against the tough Michigan defense, and the key to this matchup is probably the Longhorn's offensive line. Can they establish the ground game and give him time to throw? That's the big story line early in this one, and if Ewers can get going it could be a tough afternoon for the Wolverines.

Michigan Wolverines

Warren is the focal point for this game. If Michigan goes three-and-out a couple of times early on, it will place that much more pressure on the Wolverines defense. This is the lone game between ranked teams on the CFB schedule this week, which will increase the size of the viewing audience and the concomitant pressure that much more.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough