NCAAF - First Lines Posted on Michigan’s Biggest Games

If you showed someone Michigan’s 2024 football schedule 20 years ago they wouldn’t have believed it.

Games against national powers Texas, Southern Cal and Oregon, not to mention the bitter clash with Ohio State are all on the Wolverines schedule this fall. This is what happens when the Big Ten goes Bigger and brings in the powerhouse schools from the Pac 12.

The official times and dates for some of the Wolverines games are coming out, and so are the betting lines at top Michigan Sportsbooks. We’ve already seen lines on a handful of regular season games posted on  DraftKings and FanDuel.

College football season isn’t too far away. No team has repeated as college football national champs since Alabama in 2011 and 2012.

The Wolverines used a punishing ground game and stout defense to win last year’s national title, but a big chunk of those playmakers are gone. Quarterback JJ McCarty was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the NFL Draft and running back Blake Corum went to the Rams in the third round.

So the first question for the Wolverines is who takes over at quarterback. Alex Orji is a great athlete and was used in some packages last season, but mainly as a runner. He did not throw a pass in 2023, but he looks like the Wolverines best bet to be the starter.

Running back Donovan Edwards got overshadowed by Corum last year at times, but he’s still a legitimate No. 1 back in the Big 10. The other question will be how Moore handles the pressure of the top job full-time.

Michigan opens the season at home August 31 against Fresno State. The Bulldogs are led by veteran coach Jeff Tedford and went 9-4 last year. They beat Purdue in their season opener last year and won the New Mexico Bowl, beating New Mexico State.

DraftKings has the Wolverines as 21.5-point favorites.

Fresno State used two quarterbacks last year: Mikey Keene and Logan Fife. Keene threw 24 TD passes, and Fife went in the transfer portal to Montana.

It will be the game of the weekend when Texas comes to Ann Arbor in Week 2. They’ve only played once before, the 2005 Rose Bowl. Texas QB Quinn Ewers has started 22 games in his three years, but is backed up by Arch Manning. Michigan is 3.5-point underdogs at home according to FanDuel.

Two weeks later, Southern Cal comes to Ann Arbor. The Trojans defense last year ranked 121 st in the nation out of 133 teams in scoring. The Trojans will look to QB Miller Moss who threw six TDs in the Holiday Bowl. Michigan is 10.5-point favorites on the board.

Two weeks after USC, it’s a rematch of the CFP title game, but man, a lot has changed. Washington coach Kailin DeBoer left for Alabama and was replaced by Jedd Fisch, who had three good years at Arizona. The Huskies have to find a new starting QB, but brought in grad transfer Will Rogers from Mississippi State. Michigan has opened as 9-point favorites.

Of course, the Wolverines season ends with a clash against Ohio State, with the Buckeyes the favorite early.