5 reasons why Michigan can beat Steve Sarkisian's Texas at Ann Arbor in Week 2
The marquee game of college football's Week 2 slate is Texas at Michigan. The No. 3 Longhorns have been hyped as a national title contender in their first season in the SEC.
No. 10 Michigan is the defending champion but has had to do a massive overhaul after the loss of numerous stars and coach Jim Harbaugh. Here's why the Wolverines could pull off the upset.
5 reasons why Michigan can beat Steve Sarkisian's Texas in Week 2
#5 How about 107,000 reasons?
Michigan's home field advantage is substantial, with Michigan Stadium being the largest capacity college football venue in the nation (107,601). Michigan filled the stadium to 102.2% of capacity last season and will likely do the same on Saturday.
Sure, Texas is used to big crowds and stadiums, but the last time Michigan lost at home in front of a normal crowd was in 2019. Since the COVID year, the Wolverines are 22-0 at home, and that includes five top-10 wins in that span. During that span, Texas was 8-6 on the road.
#4 Texas' running back situation
The Horns lost likely starter CJ Baxter to a preseason injury. Highly touted freshman Christian Clark then had his own season-ending injury.
Texas rushed for just 4.6 yards per carry even in blasting Colorado State. Michigan, meanwhile, held Fresno State to 9 total rushing yards. A season ago, opponents averaged just 90 rushing yards per game and 3.0 yards per carry against the Wolverines.
A one-dimensional Texas offense puts a ton of pressure on Quinn Ewers. While he has been impressive, asking Ewers to best Michigan on his own could be tough. Particularly in light of another problem.
#3 Are a ton of Texas receivers going to leave no clear No. 1?
One of Texas' strengths is a massive amount of wide receiver talent. Indeed, 11 different Texas players caught passes in Week 1. But at some point, the massive amount of parity at the position could create confusion over who is the top dog.
If Ewers faces a third-and-long play, who does Texas even have on the field, much less who does the ball go to?
While Michigan would love to have some of Texas' receiver depth, at some point, enough can become too much.
#2 Colston Loveland could be key
Texas tends to struggle with high-power offenses, which is not really Michigan's forte right now. But one element the Wolverines will throw against the Horns is tight end Colson Loveland.
At 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds, Michigan can use Loveland as a slot receiver, or even work him into some downfield plays. In Week 1, Loveland had eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. He could replicate that easily.
#1 Pressure on Texas
Texas hasn't really played in this position before. Even in last season's run to the CFP, after their Week 2 upset of Alabama, the Horns' best remaining opponent was No. 12 Oklahoma. As a 5-point favorite, it promptly lost that game. Texas' second-best regular season win was against No. 24 Kansas.
There's plenty of new things going on with Texas: Being in the SEC, being a purported national power, being a road favorite at a top 10 team. Michigan has played plenty of big games in the last few years, but Texas hasn't really been here before. That could matter more than many people think.
Do you think Michigan has a shot at the home upset? Share your thoughts and predictions below in our comments section!