For the uninitiated, part one of this exercise looked at the first six games of Michigan’s 2025 season. Now we turn our attention to the back half of things.
On paper, the Wolverines’ home stretch looks like a series of relatively lesser tests leading to their usual firework-laden finale. In reality, there are myriad potential outcomes in the prelude to the season’s exclamation point. Washington, Michigan State, and Maryland are notable as potential spoilers.
An Early Look At Michigan’s 2025 Season: Part 2
Game 7: Washington
2024 Record: 6-7 (4-5 in Big Ten)
Washington joined Michigan in the National Championship Game Hangover Season, although the Huskies did get revenge for their loss on the big stage. Small-framed speedster Demond Williams Jr. will take over at quarterback. He’s got some great returning production to ease his workload, as starting running back Jonah Coleman and second-leading receiver Denzel Boston are back in Seattle. The defense loses coordinator Steve Belichick to UNC, but replaces him with former Purdue head coach Ryan Walters. The Huskies are essentially starting from scratch on defense with a horde of portal losses and graduations to backfill. Walters might have flamed out as the man in charge, but he’s great at developing talent, especially in the secondary. Given the extreme turnover, it might be a tough first year, but he should pay dividends for Jedd Fisch sooner rather than later.
Game 8: At Michigan State
2024 Record: 5-7 (3-6 in Big Ten)
Jonathan Smith understands what he’s up against now. It was an up-and-down first year, but the Spartans gutted out wins against Maryland and Iowa to find forward progress from the ashes of the Mel Tucker Era. There are echoes of Washington’s situation in East Lansing: an offense returning major producers and a defense that will need to replace some longtime starters.
Moving forward, the key duo will be quarterback Aidan Chiles and rising sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh. Ultimately, the team will go as Chiles goes. He had a year to get the willies out and could pay dividends in year two. The Spartans’ schedule offers intrigue and opportunity, depending on how the rest of the Big Ten breaks. They’ve got USC looking to bounce back, Nebraska looking to make the leap, and Indiana looking to keep momentum. Iowa and Penn State towards the end of the season will be interesting, especially if MSU is playing for bowl eligibility by that point.
Of course, we all know the game they’ve got circled is on October 25th in Ann Arbor.
Game 9: Purdue
2024 Record: 1-11 (0-9 in Big Ten)
As aforementioned, former coach Walters is in Seattle now. Barry Odom takes over in West Lafayette after two fantastic seasons at UNLV. He’ll have his work cut out for him. The Boilermakers went winless in Big Ten play last year and had a ridiculous amount of turnover in the portal. Odom brings a large contingent of former Runnin’ Rebels with him, headlined by well-traveled cornerback Tony Grimes. This will be Grimes’ fourth college, after stops at Texas A&M, UNC, and UNLV. Odom has proved his mettle by making UNLV football interesting, but digging Purdue out of the cellar will be a more monumental task. There are winnable games on the schedule, and all Odom needs to do to be successful in Year One is…well, win some as in, more than one.
Game 10: At Northwestern
2024 Record: 4-8 (2-7 in Big Ten)
The Wildcats are on the other end of the transfer spectrum. Northwestern’s academic admissions, oftentimes as stringent if not more so than Michigan’s, are a hindrance to offseason acquisitions. They’ll have sizable gaps to fill on offense after losing top receivers Bryce Kirtz and erstwhile Wolverine A.J. Henning, plus longtime backfield staple Cam Porter. Incoming quarterback Preston Stone, formerly of SMU, will look to recapture his 2023 form when he threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns in Dallas.
One interesting aspect of this year’s matchup: it’s taking place at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Given the excess of Wolverine grads living in Chi-town, there’s a chance they can make this one feel more like a home game.
Game 11: At Maryland
2024 Record: 4-8 (1-8 in Big Ten)
After three straight solid seasons, the Terps backslid during head coach Mike Locksley’s sixth season. Maryland fielded the categorically worst offensive line in the country last year, prompting quarterback Billy Edwards to seek refuge at Wisconsin. The offensive line needs to improve if they’re going to go anywhere. There’s also a lot to figure out on defense, most notably along the defensive line, which loses starters Jordan Phillips and Tommy Akingbesote. A bounce-back year is possible given the favorable schedule. Locksley gets to miss Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, and USC this year. Still, there are enough personnel questions in College Park to raise more than a few concerns.
Game 12: Ohio State
2024 Record: 14-2 (7-2 in Big Ten)
The Buckeyes won the first 12-team playoff despite finishing fourth in their conference. That sentence likely elicits either a mischievous grin or a contemptuous grimace, without much in-between.
In the afterglow, Ryan Day has to replace both coordinators, a quarterback, and a laundry list of starters up and down the depth chart. But of course, these are [Gus Johnson Voice] the world-famous Ohio State Buckeyes. They’ve recruited a shark jaw’s worth of blue chip backups and recruited plenty of portal help already. On offense, quarterback Julian Sayin is the favorite to take the reins from Will Howard. He’ll have the luxury of feeding Terminator-esque sophomore Jeremiah Smith, who already looked like an NFL player as a freshman. The biggest question marks will be along the offensive line, which will need to find three new starters.
The defense returns plenty of experience, headlined by all-world safety Caleb Downs. There’s work to do on the line, which loses all four starters. That in tandem with Jim Knowles’ defection to Penn State will mean Day’s DC pick is crucial to breaking the Buckeyes’ losing streak.
But of course…what does that all mean for The Game?
Michigan beat the National Champions with its worst offense in a generation. OSU’s staff shakeup and roster turnover muddy the waters of 2025’s matchup, even accounting for their seemingly endless pool of talent. Michigan has to replace Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, which will be equally crucial to their continued success in this game. While Sherrone Moore briefs new offensive conspirator Chip Lindsey on the finer points of this game, Wink Martindale looks like he’ll be the only consistent coordinator year over year. Perhaps that will be worth a step up on the competition. Here’s hoping he’s already devising a plan to keep Smith at bay.
Main Image: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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