A Fork In The Road: Michigan's Week Two Matchup Could Make Or Break The 2021 Season
The Michigan Wolverines will enter the 2021 season with question marks at a number of critical positions, including a new-look coaching staff that is talented, but largely unproven at the collegiate level.
Michigan won't have much time to sort things out once the 2021 season officially kicks off on September 4. After the Wolverines get beyond Western Michigan at home to open the season, the Washington Huskies will arrive to Ann Arbor with all of the confidence in the world that they can knock off the Wolverines in their own building.
In fact, the Huskies show up on several preseason top 25 lists - coming in at No. 22 on the Athlon Sports Way-Too-Early Top 25 Rankings. Here's what Athlon Sports had to say about the Huskies heading into the 2021 season.
Jimmy Lake’s debut in Seattle was an unusual one, but the Huskies won the North Division at 3-1. While there are still several unknowns about this staff and team, Washington returns the bulk of its two-deep for 2021. Quarterback Dylan Morris showed promise in his first chance at extended action and guided the offense to an average of just over six yards per snap. An experienced offensive line is back for 2021, but coordinator John Donovan still needs more out of his receiving corps. Leading rusher Sean McGrew (227 yards) decided to return for an extra year of eligibility. Defense has been the strength of Washington in recent years and this group is strong once again. Lineman Josiah Bronson and defensive backs Elijah Molden and Keith Taylor are the only departures from a unit that tied for first in the Pac-12 by holding teams to 5.4 yards per play. Linebackers Zion Tupuola-Fetui and Ryan Bowman form an exciting pair of edge rushers, with Trent McDuffie anchoring the secondary. An early test at Michigan awaits Lake’s team in 2021, but Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State and California all come to Seattle.
Though standout linebacker Tupuola-Fetui has since suffered an injury that will keep him off the field in 2021 ,the Huskies will still feature a talented team with experience all over the field and a good amount of playmakers - including former Wolverine Giles Jackson.
The Huskies also come in at No. 15 on ESPN's Post-Spring Top 25 Rankings.
The Huskies were dealt a couple of big blows during spring practice when star pass-rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui ruptured his Achilles tendon and will be sidelined for six to 10 months, putting his availability for this coming season in serious jeopardy. The junior from Pearl City, Hawaii, had seven sacks and three forced fumbles in only four games in 2020. Promising outside linebacker Laiatu Latu was also forced to medically retire from football because of a neck injury.
Washington's quarterback battle also seemed to become a little bit clear during spring practice, as O'Brien, a Colorado State transfer, battled sophomore Dylan Morris for the No. 1 snaps. Huskies coach Jimmy Lake seems content to bring freshman Huard, the No. 1 pocket passer in the 2021 ESPN 300, along slowly.
Washington added three more players through the transfer portal: receiver Polk (Texas Tech), defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles (Oklahoma) and defensive end Jeremiah Martin (Texas A&M). Polk had 28 catches for 264 yards with two touchdowns as a freshman with the Red Raiders.
As far as Michigan is concerned, the Wolverines are nowhere to be found on either preseason list. While preseason lists and predictions are often little more than talking points before the season begins, it does provide some insight into how the country views both programs heading into the new season.
Given the frustration and unrest that already exists within the Michigan football fan base, it's hard to overstate the importance of the week two matchup against Washington. Not only will the game likely take place on a national stage, it might also provide the proverbial fork in the road for both Michigan and Jim Harbaugh moving forward. On one side, an early season win against a talented Husky team likely puts the Wolverines on track to a nine or ten win season - proving that the awful 2-4 record of 2020 was just an anomaly. On the other side, a painful early season home loss to the Huskies sends Michigan's season into a downward spiral that ultimately ends in six or seven wins - and quite possibly the end of the Harbaugh era at Michigan.
If that sounds overdramatic, you haven't been paying attention.
As Michigan continues to tread water under the leadership of Jim Harbaugh, other programs within the conference have been positioning themselves to replace the Wolverines within the Big Ten hierarchy. During the 2020 season, Michigan needed triple-overtime to beat Rutgers, lost a home game as a 21-point favorite against the Michigan State Spartans, handed an 0-5 Penn State team their first win of the season, suffered an historic blowout loss at home against Wisconsin and lost to the Indiana Hoosiers for the first time in 33 years.
Things don't get much easier in 2021.
Michigan will need to navigate through programs like Washington at home and both Wisconsin and Nebraska on the road before heading into the bye-week on October 16. After the bye-week, the Wolverines will clash with Northwestern at home before facing three consecutive teams that they lost to in 2020 - including Michigan State in East Lansing, Indiana at home and Penn State in Happy Valley. Oh, and Ohio State comes to town the last week in November.
Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
After watching what occurred during the 2020 season, a quick glance over Michigan's 2021 schedule is enough to give even the most optimistic fans pause for concern.
That brings us back to that week two matchup against Washington. The Huskies will likely enter the Big House as a top-25 team, while Harbaugh currently posts an 11-16 record against top-25 teams during his time at Michigan. With all of the question marks, skepticism and frustration that already surround the football program, it's critical that the Wolverines get off to a solid start by taking care of business early.
Put simply, the week two matchup against Washington is a really, really big deal.
