Michigan’s Greatest Game Against Each 2026 Opponent: Weeks 8

We broached the Big Ten portion of Michigan’s schedule last time, and we dive further into the heart of things this time.

With the reigning national champions, a Big Ten new(ish)comer, and the in-state rival on the docket, let’s look at Michigan football’s greatest-ever games against Indiana, Rutgers, and Michigan State.

Michigan vs Indiana, October 24

Nov. 14, 2015: #14 Michigan 48, Indiana 41

Year one of the Jim Harbaugh era saw the second highest scoring Michigan - Indiana contest in this series’ 125-year history. And though it’s a matchup that has yielded favorable results for the Wolverines over time (they hold a .849 winning percentage in the series), nothing would come easy in the classic 2015 edition of this bordering-states rivalry.

The Wolverines looked much improved under Harbaugh in 2015. Besides the infamous “trouble with the snap” game and an opening loss at Utah, Michigan had largely sailed through its campaign before taking the trip down to Bloomington.

The Wolverines' vaunted defense looked unsteady in the first quarter, allowing 153 yards of offense though only 6 points in the opening frame. Preventing Hoosiers scoring would not continue though.

This one became a fireworks show, with the teams trading scores all through regulation, with a fourth-down, last-gasp Wolverines' touchdown sending the game to extra time knotted at 34. It was Michigan’s defense that finally proved capable of a stop though, denying Indiana in the second overtime at the goal line.

1128 yards of offense and 89 points later, Michigan escaped Indiana with a 48-41 win, maintaining their momentum under their new head coach.

Michigan @ Rutgers, October 31

Nov. 21, 2020: Michigan 48, Rutgers 42

This one felt totally predictable for Michigan fans, at least at the start.

Mired deep into the disjointed mess of the COVID season, the first five Wolverine drives in Piscataway went like this: fumble, turnover on downs, three and out, missed field goal, three and out. The offense looked inept, coaching calamitous, and while the defense wasn’t making a fool of itself in the same way, they were getting turned all the way around, and the scoreboard read 17-0 before fans could write out “fire Jim Harbaugh” on a brown paper bag.

But then Cade McNamara subbed into the game at quarterback for Joe Milton and six of the seven ensuing Michigan drives resulted in touchdowns, sufficient to send the game into extra time against a Scarlet Knights side that refused to fade.

Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime session - Michigan surviving by the skin of its teeth - and two more Wolverine touchdowns later, the defense finally rose to the occasion and prevented a Rutgers prayer from connecting in triple overtime, securing a 48-42 victory.

Cade McNamara addressed a pumped Michigan locker room after the win, promising large things for a down-on-its-luck Wolverine program. Those promises would come to fruition a year later, the culmination of a movement breathed into life during this roller coaster of a football game.

Michigan vs Michigan State, November 7

Oct. 10, 1964: #7 Michigan 17, #9 Michigan State 10

Before 2021, this was the most recent top-ten matchup in the Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. The Wolverines entered the matchup having a hard time cracking the Sparty code, having not won a matchup against Michigan State in their eight previous tries.

Seventh-ranked Michigan entered hostile territory in which their foes were soaring high, with their intrastate rivals thriving in their Duffy Daugherty golden era, when they would claim six national championships in under two decades. In a rivalry more often than not featuring the Wolverines as the superior squad, this was one of those rare instances when the Spartans were the behemoth holding ground against an inferior team of the era.

Fumble — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This bout turned into something of a slugfest, with neither team hitting double digit scoring until the fourth quarter. In that frame, however, a host field goal expanded their lead and made it 10-3 with just over seven minutes to play.

After tying the game at 10, a 31-yard double pass first from quarterback Bob Timberlake to fullback Rick Sygar and then onto receiver John Henderson provided the score and separation that the Wolverines desperately needed in this one. Michigan left East Lansing with a huge win to end a losing skid, punched Sparty in the mouth at the apex of their football prowess, and were cruising in a successful season punctuated by an eventual Rose Bowl win.

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