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CFB: The 2024 Michigan football schedule will test the defending champs

darren cooper
By:
Darren Cooper
11/01/2024/
NCAAF
NCAA Football Sports News

Highlights

  • The Michigan football national championship parade will be Saturday, starting at 4 p.m. rolling from the President’s House to Schembechler Hall.
  • Michigan won its first college football playoff national championship with a 34-13 win over Washington and finished 15-0.
  • The 2024 schedule may be the toughest schedule in Michigan history.

Michigan earned this parade.

The Wolverines will be honored during Saturday’s national championship parade through the streets of Ann Arbor, ending with a ceremony at the Crisler Center. Michigan earned its first national title since 1997 Monday with a win over Washington.

With the 2023 season now complete, Michigan sportsbooks have already turned their attention to the 2024 regular season. Caesars and BetMGM each have future bets on who wins the national title - odds that changed dramatically with the retirement of Alabama coach Nick Saban Wednesday.

The Big Ten will look a lot different in 2024, and Michigan’s regular season schedule is loaded like never before. Here’s a quick look at who’s on the slate.

Aug. 31 vs. Fresno State 

Michigan fans used to an early-season cupcake be warned. This isn’t it. The Bulldogs went 9-4 last year and won a bowl game. Coach Jeff Tedford is expected to return after missing the end of the season with health issues.

Sept. 7 vs. Texas 

The game that could have been. Michigan hosts the other CFP semifinalist in Week 2. Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers threw for 3,477 yards last year, holding off star-in-waiting Arch Manning.

Sept. 14 vs. Arkansas State 

The Red Wolves finished 6-7 last year, losing in the Camellia Bowl. QB Jaylen Raynor was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year.

Sept. 21 vs. USC 

So yeah, Michigan gets Texas AND USC at home in September. The Trojans finished 8-5 when its defense fell apart. 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams is heading for the NFL Draft, but USC has brought in QB Jayden Maiava from UNLV and Miller Moss threw six TDs in the bowl game win.

Sept. 28 vs. Minnesota 

A vintage Big Ten game. The Golden Gophers finished 6-7 last year. Michigan pounded them 52-10 in 2023.

Oct. 5 at Washington

A rematch of the CFP final. The Huskies finished 14-1, but they will lose a lot, including star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. But this is one of the biggest games in the nation.

Oct. 19 at Illinois

After the Washington trip, Michigan gets a bye and then takes on the Illini who went 5-7 last year and need to fix a defense that allowed 30 points a game.

Oct. 26 vs. Michigan State 

State brought in Jonathan Smith from Oregon State and is going full reset. Michigan slugged State 49-0 in 2023.

Nov. 2 vs. Oregon 

Yes, this isn’t your father’s Big Ten. Oregon lost in the PAC-12 title game to Washington. QB Bo Nix is gone, so what? The Ducks brought in Oklahoma star QB Dillon Gabriel in the transfer portal.

Nov. 9 at Indiana

Michigan goes on the road and sees new Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti, who did great things at James Madison. The Hoosiers already picked up QB Kurtis Rourke in transfer portal from Ohio.

Nov. 23 vs. Northwestern

The Wildcats somehow finished 8-5 and beat Utah in a bowl game. They made David Braun head coach officially in November.

Nov. 30 at Ohio State 

Michigan makes the trip to Columbus. The Buckeyes looked bad in their bowl game loss to Mizzou adding to speculation about Ryan Day’s future. QB Kyle McCord jumped ship to Syracuse, and the Buckeyes brought in Will Howard from Kansas State.

darren cooper

Born and raised in Louisiana, Darren Cooper has a fond appreciation for bayous, Mardi Gras beads and the sports betting industry. Darren has worked for multiple print and online publications since 1998, primarily as a sports columnist in the Northeast. He’s covered a Super Bowl (it was a blowout), the World Series (same) and the NBA Draft (man, those guys are tall). For the last few years he’s dug deep into the sports gambling industry as it exploded across America, learning how the legal sausage is made and how while all the sportsbooks look the same, they all have different identities and styles. He’s learned to always bet within his means -- and take the under. When not in front of his computer creating, Darren spends time with his three boys. He runs, reads and is always looking for the next big thing to write about.