A lot has changed since the Michigan Wolverines beat Washington in the National Championship almost two years ago. Michigan is just 12-7 overall since then, and it even lost to the Huskies last season. Now, Washington is coming to Ann Arbor, and the Wolverines desperately need a win.
Michigan likely needs to win six games in a row to make the College Football Playoff, and it all starts with Washington. Here are a few bold predictions for the matchup.
Michigan will score a defensive touchdown
With the way the Michigan offense has struggled
at times this season, the defense might need to find the end zone to push the Wolverines to victory in this one. After having guys like Will Johnson on the team, we got used to the defense scoring touchdowns. That hasn’t happened yet this season, but that will change on Saturday. Despite some poor performances, the defense has come up with big turnovers in huge moments when Michigan has had its back against the wall. Against Washington, a turnover will create a big swing.
Washington will have more than 500 yards of total offense
Much like the early stages of last season, the Michigan defense has been an unpleasant surprise so far. After dominating down the stretch in 2024, it looked like Wink Martindale had things figured out. That clearly wasn’t the case. The Wolverines have shown flashes, but last week’s loss to USC exposed some glaring holes in the defense. The Trojans gained 489 total yards of offense, and this weekend, Washington will surpass 500.
Washington will win by two scores
Michigan is favored by 5.5 points, and truthfully, it’s hard to comprehend why. Last week showed this team has a long way to go, and on the flip side, the Huskies have looked good. Their only loss came to Ohio State, and if you watched that game, there were plenty of positive takeaways. If Washington was able to finish off some drives that got down near the Ohio State goal line, that could’ve been a totally different game. Michigan needs to win, but it feels like we’re headed toward a harsh reminder of what the current state of the program is. The Huskies take this one, 31-17.
