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2013 University of Michigan Football Season Predictions
2013 University of Michigan Football Season Predictions
Drew Montag
7 August 2013
Wow, football season is right around the corner; time for my annual UM football predictions. Sure, I’m the “basketball guy” at UMGoBlue.com, but I’m also a big football fan, and I’ve been going to UM games since 1974.
Last season, I didn’t do as well as usual at predicting the games. I thought we’d beat Notre Dame (close), and Ohio State (not as close). I got the rest of my predictions right.
So, how is Michigan going to do this season? I’m thinking “pretty well”. I’m expecting the offense to be a little bit better than last season, the defense to be quite a bit better, and the special teams to be about the same as last season.
Here are my predictions for the 2013 season:
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Record | Comments |
| 08/31 | Central Michigan | Win | 1-0 | On the positive side: UM is obviously better. On the negative side: breaking in a new O-line, first game jitters. This one will be closer than expected. |
| 09/07 | Notre Dame | Win | 2-0 | Under The Lights II: Big game, big stage, big improvement. A solid win. |
| 09/14 | Akron | Win | 3-0 | Another MAC team, another victory. An easy game, everyone plays. |
| 09/21 | at Connecticut (East Hartford, CT) | Win | 4-0 | The first road game of the season is always tough, and this one will be close. |
| 09/28 | Bye | There are 2 byes this season! | ||
| 10/05 | Minnesota | Win | 5-0 (1-0) | Minnesota is better than last year, but still beatable. |
| 10/12 | at Penn State | Win | 6-0 (2-0) | The Sandusky Sanctions hurt PSU’s depth. UM wins a close one. |
| 10/19 | Indiana | Win | 7-0 (3-0) | Indiana is better than last year, but not nearly enough. |
| 10/26 | Bye | An excellent time for a bye week. | ||
| 11/02 | at Michigan State | Win | 8-0 (4-0) | The biggest game of the year. It’s tough to win in East Lansing, but Michigan’s got the team to do it. |
| 11/09 | Nebraska | Loss | 8-1 (4-1) | This is already developing into quite a rivalry. Michigan loses a heartbreaker. |
| 11/16 | at Northwestern | Win | 9-1 (5-1) | Michigan barely beat Northwestern in Ann Arbor last season, so expect a dogfight. |
| 11/23 | at Iowa | Win | 10-1 (6-1) | The only easy road game of the season. |
| 11/30 | Ohio State | Loss | 10-2 (6-2) | I hate to lose to Ohio 2 years in a row, but they’ve got too many weapons. |
That should be good enough for a tie for 1st place in the Legends division of the Big Ten, but not a place in the B1G Championship game. It will be good enough for a good New Year’s Day bowl game, probably another BCS game.
It’s possible that UM might beat Nebraska, but I doubt it.
Michigan has 5 games that they should win (Central Michigan, Akron, Minnesota, Indiana, and Iowa), 5 “toss up” games (Notre Dame, Connecticut, Penn State, Michigan State, and Northwestern), and 2 that they will be lucky to win (Nebraska and Ohio State). I’ve got them winning all 5 “toss up” games (10-2), but if they only win 3 of the 5 “toss up” games, they’ll be 8-4, which is just OK.
2013 Michigan Wolverines Football Schedule
| Next Game | Saturday November 2 | East Lansing | ||
| Michigan State | 3:30 p.m. ET | TV B10 | ||
| Discussion | ||||
| Date | Opponent | TV | Locatiion | Time |
| Sat., Aug. 31 | Michigan 59 CMU 9 | B10 | Michigan Stadium | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Sep. 7 | Michigan 41 Notre Dame 30 | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | Michigan Stadium | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Sep. 14 | Michigan 28 Akron 24 | B10 | Michigan Stadium | Noon ET |
| Sat., Sep. 21 | Michigan 24 UConn 21 | TBA | East Hartford, Conn. | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Oct. 5 | Michigan 42 Minnesota 13 | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | Michigan Stadium | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Oct. 12 | Penn State 43 Michigan40 4OT | ESPN or ESPN2 | State College, Pa. | 5:00 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Oct. 19 | Michigan 63 Indiana 47 | B10 | Michigan Stadium | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Nov. 2 | at Michigan State | ABC | East Lansing, Mich. | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Nov. 9 | vs. Nebraska | TBA | Michigan Stadium | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Nov. 16 | at Northwestern | TBA | Evanston, Ill. | TBA |
| Sat., Nov. 23 | at Iowa | TBA | Iowa City, Iowa | TBA |
| Sat., Nov. 30 | vs. Ohio State | TBA | Michigan Stadium | TBA |
| Sat., Dec. 7 | B10 Championship Game | Fox Sports | Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA |
Memorial Day…Lest We Forget
If you’ve gone to a Michigan football game you’ve probably walked right by it. Just inside the main gate at Michigan Stadium rests a memorial which reads:
TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY
In 1945 Michigan Stadium was dedicated to all Wolverines who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. The bronze eagle memorial is a reminder that the freedoms that we take for granted have come with a steep price.
Remember
Today we take time to remember those who have died serving their country. We remember the 5000 people who died in the Revolutionary war, the 600,000 who died during the Civil War, the 50,000 who died in World War I, and the 200,000 who died in World War II, and everyone else who died in the service of their country. With our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan those numbers continue to grow every day.
The stark reality is that US combat deaths are equal to an entire season attendance of a Michigan football. Not to mention the countless others who died during “peacetime” and countless seriously injured in service to their country.
So the next time you go to Michigan Stadium take some time to visit the memorial. When you’re sitting in your seat look around at the 100,000 people watching the game and consider how many Americans have given their lives to protect your way of life.
Despite all of the comparisons that we make between football and battle in reality football is just a game. Everyone comes home from a Michigan football game no matter what the outcome.
The same can’t be said for those who have defended our country in its time of need.