What to Expect When the Texas Longhorns face Michigan football

Michigan football fans have heard the song and dance from their critics for years, that they walk through a cupcake schedule to begin each year before going into conference play. That all changes September 7th, 2024, in the second week of their season. That’s when Michigan welcomes the Texas Longhorns into Ann Arbor for what could be a season-defining matchup between two power schools.

What preseason rankings there are consistently have Texas in the top 10, if not the top 5 in the nation. It’s a ranking that is no doubt earned. Their offense averaged 477 yards per game last year, mostly behind the arm of Quinn Ewers. As a sophomore, he threw for almost 3,500 yards and had 22 touchdowns against just six interceptions.

However, Ewers will be missing many of the weapons that made his offense so deadly last year. The departures include a 1,000-yard running back in Jonathon Brooks who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers and a 1,000-yard receiver in Xavier Worthy, taken by the Kansas City Chiefs.

To replace their receivers Texas did land Isaiah Bond, a transfer from Alabama that hauled in 48 catches for 668 yards for the Crimson Tide last year (but against Michigan in the Rose Bowl bond was limited to just 47 yards) and Matthew Golden from

the Houston Cougars. Bond was the top-rated wide receiver transfer last year and folks in Austin think he is a perfect fit for Steve Sarkisian’s offense. On the ground, CJ Baxter will attempt to fill in for Brooks. Baxter averaged a very solid 4.8 yards per carry last season and had five touchdowns.