Michigan Football: Top five must-see Wolverines games for 2015

Nov 29, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Freddy Canteen (17) is hoisted up by a teammates Justice Hayes (5) and offensive lineman Kyle Kalis (67) following his fourth quarter touchdown at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won the game 42-28. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

After a season that Michigan fans would rather forget, these five games are contests to look forward to in 2015. 

Michigan football fans haven’t had much to be excited about in recent years. The Brady Hoke era was not a kind one to the maize and blue faithful. However, with the hiring of Jim Harbaugh, a new page has turned in Ann Arbor.

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Michigan fared poorly against rivals under the Hoke administration. The Wolverines went 1-2 against Michigan State, with the sole win coming on a last second field goal in a low scoring 12-10 battle, and perhaps even worse, went 1-2 against the hated Ohio State Buckeyes.

The only win came in Hoke’s first season, a 40-34 home victory against a Buckeye squad embroiled in controversy, and coached by interim head coach Luke Fickell after previous head coach Jim Tressel was forced out due to NCAA rule violations, and before current Ohio State coach Urban Meyer arrived in Columbus.

While Hoke seemed to focus on rhetoric, such as calling Ohio State “Ohio” and not by it’s correct name, Harbaugh will focus on results. No more “Ohio” nicknames, instead he expects to let the play on the field do the talking. After the results the previous regime put up, it should be a nice change for Michigan fans.

It’s reasonable to expect that any future greatness that the Wolverines produce will be down the road, and that this season will likely be a struggle at times. The current roster is full of questions, particularly at quarterback where it seems no clear front-runner has emerged. That said, with a favorable schedule and two of their three big rivalry games at home, there are a few key games that could swing this team from a 6-6 season to 9-3 or perhaps even better.

Let’s look at five games that could make that difference.

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