Army at Michigan (Saturday at 12 p.m. ET, FOX)
Spread: Michigan -22
How fitting on the 150th anniversary of college football that Army travels to the Big House for the first time since 1962? Two of college football’s traditional powers square off for the first time in 57 years.
Neither the Wolverines nor the Black Knights lived up to lofty expectations in Week 1, but both were still victorious. Michigan’s defense seemed to sorely miss stars like Rashan Gary, Devin Bush and Chase Winovich as Middle Tennessee State rolled up over 300 yards of offense and put 21 points on the board.
Army wasn’t able to put away a pesky Rice squad until late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. hit Kell Walker for a 17-yard touchdown that proved to be the winning score.
The issue with Army’s three yards and a cloud of dust, grind-the-clock, shorten-the-game type of offense is that it removes the margins. That leads to games against lesser sides sometimes being tighter. The good news with Army’s three-yard and a cloud of dust, grind-the-clock, the shorten-the-game type of offense is that it does the same thing against more talented programs.
If you remember back to last season, the Black Knights stormed into Norman and nearly pulled the biggest upset of the college football season against Oklahoma, with the Sooners finally able to overcome Army in overtime.
I don’t feel confident enough to call the upset that would seem so fitting on the 150th anniversary of the sport we love so much, but the Black Knights will shorten this contest and keep it competitive.
Pick: Michigan 24, Army 14