Michigan Football: Ranking Wolverines’ 2020 opponents by toughness

Michigan opens the 2020 season on the road against a tough Pac-12 opponent. The Huskies are coming off a disappointing 8-5 season and they lose Jacob Eason, but Jacob Sirman could be a breakout star at quarterback as a sophomore. Don’t forget, the program also lost Chris Petersen who suddenly retired and gave the reins to defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake.

Playing on the road in a loud, but potentially un-full, Pac-12 stadium could cause some major problems for a brand new starting quarterback at Michigan. This one will be tricky because it’s the Michigan offense starting fresh while no one knows what to expect from Washington.

If you’re looking for a Big Ten program to buy stock in immediately before it explodes, look no further than Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were average in the first couple of seasons under PJ Fleck, going just 12-13, but they broke out in year three, going 11-2 with an Outback Bowl win over Auburn.

Fleck has done a fantastic job with the program and it’s trending up, especially with Tanner Morgan returning in 2020 as well as Rashod Bateman.

Minnesota also had the No. 10 defense in the country in 2019 and returns five starters and had the No. 21 scoring offense, returning eight starters. This game has “slip-up” written all over it.