Top 10 non-conference CFB games in state of Michigan in 2022

There may be some upsets among these games listed below as a school like Eastern Michigan is looking to pull off an upset in non-conference play as well as Michigan and Michigan State trying to avoid being upset.

No. 9

UConn has had a rough couple of seasons as they only won one game last season and that victory was against Yale. They also did not play a game in 2020 and have only won four games since 2018.

The Huskies are predicted to be the third worst team by Athlon Sports this season out of the 131 division one FBS teams. Michigan on the other hand is coming off of their best season since 1997. This game should not be close as Michigan is by far the more talented team by a large margin.

If the Huskies were to pull off this upset it would be the most shocking upset since Howard upset UNLV in 2017. The Wolverines may win this game by 50 or more points and many third-string players for Michigan should get some quality playing time in this game.

No. 8

Akron is not necessarily seen on the same level as UConn but they are predicted to finish in last place in their division and have only won three games in the past three seasons. However, the Zips brought in former Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead who won 14 games in his two seasons there and Akron did add players through the transfer portal to boost their roster.

Michigan State did lose their star running back in Kenneth Walker but the Spartans did well through the transfer portal. They are not predicted to win 11 games like they accomplished last season but there is nothing suggesting that they are incapable of winning a lot of games in 2022. The Spartans should dominate Akron and win by three or more touchdowns.

No. 7

This may be Eastern Michigan’s most talented team under head coach Chris Creighton and their only major glaring question mark on offense is replacing Ben Bryant who transferred back to Cincinnati.

The Eagles are bringing in Troy transfer Taylor Powell to replace Bryant and he will have two top targets to throw to in Hassan Beydoun and Dylan Grumman. Samson Evans should lead the Eagles’ running attack behind a solid, experienced offensive line. Eastern Michigan does bring back a lot on defense but they need to improve on that side of the ball this season as their defense was not a top-tier defense last year.

Arizona State has had a turbulent offseason with an NCAA investigation and losing key players to the transfer portal.

However, the Sun Devils should be solid on defense again this season and did add some key transfers to replace those players who transferred to other schools. This game is at home for Arizona State and they should defeat Eastern but don’t be shocked if the Eagles pull off the upset.

No. 6

Hawaii like Arizona State did not have the best offseason. The Rainbow Warriors players during a Jan. 8 Senate hearing spoke of allegations and criticisms about Todd Graham who would resigned from his job shortly after.  Hawaii nearly had 20 players enter the transfer portal as well this offseason. However, the Rainbow Warriors hired former Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang to lead the program moving forward and he did bring in a couple of quality and productive players from other schools via the portal.

Michigan should dominate this game as Hawaii is playing on the road and learning a new system under their new head coach. The Rainbow Warriors with their offense may keep it close in the 1st quarter but the Wolverines should win this game by four touchdowns or more by dominating in the second half.