The Five Most Dangerous Games For U-M In 2022
5. Oct. 8: at Indiana
Though Indiana found a way to steal one from Michigan back in 2020 for the first time since 1987, the reality is that the Hoosiers pose very little - if any - threat to Michigan's championship hopes under normal circumstances. What makes this year a bit different is that the placement of the contest comes at an interesting point in the season for Michigan.
A week prior to their road matchup with Indiana, the Wolverines will clash with the Hawkeyes out in Iowa City for what will likely be a nightcap game at Kinnick. Traditionally speaking, night games in Iowa City typically don't end well if you're the visiting team with championship hopes (see Michigan in 2016).
A week after the road matchup with Indiana, Michigan is set to welcome Penn State to the Big House. The Wolverines have lost three of the last five to the Nittany Lions, including a brutal home loss in 2020 to an 0-5 Penn State team. The rivalry between Michigan and Penn State isn't anywhere near the level of an Ohio State or Michigan State, but the Nittany Lions certainly pose a serious threat to Michigan's championship hopes in 2022.
Sandwiched in between those two contests is a road matchup with Indiana, a pesky team that will certainly pounce on any advantage they can find over Michigan. Could be fatigue from the week before, could be the all-too-common mistake of looking ahead to the following week, could be any number of scenarios.
At the end of the day, its Indiana's placement on the schedule makes that makes it a legitimate threat to Michigan's championship hopes in 2022.
4. Oct. 15: Penn State
As mentioned above, Penn State has won three of the last five over Michigan - including two of the last three. Even so, the Nittany Lions are still likely having nightmares of Erick All running down the sideline in Happy Valley last season - scoring the game winning touchdown and keeping Michigan's incredible championship run alive.
PSU quarterback Sean Clifford returns for his 17th season and his experience will certainly be a valuable asset on the road this fall. The Nittany Lions will arrive to Ann Arbor with revenge on their mind and, if this trip goes anything like their last trip to the Wolverine state, they could very well walk out with their second-consecutive win in the Big House.
3. Oct. 29: Michigan State
As a Michigan fan, I can't tell you how much it pains me to list Michigan State at No. 3 as the greatest threat to Michigan's championship hopes in 2022. However, the reality is that Mel Tucker is 2-0 against Jim Harbaugh and 0-3 is entirely possible if the Wolverines allow the Spartans to hang around in 2022.
Fortunately for the Wolverines, they'll have a bye-week before facing the Spartans inside of the Big House on Oct. 29 - meaning they'll have plenty of time reflect on the injustice that took place in 2021.
2. Oct. 1: at Iowa
When you're a highly ranked team with championship hopes, the last place you want to visit on a fall Saturday is Kinnick Stadium - especially at night.
Unless catastrophe strikes through the first four weeks of the season, the Wolverines will enter their first road game of the 2022 season with a perfect 4-0 record and presumably a top-ten ranking...and that road game takes place at Kinnick.
Michigan fans won't need to go too far back into the record books to remember what heartbreak at Kinnick feels like. In 2016, No. 3 ranked Michigan walked into Iowa City for a primetime matchup with the unranked Hawkeyes at Kinnick. By the time the dust settled, the scoreboard read 14-13 and the 9-0 Wolverines had suffered their first loss of the season - taking a massive hit to their conference championship hopes in the process.
1. Nov. 26: at Ohio State
The Michigan Wolverines - and Jim Harbaugh - finally got over the hump in 2021 by beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in incredible fashion. In what was expected to be a full four-quarter fist-fight, the Wolverines spent the better part of the afternoon slapping around their arch nemesis in the Big House.
It's safe to say that Ohio State hasn't forgotten the 42-27 beatdown, or the sight of 100,000 fans wearing Maize and Blue rushing the field, or the dance party that occurred on the field shortly thereafter, or even some of the chatter that took place once the game was over.
Though Michigan got the home win in 2021, the harsh reality is that the Wolverines haven't won in Columbus since 2000 - before most of the players who will play in the game were even born. The 2022 matchup with Ohio State in Columbus is unquestionably the greatest threat to Michigan's hopes of repeating as Big Ten Champion.
