Texas vs. Michigan Week 2 Preview: Keys to the Game

Two starkly different identities will clash in front of the biggest venue in college sports as both Texas and Michigan look to overpower the other in an early season matchup.

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland (18) celebrates after making a catch against the Washington Huskies during the fourth quarter in the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports / Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

In its first true test of the college football season, the Texas Longhorns head to Ann Arbor, Michigan to face the national champion Wolverines. 

Both teams are extremely talented on both sides of the ball. 2025 draft projections have up to six first-rounders between the two teams alone, and one could easily project five or more All-Americans from the two schools. 

The two teams will meet on the gridiron in the largest stadium in North America, Michigan Stadium or ‘The Big House’, where nearly 108 thousand fans will be screaming with expectations of a historic matchup between two of the winningest teams in CFB history. Both teams think they’re winning this game, and both fanbases will do their best to populate the stands with Maize and Blue, or Burnt Orange for the visitors. 

FanDuel Sportsbook currently has the visiting Longhorns as a 3.5-point favorite, a surprising line given the atmosphere of a Michigan home game, and a testament to the strength of the Longhorns team. But games aren’t decided in June, or by betting lines. They are won in a few distinct ways, where each team's strengths battle to overtake the others. 

Given the greatness of this matchup, each team will need to be on their A-game. Here are the keys to the game for both Texas and Michigan.

Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian during spring practice at the Frank Denius practice fields in Austin, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman

Texas Wins If…

… it’s offense quiets the crowd.

No matter how good the 2024 Longhorns defense looks, a Steve Sarkisian-led team will always be identified by one thing. Offense.

Sarkisian is one of the best innovators in the nation on the offensive side of the ball, and with a full off-season to prepare for this first matchup, he is sure to have a solid gameplan heading north. 

Home crowds feed off of momentum and mistakes. If Texas starts the game slow, either with a three-and-out or turnover in the first two drives, it will be hard to gain any sort of momentum in hostile territory. With over 100,000 voices yelling in your ear, quarterback Quinn Ewers has to shoulder the load, and not succumb to the pressure of playing in that environment. Ewers and Sarkisian will need a big play early, especially through the air, to be able to punch the energy out of the crowd. 

This will likely be the best defense Texas sees all season, so Ewers needs to not only prove his ability against Michigan but also the rest of the schedule they play afterward. Sarkisian spent the offseason bringing in speed to the 40 Acres with transfers like Isaiah Bond and Silas Bolden. Those legs will need to be on display to control the game. A strong start to the first quarter is necessary for a Texas team that struggled last year in the middle eight minutes of the game, and without that, the Longhorns may struggle to ever find their footing.

Michigan Wins If…

…They control the clock

Though head coach Jim Harbaugh is no longer with the team, the identity of the Wolverines will likely stay the same. Control the clock with the run game, dominate the trenches, and make big plays on defense. This matchup will be the epitome of the SEC vs Big Ten identities. 

Texas, with its talented roster and high-powered offense. Michigan, with its older team built in the trenches. Both playstyles can work, Michigan proved that last year, but will that success continue against the Longhorns?

Michigan no longer has star quarterback J.J. McCarthy, one of the few quarterbacks in recent history capable of moving the ball downfield. New quarterback Alex Orji is much more built for the ground game, and he and returning running back Donovan Edwards will combine for many option plays. 

Michigan will try to control the clock and keep the score minimal. They won’t win a shootout against Ewers and Sarkisian, but if the game comes down to three final possessions, the Wolverines will do their best to have two of them. The Wolverines were fifth among power-five teams in time of possession last year and second the year before that. It’s identity revolves around winning the line of scrimmage, and with question marks on the Texas d-line its possible Edwards and Orji combine to be too much for the Texas front.