Early Vegas point spreads released for Michigan's games against Texas, Washington, Ohio State
Michigan Wolverines football has a challenging schedule in 2024, made even tougher after losing nearly two dozen NFL Draft prospects and most of its coaching staff. FanDuel Sportsbook released early point spreads for marquee college football games, and the Maize and Blue are underdogs in two tilts.
According to FanDuel, Michigan is a 2.5-point home underdog against Texas Sept. 7, an 11.5-point favorite over Washington in Seattle Oct. 5 and a 7-point underdog to Ohio State in Columbus Nov. 30.
FanDuel also set Michigan’s over/under win total at 9.5 games. The Wolverines have won 12 or more contests in each of the last three seasons and 10-plus in six of the last eight full-length campaigns (excluding 2020).
Texas won the Big 12 in its final season as part of the conference, before moving to the SEC. The Longhorns finished with a 12-2 record and made their first ever College Football Playoff appearance. They fell to Washington, 37-31, in the Sugar Bowl semifinal.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian returns 74 percent of his team’s production, which ranks 19th in the country per ESPN.com’s metric. That includes quarterback Quinn Ewers, who threw for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns with 6 interceptions in 12 games. FanDuel has Texas’ projected win total at 10.5 games.
Michigan and Texas have squared off only once in history. The Longhorns won a classic at the Rose Bowl, 38-37, Jan. 1, 2005. U-M will make a visit to Austin Sept. 11, 2027.
Michigan will travel to Seattle in early October for a national championship game rematch. The Wolverines won 34-13 Jan. 8 in Houston, but both programs have undergone major changes in the weeks since. Each has a new head coach, with Jim Harbaugh (replaced by Sherrone Moore) heading to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Kalen DeBoer (replaced by Jedd Fisch) leaving for Alabama. Fisch, of course, was a Michigan assistant coach from 2015-16. Washington lost over 20 players to the transfer portal following DeBoer’s departure. Their over/under win total is 7.5.
Michigan is 9-5 all time against Washington, a new member of the Big Ten beginning this season. Fellow West-Coast institutions Oregon, UCLA and USC are also set to enter the conference.
Michigan has dominated Ohio State in recent history. The bitterly hated Buckeyes won eight-straight meetings until 2021, when the Wolverines turned the tide with a 42-27 victory at The Big House. Michigan notched its first win in Columbus, 45-23, in 2022, and took down OSU again in Ann Arbor last season, 30-24.
The Wolverines did pull off the win in 2022, but Ohio Stadium has been a house of horrors for Michigan this century. The Wolverines’ last win in the venue before two seasons ago came in 2000.
Ohio State is projected by FanDuel to win 10.5 games. That’s the most in the Big Ten, tied with Oregon. The Buckeyes are set to bring back the 48th-most production in the sport, including several key transfers.
