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Podcast: One thing to know about each 2025 Michigan football opponent

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie07/03/25CSayf23
Key opposing players Michigan Wolverines football will face this coming season include Jeremiah Smith, Demond Williams Jr., Aidan Chiles and Dylan Raiola. (Photos by USA TODAY Sports Images)
Key opposing players Michigan Wolverines football will face this coming season include Jeremiah Smith, Demond Williams Jr., Aidan Chiles and Dylan Raiola. (Photos by USA TODAY Sports Images)

On this episode of The Wolverine Podcast, Clayton Sayfie breaks down the Michigan Wolverines football schedule and gives one thing to know about each opponent.

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Estimated time stamps for each topic are below:
(00:00) – Intro
(1:20) – New Mexico
(3:28) – Oklahoma
(8:04) – Central Michigan
(9:42) – Nebraska
(13:00) – Wisconsin
(16:08) – USC
(19:25) – Washington
(23:49) – Michigan State
(27:00) – Purdue
(30:01) – Northwestern
(32:26) – Maryland
(34:34) – Ohio State

One thing to know about Michigan opponents

Here are some excerpts from Sayfie’s notes on Michigan opponents:

• Oklahoma: Brent Venables is on the hot seat. Before Venables took over for Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma hadn’t gone under .500 since 1998, the last of John Blake’s disappointing three-year stint as head coach, and now he’s gone under .500 two of three seasons with a 10-win campaign sandwiched in between.

• Nebraska: Nebraska got some help for sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola. He completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 2,819 yards and 13 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, but the OL and weapons around him have improved, at least on paper.

• USC:  Lincoln Riley has his next quarterback. Miller Moss had an up and down season but was kinda scapegoated. He’s at Louisville now under Jeff Brohm and I think he’ll have a good last season in college. Jayden Maiava took over as the starter in the last four games and went 3-1 with the lone loss coming to Notre Dame. 

• Washington: Washington may be flying under the radar. Demond Williams Jr. is a breakout candidate — 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, small but shifty and has a good arm. He was playing as a freshman last year behind Will Rogers — too good to keep off the field — and then took over the starting job at the end of the year.

• Michigan State: Aidan Chiles is one of the most important QBs in the Big Ten for his team this season … not because he will be the best QB in the Big Ten or because they’ll compete for championships, but how he does will pretty much determine if they make a bowl game for the first time since 2021 or not.

• Ohio State: Ohio State is in a similar spot to Michigan last season, with no head-coaching change being a key difference. New coordinators on each side of the ball.