Ranking Michigan football’s 2024 games by difficulty: No. 11, Northwestern
Part two of a 12-article series in which we rank Michigan Wolverines football‘s 2024 regular-season games by difficulty — with 12 being the easiest and one the most challenging. Checking in at No. 11, a Nov. 23 matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats.
Head coach: David Braun
Year: SecondRecord at Northwestern: 8-5
On3 Industry national recruiting rankings
2024: 74th2023: 43rd2022: 48th2021: 46th2020: 39th
2023 record: 8-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten
Northwestern’s 2023 season was surreal. Last summer, a hazing scandal engulfed the Wildcats’ program, and the accusations led to the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald shortly before fall camp began. Assistant coach David Braun — who had just landed his first gig as an FBS defensive coordinator — was promoted to interim head coach for the season.
The program appeared to be a mess not only off the field but on it. The Wildcats were 1-11 in 2022 and the decisive pick, by a landslide, to finish seventh in the Big Ten West entering the 2023 campaign.
What Braun and Co. did from there was amazing. The Wildcats finished tied second in the West Division with an 8-5 overall mark and 5-4 record in league play. They won games over UTEP, Minnesota, Howard, Maryland, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois and capped off the year with a 14-7 Las Vegas Bowl victory over Utah.
Braun earned the full-time head-coaching job in mid-November and named Big Ten Coach of the Year weeks later..
Defense was the team’s calling card, finishing 40th in the country by allowing just 22.5 points per game. The offense was 106th in scoring and 124th in yards per contest but did enough to win games in a dismal Big Ten West.
Did you know?
• Braun came from North Dakota State, where he was defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2019-22.
• Northwestern wide receiver A.J. Henning played three seasons at Michigan, earning his degree before transferring to Evanston. He caught 45 passes for 418 yards and 43 touchdowns last season, adding 110 rushing yards and 1 score on the ground. Henning is back for a fifth season of college football.
• Michigan last played Northwestern in 2021, winning 33-7 on Oct. 23. The Maize and Blue have won seven-straight games in the series and hold a 59-15-2 overall edge.
• Michigan graduate offensive lineman Josh Priebe played four seasons at Northwestern and was selected as third-team All-Big Ten last season. He spent the spring with the Wolverines.
2024 overview
Northwestern has a lot to replace on offense, particularly at quarterback and wide receiver. Signal-caller Ben Bryant has graduated, after completing 62.5 percent of his passes for 1,807 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Leading wide receiver Cam Johnson (54 grabs, 715 yards, 6 TD) is also off to the NFL.
The Wildcats received huge news in early May, when former Vanderbilt (2020-22) and Mississippi State (2023) quarterback Mike Wright made his pledge out of the transfer portal. He’s theown for 2,520 yards and 24 touchdowns with 14 interceptions in 38 career contests. He’s added 10 ushing scores and 1,229 yards on the ground. He’s started 14 career starts — 11 at Vanderbilt and three with the Bulldogs.
New offensive coordinator Zach Lujan, who was the FCS Coordinator of the Year with South Dakota State in 2023, will likely tap Wright as the man to lead an offense that had little success other than protecting the football last season, finishing sixth in the nation with only 9 turnovers.
Three starting offensive linemen and running back Cam Porter (651 yards, 4 touchdowns) return.
The Northwestern defense returns seven starters and slotted 36th nationally in total defense, giving up only 340.8 yards per tilt. Linebacker Xander Mueller is a headliner of the defense following a third-team All-Big Ten campaign in 2023. He checked in second on the team and tied fourth in the Big Ten with 110 total tackles.
Why No. 11 in our rankings?
Michigan has struggled the week before Ohio State each of the last two seasons, escaping with wins over Illinois and Maryland. Northwestern is this year’s potential penultimate regular-season game trap. However, the Wildcats will be hard pressed to recreate the magic they had in 2023. By late-November, too, they’ll be out of the Big Ten race.
The post Ranking Michigan football’s 2024 games by difficulty: No. 11, Northwestern appeared first on On3.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings