247Sports names Michigan football biggest 2023 trap game
Michigan football went 12-0 in the regular season last year en route to a 13-1 season. It was the second straight Big Ten championship for the Wolverines and the second straight year the maize and blue were in the College Football Playoff.
The mantra this offseason has been “national championship or bust,” but to have a repeat performance this season, given the schedule, Michigan has zero room for error. There are no Power Five teams on the nonconference schedule, and the big challenges don’t come until the end of the season when Penn State and Ohio State loom.
247Sports put together a list of each contending team’s trap games this year, and the outlet gave a surprising choice for Michigan in 2023.
MICHIGAN: AT NEBRASKA, SEPT. 30
A Michigan regular-season loss has not happened since the midway point of the 2021 season, which speaks to the job Jim Harbaugh has done in Ann Arbor of late. Michigan’s first road game of the 2023 campaign — at Nebraska — could have upset potential. The Cornhuskers loaded up in the transfer portal and could find success in the passing game with Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims seemingly entrenched as the new starting quarterback.
While that game could be tougher than usual, in our opinion, it doesn’t qualify as a trap game, per se. Usually, trap games are teams that are overlooked a week or two before a big contest is coming up. Nebraska is an unknown at this point, but coming a week before Minnesota, and it being the Wolverines’ first on the road, we expect the Huskers will have Michigan’s full attention.
So, what’s our choice? That would come in Week 12 at Maryland. While the Wolverines have generally handled the Terrapins, last year it was the trap game in Week 4. It took all game before the Terps were put away, and it came before the first road game in Week 5 at Iowa. This year, Michigan faces Maryland on the road one week after going to Happy Valley and the week before hosting rival Ohio State. What’s more, former Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is on staff in College Park and would love nothing more than to embarrass his former team, despite Jim Harbaugh being the first to give him a chance as the bona fide offensive coordinator.
If Michigan is unscathed in Week 12, it’ll need to have utmost focus, because as we saw last year with Ohio State at Maryland, it might not exactly be a walk in the park.
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