And now Michigan's season begins. The stats for Michigan thus far have been gaudy. They're the only team in the nation allowing less than 10 points a game, and they're on track to be one of three FBS teams since 1978 to win every game by at least 14 points.
The schedule thus far: East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green, Rutgers, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue. I'm not saying every Top 25 team could do the same, but I bet most could.
After a 9-game undercard, Michigan finally steps into the center ring on Saturday (noon ET, Fox).
Not only do the third-ranked Wolverines face No. 10 Penn State, they face a court of public opinion that has already rendered them guilty of winning two straight tainted Big Ten championships and nine asterisked wins thus far in 2023.
Will Michigan thrive in an "us against the world" or wilt? Will the Wolverines feel emboldened to leave no doubt moving forward, or burdened by the duty to not just win games, but to defend their head coach and their university's reputation?
Oh, yeah, there is another team playing in this game. Thanks to their 31-0 blanking of Iowa back in September, Penn State would likely come out ahead of a 3-way tie between the Nittany Lions, Wolverines and Ohio State in the event the Buckeyes lose in Ann Arbor later this month.
Saturday's game pits the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 scoring defenses, so maximizing scoring opportunities will be the difference. Both teams rank in the top 10 nationally in red zone touchdown percentage. Drew Allar has been stellar at home (14 touchdowns vs. one interception), but JJ McCarthy leads the nation in passer rating on the road.
Penn State has faced two elite defenses to Michigan's none. In the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions dropped more points on Iowa than any opponent in a string of 14 games.
Perhaps Michigan is so good they'll overcome a quality opponent, the literal noise of a 100,000-strong home crowd and a the proverbial noise of being the center of an existential controversy. Or perhaps the Wolverines will face real adversity for this first time this year and fold.
Michigan has been playing football for two months now, but the season begins Saturday.
Additional Games:
-- Virginia at No. 11 Louisville (7:30 p.m. ET Thursday, ESPN): The quietest 8-1 team in the country can clinch its first ACC Championship appearance with a win here and and a loss by No. 24 North Carolina on Saturday.
-- North Texas at SMU (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2): With their admittance to the AAC, North Texas hoped this series (dubbed the Safeway Bowl, but really it should be the Hayden Fry Bowl) would develop into a real rivalry. Alas, SMU joined the ACC for free rather than remain in the AAC and play UNT annually. In this last scheduled meeting of schools 35 miles apart, SMU looks to move to 36-6-1 all time and, more important to them, 6-0 in conference play.
-- Wyoming at UNLV (10:45 p.m. ET, FS1): In all likelihood, this is an elimination game in the MW Championship hunt. UNLV enters at 4-1 in conference play, Wyoming at 3-2.
-- No. 8 Alabama at Kentucky (noon ET, ESPN): Alabama clinches its conference-best 15th SEC Championship appearance with a victory, as well as its third in four years, and its 10th in the Nick Saban era. Kentucky has beaten the Tide twice in 41 years... but both times came in Lexington.
-- Texas Tech at No. 16 Kansas (noon ET, FS1): KU needs a win to remain in the Big 12 Championship race -- you are not hallucinating -- while a loss would require Texas Tech to win its final two games (including Texas in Austin) to avoid missing a bowl game.
-- Georgia Tech at Clemson (noon ET, ABC): Was last week's win over Notre Dame a turning point or a blip? Georgia Tech, third place in the ACC, has won three of four and scored 91 points in its last two outings. Tech beat Clemson at Death Valley in Dabo Swinney's first game at the Tigers' head coach, and hasn't won at Clemson since.
-- No. 21 Arizona at Colorado (2 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network): Break up the Arizona Wildcats. Jedd Fisch's team has won three straight Pac-12 games for the first time since 2017, while Colorado has steadily moved in the wrong direction since September. If CU is to make a bowl in Coach Prime's first season, the Buffs likely need to win here and at Wazzu next week Friday.
-- Memphis at Charlotte (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+): Memphis is 4-1 in AAC play, next in line behind a trio of undefeated teams. Charlotte must win out to reach a bowl in Biff Poggi's first season.
-- Appalachian State at Georgia State (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+): App State clinches a bowl trip with a win in Atlanta.
-- Troy at ULM (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+): Troy needs a win to maintain its 1-game lead over Texas State and Arkansas State in the Sun Belt West.
-- No. 18 Utah at No. 5 Washington (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox): Washington hasn't played a complete game since beating Oregon. Oregon shook off its loss to Washington by beating Utah 35-6 in Salt Lake City. What kind of performance can the Huskies put on the Utes at home? Or do the three preceding sentences convince you Utah is going to win?
-- No. 13 Tennessee at No. 14 Missouri (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS): Tennessee can win its first SEC East title since 2007 by beating Missouri on the road and by then snapping Georgia's 20-game winning streak. A Missouri win makes the Tigers a good bet to play in a New Year's Six game.
-- Miami at No. 4 Florida State (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC): Florida State defeated Miami and Florida last season, but this year represents a great opportunity to fully separate the Seminoles from its two in-state rivals in a way they haven't done in a decade.
-- Rutgers at No. 22 Iowa (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN): Last week's Iowa game against Northwestern set a college football record for lowest over/under at 29.5; the game came in at 17. This week's game broke that record with a 28.5-point projected total. Who is taking the over?
-- No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 2 Georgia (7 p.m. ET, ESPN): Lane Kiffin has one (1) lifetime win over a Power 5 team that went on to win nine games that season. Georgia's already there. A victory in Sanford Stadium would qualify as the biggest in Lane's career, and arguably the biggest regular-season win in Ole Miss history (this is the first time an AP Top 10 Ole Miss team has faced the AP No. 1 since 1959).
-- West Virginia at No. 17 Oklahoma (7 p.m. ET, Fox): Five teams are tied for second in the Big 12 at 4-2, and these are two of them. Oklahoma looks to avoid its first 3-game losing streak since, ahem, last season.
-- No. 7 Texas at TCU (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC): In Texas's final visit to Fort Worth, Sonny Dykes looks to play the ultimate spoiler. Dykes is 3-0 as a head coach against the Longhorns. Quinn Ewers will be back for the Longhorns as they look to move to 3-3 at Amon Carter Stadium since TCU joined the Big 12, and 65-28-1 against the Horned Frogs all-time.
-- Duke at No. 24 North Carolina (8 p.m. ET, ACC Network): Both schools are nipping at Louisville's heels to remain in the ACC race, and both would really like to beat the other. UNC has dominated this series since the mid-1970s and has taken four straight.
-- USC at No. 6 Oregon (10:30 p.m. ET, Fox): Is this the week the bottom falls out for USC, or is it next week after Oregon wins by 30?