After processing the appetizer of the small Week 0 slate, college football returns for the main course of Week 1. Action is set to take place all across the country as the college football season gets underway. Kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET during the August 30th slate, the Michigan Wolverines will host the New Mexico Lobos. These teams enter with very different outlooks on the season, but as is the beauty of college football, anything can happen on any given Saturday.
Michigan enters the matchup as monstrous 34.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the game total set at 49.5.
This article will look at a brief preview for both teams and a pick for the Week 1 matchup.
New Mexico vs. Michigan Preview
New Mexico Preview
Jason Eck is stepping into his first season as head coach of the New Mexico Lobos. He is taking over for Bronco Mendenhall, who went 5-7 in his lone season at the helm and accepted the head coaching job at Utah State following the year. Eck most recently served as the head coach of Idaho, leading the program to 26 wins and three playoff appearances over the past three seasons. This is a leap in competition level and not an easy job circumstance for him to walk into. As a program, New Mexico has only won more than seven games in a season once since 2007.
11 transfers from the Big Sky transferred in, along with Eck for this season. This includes Idaho QB Jack Layne and RB Deshaun Buchanan, who had great success under Eck. The top two defensive players from Idaho also transferred to New Mexico in Keyshawn James-Newby and Jacton Eck, the head coach’s son. The Lobos have plenty of experience on the offensive line, and they are expected to lean on a run-heavy system. A few key members of the defense also returned from last year, headlined by DE Gabriel Lopez and LB Dimitri Johnson. The larger defensive concerns fall in the secondary, as the program has ranked 128th or worse in defensive SP+ in back-to-back years. There are plenty of moving parts across the New Mexico program, which leaves quite a range for what the team could look like.
Michigan Preview
Michigan was crowned the 2024 College Football National Champions and produced a perfect 15-0 season. They took a step back last year in the first season without Jim Harbaugh, going 8-5 under Sherrone Moore. This marked more losses than their last three seasons combined. Defensively, the Wolverines were one of the best teams in college football, but they struggled to get any source of consistent offense all year.
This is expected to change this year with highly touted recruit Bryce Underwood stepping in. Davis Warren, Alex Orji, and Jack Tuttle all took snaps at quarterback last year, but Underwood is a much more talented passer than any of these options. They failed to execute a passing play of 40+ yards all season last year. The offense is a bit lacking in top-end talent outside of the quarterback upgrade, but Michigan is still set to dominate in the trenches. This is especially the case on the defensive line with two top-10 players at their position in Rayshaun Benny and Derrick Moore. Despite losing several significant talents, headlined by fifth overall pick Mason Graham, Michigan did a nice job retooling, and this will remain a strength.
Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene is also pushing Underwood for the starting quarterback role, and the program has yet to name a starter. Either should be looked at as an upgrade compared to last year’s production. Michigan also changed offensive coordinators, bringing in North Carolina’s Chip Lindsey to help provide more creativity to the offense. The program also brought in former All-Big Ten wide receiver Donaven McCulley from Indiana and former Alabama running back Justice Haynes.
New Mexico vs. Michigan Pick
New Mexico made quite a few organizational changes this summer to build up its roster and is hoping for several players to be ready for the leap in competition talent. Getting the season started against Michigan, who open up ranked 14th in the AP Poll, only magnifies these issues.
Expect the Lobos to have some real struggles to move the football, and for the Wolverines’ defensive line to be the story of this matchup. The New Mexico offensive line is experienced, but has not always been the most successful, and this will be the most effective pass rush they will face. Jack Layne also lacks some seasoning at the quarterback position, with just 154 pass attempts last season as the primary starter at Idaho.
My initial target was the New Mexico Team Total, but the 7.5 number on DraftKings Sportsbook is just slightly too low for my liking. Instead, I am backing the Wolverines to cover the 34.5-point spread and for this game to get out of hand quickly. Michigan still managed to put up 50 points against Northwestern last year, even with its quarterback issues. Expect the offense to look cleaner this year, even if the bar is pretty close to the floor. It is worth noting that a three-game suspension is hanging over Sherrone Moore’s head, but this will not be a matchup that he misses. I struggle to see any pathway to New Mexico creating any sort of consistent offense against this Michigan defense. Count on the Wolverines to dominate the field position battle and be set up for quite a few scores. This is the type of get-right spot to open the season they were looking for, and count on the Wolverines to get off to the right start with a victory by 35+ points in Week 1.
