Detroit Jock City
Fansided

Michigan football: Game-by-game predictions for the 2017 season

By Matt Snyder

ANN ARBOR, MI - OCTOBER 22: Head coach Jim Harbaugh leads the team onto the field while playing the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 22, 2016 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 41-8. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - OCTOBER 22: Head coach Jim Harbaugh leads the team onto the field while playing the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 22, 2016 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 41-8. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 13
Next
Michigan football
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 31: Da’Mario Jones /

Game 9 vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Former Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck has taken the proverbial helm at Minnesota so expect plenty of boat rowing in the Twin Cities. In all seriousness though, Fleck has shown himself to be a capable head coach and should do good things with a Golden Gophers squad that was pretty alright last season.

Minnesota didn’t rise up and beat a top-notch team last year, but they won all the game they should have. Their losses came at Wisconsin, at Nebraska, at Penn State, and vs. Iowa. None of those are embarrassing. On the other hand, their best wins were at home against Northwestern and a Holiday Bowl win over Washington State. Solid wins, not overly exciting. They finished 9-4 which, along with the hiring of Fleck, portends good things for the future of the program.

Minnesota could turn into a sneaky-good team that the Wolverines should not look past. They’re a team Michigan should beat, but this has the potential makings of an upset if Michigan fails to show up at their best. Harbaugh’s teams have not shown the propensity to arrive under-prepared or under-motivated, so I’ll take this risk as a relatively small one.

Expect Michigan to have asserted themselves by the time this game ends.

Prediction: Win (8-1)

Home/Michigan Wolverines