JUST IN: A quick look back at Michigan football’s performance versus the new Big Ten opponents
In the 2024–2025 academic year, UCLA, USC, Washington, and Oregon will become the fourth member of the esteemed Big Ten Conference. These teams and the Michigan Wolverines have faced off in important games in the past, such as 13 Rose Bowls and the National Championship Game. Let’s examine the background of these programmes briefly:
Washington Huskies vs. Michigan Wolverines: 9-5
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Rose Bowl: 2–2.
More games than any other new Big Ten team, Michigan has played Washington. In addition to their 1953 first meeting, the teams have since faced off four more times in the Rose Bowl and, in case anyone has forgotten, in the 2024 National Championship.
The 1978 Rose Bowl was the first notable match between the two, and it was there that
Tyrone Wheatley, a running back for Michigan, had a career-high 15 carries for 235 yards and three touchdowns. With an 88-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter, he probably would have broken the Rose Bowl record for rushing yards (247) if he hadn’t been experiencing back spasms. Nevertheless, the Wolverines prevailed 38–31.
The series’ 2020 era came next, of course. Michigan advanced to their first of three consecutive College Football Playoff appearances in 2021 after defeating Washington at Ann Arbour. After transferring to Washington, Michael Penix Jr. helped the Huskies get to the No. 2 spot in the nation in 2023, where they would play the top-seeded Wolverines in the National Championship. Donovan Edwards, Blake Corum, and
