As the 2020 regular season ends, Michigan prepares to waive the white flag and close out at 2-4, and the B1G's inglorious administrative debacle concludes with more cancellations, I wanted to look ahead to the 2021 schedule.
Non-conference games: Oregon, Tulsa Akron
Oregon will be good - I would guess a preseason top 15 ranking. Tulsa is a top 25 team this year, with one of the best passing defenses in the country - a good challenge for a new QB. And Akron is trash
Crossover conference games: Minnesota (opener), Nebraska, Purdue. Who the hell knows, the West seems to be equal across the board, who knows what you get out of Minnesota and Purdue.
Division games: Two things to note. 1) They are all in a row to close out the season. Has that happened before? Six straight division games? 2) Close out with Penn State (home) and Michigan (road).
It's a solid, robust schedule. We have to break in the new QB and other new starters and survive Oregon (I'm assuming Minnesota won't cause trouble in the opener). Tulsa will not be a walkover, so it's a good test. And then run through the conference.
Even with a new QB, we should be shooting playoffs or bust. I'm not banking on running the table, but I'm not counting it out, either. It's going to be a fun season - seeing a full schedule, finally getting that Oregon game, watching a fun QB battle, and maybe Michigan will actually show up for its long overdue beatdown.
