No. 14 Michigan will take on New Mexico at Michigan Stadium on Saturday to open the 2025 season. Saturday’s home opener will mark the first time that Michigan has faced New Mexico in program history.
Just one year removed from winning the College Football Playoff national championship, the Wolverines were not quite as effective as they finished the 2024 season with a 8-5 overall record under first-year coach Sherrone Moore. Michigan has been victorious in each of its last six season openers with the most recent defeat coming in a 24-17 loss to Notre Dame in 2018.Â
It was a revolving door at the quarterback position for the Wolverines in 2024 as Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, and Davis Warren all took snaps under center. The trio only threw 12 touchdown passes the entire season, but Michigan is hoping to get a significant bump in production with former No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood leading the offense.
Meanwhile, New Mexico is fresh off a 5-7 season in which quarterback Devon Dampier was a bright spot. However, Dampier transferred to Utah, and now the Lobos will be turning to Idaho transfer Jack Layne at quarterback. After starting the 2024 season with an 0-4 record, New Mexico won five of its final eight games to fall just short of bowl eligibility.
How to watch Michigan vs. New Mexico liveÂ
Date: Saturday, Aug. 30 |Â Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Michigan Stadium — Ann Arbor, Michigan
TV: NBC |Â Streaming: Peacock
Michigan vs. New Mexico: Need to know
Underwood looks to start collegiate career on the right foot: It’s not a common occurrence that true freshmen get an opportunity to start at quarterback in their first game at the college level. However, that’s exactly the situation that Underwood finds himself in as Michigan opens its season. In fact, he’ll be just the fourth true freshman to ever start in a Michigan season opener. The dual-threat signal caller just oozes athleticism and the type of gamebreaking ability that a top-tier program covets. Underwood accounted for 35 touchdowns during his senior year at Belleville High School in Michigan. Obviously, the college level is a completely different animal, but Underwood has all the makings of a sensational quarterback that can keep a defenses on its toes.
New Mexico begins another rebuild: For the third time in as many seasons, the Lobos enter the season under a new coach. Jason Eck comes over from Idaho after Bronco Mendenhall left to take the Utah State job. New Mexico will turn to Layne at the quarterback position after Dampier transferred out of the program. With a new quarterback in the fold, the Lobos’ biggest strength could be the running game, which is led by Montana State transfer Scottre Humphrey. Humphrey was an FCS All-American and rushed for 1,386 yards and 16 touchdowns a season ago.Â
New playmakers on offense: Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards led the Wolverines backfield throughout the 2024 season, but it’s a changing of the guard this season. Alabama transfer Justice Haynes rushed for 616 yards and nine touchdown in two seasons in Tuscaloosa, and now he will help lead Michigan’s ground attack. From a receiving standpoint, tight end Colston Loveland was the team’s leading receiver a season ago, but he’s moved onto the NFL after being drafted by the Chicago Bears. Indiana graduate transfer Donaven McCulley, Semaj Morgan, and Frederick Moore will look to establish themselves as Underwood’s top targets in the passing game. Simply put, there’s quite a few new faces on the Michigan offense, but the talent is definitely there.
Michigan vs. New Mexico prediction, picks
Michigan is an overwhelming favorite to begin the season, and rightfully so. While the spread is large, it’s still the right play in this particular matchup. There’s a good chance that Underwood plays the majority of this game in order to gain the necessary game reps even if Michigan races out to a big lead. From a New Mexico standpoint, this is a team that only returns one starter on the offensive line from last year’s group on top of having a new quarterback. With that in mind, the Wolverines will come out with a statement win to open the Underwood era. Pick: Michigan -34.5
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