How does new conference expansion impact Michigan football?

When we all woke up this morning, the Big Ten was poised to expand to 16 teams next fall, adding USC and UCLA from the PAC-12 conference. That said, more conference expansion news hit the nation today, with the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies now being the next likely additions to the conference next year. This brings the Big Ten to 18 teams in total, adding a plethora of new interesting opponents to the schedule for Michigan football.

Michigan football will face new Big Ten teams in 2024 due to conference realignment

Michigan football is heading into perhaps the final season of “normal” college football that fans will ever see. With conference expansion happening next year, many of the PAC-12’s finest will be coming to the Big Ten conference in hopes of staying afloat, unlike the PAC-12 and other notable conferences.

Right now, Michigan football is scheduled to play both UCLA (home) and USC (away) in 2024, though this is now subject to change if the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies are successfully added as expected. For the Wolverines, who have been in the Big Ten for quite some time, this changes little about their day-to-day operations. If nothing else, it adds TV markets and a more complicated travel schedule in the years to come, which could be fun for the fans.

Additionally, Michigan football fans can expect some late-night kickoff times for West Coast games, which could become a frustrating factor for a portion of the fanbase. If you ask me, there is nothing better than a little Big Ten after dark.

Wolverines’ record against Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies

So far, in the history of Michigan football, the Wolverines are 3-2 against the Oregon Ducks, though they lost their most recent matchup in 2007. On the other hand, Michigan has an 8-5 overall record against Washington, claiming a 31-10 victory in their most recent matchup (2021).

The Big Ten conference realignment will result in an 18-team conference, making the Big Ten the largest conference that college football has ever seen. Heading into the 2023 season, Michigan football has won two-straight Big Ten titles; however, with a lot more travel and tougher opponents, new environments, and more on its way, winning this conference just got a lot harder for the Wolverines, which will also impact Michigan’s College Football Playoff and national title hopes down the road.

Now, we must sit and wait for this to play itself out, regardless of whether you like these new additions or not.

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