Michigan Wolverines football will play three top-40 teams in 2023

This year’s Michigan Wolverines football schedule has its ups and downs. An easy non-conference schedule will quickly turn into a series of tough road matchups and top-5 contests as the season progresses. Recently, Phil Steele unveiled his preseason top-40 teams, identifying three of the Wolverines’ 2023 opponents among the nation’s best.

Michigan Wolverines football schedule has many top-4o teams

Here are the three top-40-ranked teams listed on the 2023 Michigan Wolverines football schedule:

Maryland, No. 40 — Starting from the bottom, the first team on Phil Steele’s preseason top 40 is the 40th-ranked Maryland Terrapins. This game is a bit daunting for the Wolverines, who are facing Maryland on the road the week after Penn State and the week before Ohio State. Last fall, the Terrapins gave Michigan a run for its money in Ann Arbor, and with a lot of production returning this fall, the Terps are aiming to pull off a massive Week 12 upset against the Wolverines.

Penn State, No. 6 — After finishing 11-2 last year and winning the prestigious Rose Bowl game, the Penn State Nittany Lions are poised for another impressive year. Despite Penn State’s impressive 2022 season, the Nittany Lions suffered an awful 41-17 loss in Ann Arbor at the hands of Michigan football, making it two in a row for the Wolverines. This fall, Michigan will make the trip to State College for the first time since its narrow win in 2021 and will be gunning for the same result as it saw in years past.

Ohio State, No. 5 — Most outlets have Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes among the nation’s top-3 teams; however, Phil Steele ranks Ohio State as the final team in the top-5. For Ohio State, this season will be critical for the future of their program — another loss to Michigan could mark the end of Day’s tenure as head coach, especially if the Buckeyes fail to make the playoffs by season’s end. The last time Ohio State came to Ann Arbor, Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines ran away with a massive 42-27 win, kick-starting a new era of Michigan football.

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