Sports Illustrated takes unnecessary shot at Michigan football

We cannot tell you why, but on Sunday afternoon, ‘The Spun’ — powered by Sports Illustrated — took a random and unnecessary shot at Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines. According to The Spun’s article, Michigan football schedule is “embarrassing” in 2023.

‘The Spun’ takes shot at Michigan football

Here is some of what SI’s The Spun had to say about the 2023 Michigan football schedule:

“This is the second-straight season that Michigan has failed to book a Power opponent in non-league play. Last year’s perfect 12-0 regular season run included home wins over Colorado State (51-7), Hawaii (56-10), and UConn (59-0). Prior to that, the Wolverines had booked an opponent that’s now considered a Power program during the regular season for 58 straight years, or, since 1964 when they beat Air Force and then (6) Navy to open a 9-1 campaign that included a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl victory,” FBS Schedules writes.

“The Wolverines are one of a handful of programs to have zero non-conference games against Power Five opponents,” Andrew Holleran said. “Michigan will play some tough games in conference, including at Nebraska, at Michigan State, at Penn State, at Maryland and vs. Ohio State. But that non-conference schedule is embarrassing.”

The Spun makes good and bad points

There are two sides to this argument. On the one hand, sure, the Michigan Wolverines do not have a great non-conference slate — Michigan football wil face no Power Five teams, and all of its non-conference games are against weak group of five competition. That being said, unlike the SEC, Michigan will play nine conference games and zero FCS schools, especially not in November.

Additionally, the non-conference schedule that this article is referencing makes up three of the Wolverines’ 12 regular season games — that’s 25% for those of you that are bad at math. On the other end of Michigan’s forgettable first three games are giants like Penn State, Ohio State, and yes, even Michigan State. While the Wolverines’ non-conference could be better, the schedule itself is still tough.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!