Michigan’s schedule is loaded with heavyweight fights, and a few of the most compelling ones will come down to pure one-on-one battles.
From Western Michigan all the way to Ohio State, the Wolverines are staring at a slate that features two possible No. 1 overall picks, roughly a half-dozen other first-round talents, and more waiting down the road in the postseason. If Michigan is going to steal games it isn’t expected to win, it will need to hold its own in these individual showdowns.
One of the toughest early tests lands on Jake Guarnera, who will be asked to deal with Oklahoma defensive tackle David Stone. Stone enters the season with plenty of preseason buzz and is widely viewed by experts as a top-10 pick.
He also had the advantage of lining up next to Gracen Holten, who was drafted in April. Now the spotlight shifts to Stone, while Guarnera brings his own resume as one of Michigan’s most reliable offensive linemen in 2025.
That matchup will matter in the run game, where Guarnera will try to create space for Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter. It won’t be easy with Stone in the middle, and Oklahoma already showed how hard it can be to run there after Justice Haynes’ 75-yard burst last year was followed by only 50 rushing yards otherwise.
Another trench battle worth circling is Trey Pierce against Iowa offensive lineman Kade Pieper. Pieper is the latest in the long line of Hawkeye blockers developed under Kirk Ferentz, and he’s part of a unit that helped Iowa win the Joe Moore award.
Trevor Lauck and Leighton Jones are back as well, giving Iowa the kind of front that usually makes life miserable in the Big Ten. Pieper also comes in as an All-American Pro Football Focus first-teamer, which only adds to the challenge Pierce will face.
Andrew Sprague gets a major measuring-stick game of his own against Minnesota defensive end Anthony Smith. Both players have plenty to gain if they keep climbing draft boards, and Smith carries a particularly intriguing profile. He may be the best defensive end in the country that no one is talking about, and he has the size to kick inside if he adds a few pounds.
On the perimeter, Andrew Marsh’s matchup with Indiana cornerback Jamari Sharpe stands out as one of the most interesting of the year. Indiana’s secondary was a turnover machine during its championship run, forcing 19 takeaways.
That group shut down Ty Simpson for just 67 yards in the Rose Bowl and intercepted Dante Moore three times across two meetings. Marsh, meanwhile, has work to do after catching only three passes for 10 yards in his last two games.
Jyaire Hill will also be tested in a big way, this time against Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff. At 6-foot-6, Duff put together what might have been the quietest 1,000-yard season in college football.
He topped 30 yards in every game and averaged 18 yards per catch. Hill has been viewed by some as a potential first-round pick in the past, and this season gives him a chance to prove it against a brutal run of receivers that also includes Isaiah Sategna III, Charlie Becker, Dakorien Moore, Jeremiah Smith, and more.
Then there’s Rod Moore against UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a matchup that could fly under the radar but shouldn’t. Bob Chesney is the coach tasked with getting the most out of Iamaleava, the Tennessee transfer who didn’t make the leap UCLA expected in his first stop in Pasadena.
The Bruins are hoping the pairing will take shape the way Curt Cignetti and Fernando Mendoza did in Bloomington. For Moore, it’s a chance to test himself against a quarterback viewed as a Sunday NFL hopeful.
In Other News...
Former Michigan Staffer Resurfaces In NFL As Sherrone Moore Drama Lingers
Paige Shiver, who once worked as an executive assistant in Michigans athletic department, has resurfaced in the NFL with the Chicago Bears organization. The move comes as her name remains tied to a messy off-field story that has kept attention on Ann Arbor even after the football season moved on.
Shiver is still involved in a lawsuit against the University of Michigan over public records the school withheld in connection with her past relationship with former head coach Sherrone Moore. Michigan has said the requests were denied because of an ongoing investigation, leaving the legal fight and the broader fallout from the scandal unresolved for now. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Made A Warde Manuel Decision Fans Wont Ignore
Michigans athletic department is heading into a major transition, with University of Michigan President Domenico Grasso announcing that Warde Manuel will step down as athletics director at the end of the calendar year. The move comes in the wake of a review that examined the departments culture and raised concerns about oversight and accountability, even as it stopped short of finding widespread misconduct.
Manuel will remain in place for now as the university begins sorting out what comes next, and a national search for his successor is on the way. For Michigan, the timing matters as much as the change itself: the department is trying to steady itself while also making sure the reforms prompted by the investigation actually take hold before a new AD takes over. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Made A Massive Leadership Change Fans Will Feel
Warde Manuels run atop Michigan athletics is coming to an end after nearly a decade in charge, closing a stretch that began in 2016 and made him one of the most recognizable figures in the department. The university said Manuel will stay on through Dec. 31 to help guide the transition, then move into a special adviser role to the president as the school resets its leadership structure.
The move follows a sweeping internal review by Jenner & Block that examined how the athletic department was operating behind the scenes, with investigators looking at the way decisions were handled and how issues were reported upward. The findings left Michigan facing a broader question than just one personnel change: how to rebuild trust and tighten oversight in a department that has spent the year under a sharper spotlight than usual. [Read more 🡒]