The Michigan Wolverines football season has been a bit of a mixed bag thus far.
The Wolverines are sitting at 4-1 and are the 10th-ranked team in the country, but they haven’t inspired a lot of confidence in the oddsmakers. Michigan is traveling to play the Washington Huskies this weekend, and the Wolverines are underdogs.
The Wolverines are 2.5-point underdogs, Per ESPN’s gambling expert David Payne Purdum, and it’s a historic betting line. Saturday will mark the first time a defending top-10 national champion team will be an underdog to an unranked team since the FBS and FCS divide in college football.
“No. 10 Michigan is a 2.5-point underdog at Washington on Saturday,” Payne Pudum wrote on Twitter.
“It’s the first time since the 1978 FBS/FCS split that a reigning national champion ranked in the top 10 has been an underdog to an unranked team.”
No. 10 Michigan is a 2.5-point underdog at Washington on Saturday.
It’s the first time since the 1978 FBS/FCS split that a reigning national champion ranked in the top 10 has been an underdog to an unranked team. (h/t @MackNova)
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) October 3, 2024
Michigan was ranked ninth in the preseason AP poll but dropped to 17 after being dismantled at home by the Texas Longhorns. After rattling off back-to-back wins against USC and Minnesota the Wolverines have climbed back into the top 10, but neither win passed the eye test.
It’s worth noting that Wahington has struggled this season as well, as the Huskies get adjusted to their first year in the Big Ten. Washington is sitting at 3-2, with two losses in their last three games.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Wolverines can prove the doubters wrong, or if they just don’t have what it takes to compete for another championship.
