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Texas vs Michigan Matchups To WatchPhotos Courtesy of IMAGN

CFB

Texas vs Michigan Matchups To Watch

Just a week after hosting Fresno State, the newest visitor to Ann Arbor will provide a much more legitimate threat. For Michigan, a roster with changes in abundance on both sides of the ball and at head coach, an early test will provide a clear window into just how successful their 2024 campaign can be. 

Although the losses of coach Jim Harbaugh, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum, and a long list of others could affect the performance ceiling of Michigan this fall, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is preparing for a flat-out dogfight no matter who’s in the ring.

“Three straight College Football Playoffs, national champs, 41-3 in their last 44 games, won 16 games in a row and 20 straight at home…,” Sarkisian said. 

In what will represent one of college football’s early pendulum swings toward anointing a CFP title contender early in the campaign, the star-studded talent on either sideline has set the stage for a showdown fit to be held in the 100,000-plus person theater known as The Big House. 

For these two programs rooted in the history and present of college football, here are four matchups and key players to watch as Texas meets Michigan in Week 2. 

Texas WR Isaiah Bond vs. Michigan CB Will Johnson

Two players expected to hear their names called early in the 2025 NFL Draft, this is a matchup every NFL scout and evaluator has circled. What’s better known as ‘good on good’, the speed and separation ability of Isaiah Bond against the technician that is Will Johnson will be a show in and of itself all afternoon long. 

While Texas QB Quinn Ewers should be expected to look elsewhere a majority of the time to avoid Johnson in coverage, he has never been one to shy away from giving his pass-catchers a chance to make plays on the football at a variety of depths. Considering Ewers’ fundamental arm talent and the scheme of Sarkisian where Bond will earn touches at all three levels, Johnson will have his work cut out for him for a full 60 minutes. However, too many looks Johnson’s way is a lot like playing with fire… just ask Fresno State. 

A transfer from Alabama, Bond’s seven targets in Week 1 led all Longhorn pass-catchers. In what was his first taste of working in live game action with Ewers, lining up nose-to-nose with Johnson in Week 2 should elevate his game to a level we have not yet seen from the former four-star recruit. While his production in Tuscaloosa last fall slotted him second on the team in receiving yards (668) and touchdowns (4) behind Jermaine Burton, he’s the clear number one in Sarkisian’s offensive architecture. 

For Johnson, his size, length, instincts, and pure coverage ability have showcased one of the nation’s most fluid secondary defenders. An impact player since he stepped on campus, Johnson has recorded four times the amount of interceptions (8) than touchdowns allowed (2) in his career and has allowed just one touchdown since Week 1 of his freshman season. While high-flying aerial attacks draw ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from fans at all levels, Johnson is as stout and stingy as you’ll find in recent history at the corner spot.

Texas’ interior offensive line vs. Mason Graham & Kenneth Grant

Luckily for Texas, they’ll enter Saturday’s showdown with an experienced interior offensive line. Each of LG Hayden Conner (SR), C Jake Majors (RS SR), and RG DJ Campbell (JR) have multiple years of experience within the lungs of a front five, but the test in front of them this week is one they’ll likely never face again in the college landscape. 

Limiting the duo of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant will remain paramount to the success of the Texas offense, in both facets. However, stopping them entirely seems like a bit of a fallacy considering their athleticism and technique at 320-plus pounds. 

For Graham, a former wrestler, his movement ability and knack for pushing the pocket showcases one of the 2025 NFL Draft’s premier prospects, regardless of position. A player already in the conversation as one of the best defensive tackles in the college game since Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald, Graham can completely take over a football game. 

For Grant, his herculean athleticism is something NFL evaluators have drooled over for years already. While Graham gets much of the attention, Grant amassed 23 pressures (five sacks) from a primary 3-tech alignment in 2023. 

Doubling both players would be the dream for Sarkisian, but the onus remains on Ewers on passing downs to get the ball out with limited wasted movement to counter their vertical push. On the ground, while teams will often run right at a defense's strength to stymie their impact, pressing the edges while remaining unique in their blocking schemes in the middle will remain important to keep Graham and Grant off-balance.

Texas QB Quinn Ewers vs. Michigan DC Wink Martindale

A former five-star recruit, Ewers is as fundamentally talented a signal-caller as you’ll find in the college game. The zip, touch, ability to layer throws and at varying angles… it’s all there. With that skill set comes a tall task for opposing defensive coordinators to prepare for, no matter the level of talent at the skill positions. While Ewers is by no means perfect, and there are “concerning mechanical inconsistencies,” per an NFC scout, littered within his tape, the threat is what keeps opposing coordinators up late into the night. 

Martindale’s success has been well documented. A longtime staple at DC most recently for the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens, his aggressive style of attack comes with risk and reward. At its base, Martindale’s defense will deploy a variety of fronts that hang its hat on positional versatility. 

Before the snap, Martindale’s movement will present quarterbacks with a mirage of questions to answer as the play clock dwindles. Disguised coverages, simulated pressures, mugged-up bodies in gaps, Martindale’s defense is a magic act of sorts that looks one way but is rarely the coverage deployed one initially guesses. The looks, from Ewers' perspective, are ones he likely won’t see again until he takes the leap to the next level.

Michigan TE Colston Loveland vs. Texas LBs/SAFs

Arguably the premier flex weapon in the upcoming draft, it’s no secret who’ll lead the Wolverines through the air this fall. 

At 6-foot-5, Colston Loveland is as smooth a route-runner and competitive in-line blocker as you’ll in college football. The leader in targets in Week 1 for Michigan (9), the Wolverines’ new-look passing attack will work through Loveland with Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson onto the NFL. 

For Texas, their success against the talented tight end will hinge on the play of their experienced linebackers and safeties who have shown the versatility and coverage ability to counter Loveland in space. The Longhorns' linebacker corps, led by uber-talented sophomore Anthony Hill Jr and veteran David Gbenda, will be tasked with covering Loveland in the short-to-intermediate areas. Hill, in particular, is a savvy, athletic defender with a vivid understanding of passing concepts and space. His ability to read the eyes of Michigan’s two-man rotation at quarterback will make it difficult for Loveland to find space over the middle of the field.

At safety, former Clemson standout Andrew Mukuba should showcase why he was so highly touted in the portal. While he will primarily align as the free safety in Texas’ scheme, his aggressive yet intelligent and nuanced style of play allows him to challenge tight ends, disrupting timing inside the contact window. In the box, Loveland will also see Derek Williams Jr., an impressively built athlete with excellent size (6-foot-2) who has no issue mixing it up at the line of scrimmage.

For Loveland, his success will largely depend on his ability to win one-on-one matchups. It’s no secret that Michigan wants to run the football with Donovan Edwards and Kaleel Mullings, but Loveland’s blend of size and route-running should be prioritized in the game script early to get him rolling. Wolverines OC Kirk Campbell will likely move him around the formation, working to create mismatches against smaller or less fleet-of-foot defenders for yards-after-catch (YAC) opportunities.

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