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ESPN’s FPI predicts outcome of Western Michigan-Michigan game
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Michigan has big goals for the 2021 season, and those goals start with the Wolverines’ season-opener vs. Western Michigan on Saturday.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), Michigan has a 85.1 percent chance of coming away with a win over the Broncos.
This will be the eighth all-time meeting between these two programs. Michigan has won all seven previous matchups, with its most recent victory coming in 2018.
Adding to a bit of intrigue is Western Michigan’s helmet choice. The Broncos went through a rebuild this offseason and will be revealing a new — and secret — helmet design on Saturday.
As for the Wolverines, they’ll be hoping to get off to a 1-0 start as they look for a bounce-back season in 2021. Michigan went 2-4 last season, suffering its first losing season since going 5-7 in 2014 under Brady Hoke. The next year, the Wolverines hired Jim Harbaugh.
ESPN’s SP+ metric is projecting a 39-20 win for the Wolverines.
Kick off is at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.