Michigan Schedules Home-And-Home With Washington For 2020, 2021 Comment Count

Ace



The last one went pretty well.

We now know one of the two "huge" non-conference opponents that Dave Brandon teased last week, as today Michigan announced a home-and-home series with Washington scheduled for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. From the athletic department release:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan and University of Washington will renew an old rivalry when the two football programs meet for a home-and-home series during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. This will be the 13th and 14th meetings between the two schools.

The Wolverines will travel to Seattle, Wash., for the matchup on Sept. 5, 2020, at Husky Stadium. The return trip by the Huskies will take place at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 18, 2021.

"We are excited to rekindle a rivalry that has showcased some great games and great teams for both programs," said Brady Hoke, U-M's J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach. "There have been some exciting, down-to-the-wire football games between Michigan and Washington and we anticipate the same type of contests when this series is played at the outset of the next decade."

This will be the fifth time that the two programs have played a home-and-home series.

Michigan holds a 7-5 edge in the series, winning the most recent contest in 2002 when Phil Brabbs connected on his famous game-winning field goal—a game also notable for Marlin Jackson setting the school record for pass breakups while defending Washington's All-American receiver, Reggie Williams.

Comments

cutter

August 20th, 2014 at 5:10 PM ^

You touched on the first one, i.e., to have a more attractive home schedule for the people who buy season tickets.  It appears Brandon is going away from scheduling MAC teams after 2014 with the exception of Ball State in 2020.  He's replacing them with programs from the American Athletic (Cincinnati, SMU, Central Florida) and the Mountain West (Hawaii, Air Force, UNLV).  

The second is probably tied into the fall 2015 negotiations for the conference's new television contract.  I imagine the Big Ten wants to have as many attractive games on the schedule as possible going into the meetings with the networks for future rights to B1G football games.

The third deals with strength of schedule and the post-season playoff.  Theoretically, the SOS will be one of the metrics used to evaluate which four teams go into the post-season playoff.  By having two Power 5 programs on the non-conference schedule in Virginia Tech and Washington, UM certainly qualifies on the SOS side.  It'll be interesting to see how many other schools with nine-game conference schedules opt to have two home-and-home series with teams from the five major conferences.

Michigan has a couple of open slots in the 2018/9 season, so it's possible UM may have a second-home-and-home series with a Power 5 program in tandem with the two games against Arkansas.  Otherwise, the next announcement might be for the 2024, 2027, 2028 or 2029 seasons. 

Texagander

August 20th, 2014 at 4:12 PM ^

Sister in-law lives in Seattle and she and her husband have season tix to Washington.  This should be great for their marriage since she's a huge Michigan fan.

Gitback

August 20th, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^

Which was a fun time, despite the outcome.  There were a few times we thought the game was in the bag and then... ugh.  I remember they kept spelling D-A-W-G-S... which... what?

Seattle was great.  Luckily I made plans to fly out the Monday after the game and got home fine.  My buddy, on the otherhand, stuck around an extra day and was supposed to fly out that Tuesday:  9/11/2001; which of course didn't happen.  

Luckily he still had our rental car in his possession when all hell broke loose in NY.  Getting a rental car after that was impossible.  He kept ours and just drove back to Michigan.

#coolstorybro

Firch

August 20th, 2014 at 4:19 PM ^

I lived just outside of Seattle for a few years and became a fan of u dub at the time. This is pretty awesome IMO. UW sounds so much better UMass for an early Sept. game

BayWolves

August 20th, 2014 at 4:28 PM ^

Love it and glad to see the PAC back on the schedule. Also gives our huge San Francisco alumni base a good chance to attend. Short flight to SEA from SFO.
Now let's get some SEC going as well.

Evil Empire

August 20th, 2014 at 4:40 PM ^

We were headed for the exits when Michigan started to move the ball on their final drive.  Stopped and watched from a few rows above our usual seats.  Talk about snatching victory from the apple-cheeked jaws of defeat.  Wow.

Seth

August 20th, 2014 at 6:15 PM ^

I told Misopogal to put it in her calendar because we're going and staying in Seattle with my cousin and his kid the same age as ours. She asked what I wanted for dinner, but I said I can't think that far ahead right now.

Figure they'll be 7 year olds by then so they'll be old enough to enjoy it.

uminks

August 20th, 2014 at 6:19 PM ^

non-conference schedule for when I retire!  I need to beef up my 401K plan so I can attend both the home and away games!  I can't wait until I can become a full time Michigan football junkie!

EGD

August 20th, 2014 at 7:31 PM ^

I just logged on to see what was happening in Michigan Football today and WOO-HOO!  

Y'all can stay at my house.  We've got a futon in the basement and an air-o-bed if we need it.

SHub'68

August 20th, 2014 at 11:23 PM ^

Things I had almost forgotten:

A QB who can rope a pass like that.  Man, Navarre could throw.

That offensive line!  Big holes to run through, big time to sling the ball around.

No running ticker to mar the viewing experience; I rarely give a crap about anything else in sport while Michigan is playing.

No HD widescreen!  Makes it feel kinda like a different era similar in scale to watching an old black and white movie...

BornInA2

August 21st, 2014 at 12:27 AM ^

I've lived in Seattle since 1992 and will second that it's a great travel destination, and early Septemeber is usually great weather. Husky stadium is a in a beautiful location and will be serviced by light rail by then. Or, you can drive a boat to the stadium. Not a lot of college stadiums that can say that.

Second, I was STUNNED by our second offensive play in the 2002 game. I can't remember the last time I saw one of our running backs have a hole that big to run through. I watched it over and over just to remind myself what a real hole in the line looks like.

Maizenblueball

August 21st, 2014 at 3:42 AM ^

Last year I had to travel to Seattle on business quite a few times, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.  I had never been there before, but I thought it was a pretty cool city.  Very pretty too.