Michigan Monday: Game 1 vs. New Mexico
#14 Michigan (0-0) vs. New Mexico (0-0)
Michigan Stadium / Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, Aug. 30 | 7:30 p.m.
Television: NBC | Radio: Learfield Michigan Sports Network
What You Need to Know
• This is the first meeting between Michigan and New Mexico.
• The Wolverines are ranked 14th in both the AFCA Coaches rankings and the AP media poll.
• U-M is looking for its 120th win in 146 season openers (119-23-3).
• This is the first time in the modern era that the program will not play consecutive home games.
• Six Wolverines were voted 2025 captains: Max Bredeson, Gio EI-Hadi and Marlin Klein on offense and Ernest Hausmann, Derrick Moore and Rod Moore on defense.
• A pre-season All-American, Dominic Zvada was the team's leading scorer with 89 points in 2024.
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Season Openers
• The Wolverines have compiled a 119-23-3 record in season openers.
• U-M has won 14 of its last 18 season openers and 49 of its last 62 games dating back to the 1963 season (49-12-1).
• The Wolverines have won nine of their last 11 season openers; only setbacks came on the road at Utah (2015) and Notre Dame (2018).
• Michigan has a 101-15-2 record in season openers at home and a 17-7-1 mark on the road; 1-1 in neutral site openers.
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Game Promotions
• Pregame Parachute Jump
• Championship Recognition
• Pregame Flyover
• Hero of the Game - Clifford Frank "Top" Sjogren (U.S. Navy, 1948-52)
• Band Halftime Show - ABBA: Here We Go Again!
Full Promotions Schedule
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Wolverines and Lobos
• This will be the first meeting between the Wolverines and Lobos.
• The Wolverines have played six schools that currently make up the Mountain West Conference (MWC); seven overall, including Utah when it was a member of the league.
• U-M has compiled a 14-1 mark against Mountain West Conference schools at the time the game was played.
• The Wolverines are 13-0 against teams currently in the MWC. Michigan defeated MWC member Fresno State, 30-10, in last season's opener.
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2025 Schedule Notes
• Two of the Wolverines' 2025 foes are ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll: Ohio State (2nd) and Oklahoma (18th).
• The Wolverines face one of college football's toughest schedules during the 2025 season, playing six home games and six road contests.
• U-M is one of 12 Power Conference teams facing six road tilts in 2025: BYU, California, Duke, Houston, North Carolina, SMU, Stanford, TCU, UCLA, Utah and West Virginia are the others.
• Michigan will play six road games for just the second time in school history; it posted a 6-0 road record in 1986.
• This is the first time in the modern era of Michigan football that the program will not play consecutive home games; the only other seasons that U-M did not play at least back-to-back home contests were 1924 and 1937.
• U-M will play consecutive night games to open the season for the first time in school history; the Maize and Blue have a 52-28 all-time record in games starting after 5 p.m. local time.
• Five of the Wolverines' 12 opponents played in bowl games last season: Oklahoma (Armed Forces Bowl), Nebraska (Pinstripe Bowl), USC (Las Vegas Bowl), Washington (Sun Bowl) and Ohio State (CFP/Rose Bowl/NC Game).
• The Wolverines will travel to Norman, Okla., during the non-conference to face head coach Sherrone Moore's alma mater.
• U-M is one of 10 FBS schools not playing an FCS opponent this season: the others are Colorado, Notre Dame, Sam Houston, Stanford, Texas, Tulane, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin.
• Michigan will play three rivalry trophy games during the season: Paul Bunyan Trophy (Michigan State), George Jewett Trophy (Northwestern) and the Bussin' Bowl Trophy (Nebraska).
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Game Note Nuggets
• The Wolverines enter the 2025 season opener with an all-time record of 119-23-3 in season debuts and a 101-15-2 mark at home.
• Newly-elected captains include: Max Bredeson, Giovanni El-Hadi, and Marlin Klein on offense, as well as Rod Moore, Ernest Hausmann, and Derrick Moore on defense. Bredeson and Rod Moore are two-time captains. Joe Taylor (offense) and TJ Guy (defense) are alternates.
• Max Bredeson and his brother Ben Bredeson are the first-ever pair of brothers to be elected as two-time captains at U-M.
• Klein is the first-ever international-born player to be named a captain for the team. He and Bredeson both earning the title of captain marks the first time a pair of tight ends have been among U-M's team captains.
• The Wolverines enter the season ranked No. 8 in ESPN's SP+ model, including No. 1 in defense. SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of efficiency.
• The following players made their first collegiate starts during the 2024 season: wide receiver Kendrick Bell, center Greg Crippen, tight end Marlin Klein, tackles Evan Link and Andrew Sprague, running back Jordan Marshall, wide receivers Fredrick Moore and Peyton O'Leary, and quarterback Davis Warren on offense; defensive back Zeke Berry, edge TJ Guy, defensive back Jyaire Hill and edge Derrick Moore on defense.
• The offensive line returns multiple players with significant starting experience. Giovanni El-Hadi (16 starts) has appeared in 34 games on the offensive line, and Greg Crippen (eight starts) has appeared in 27. Evan Link (13 games, 11 starts) stepped into a larger role in 2024, while Brady Norton (15 games, 11 starts at Cal Poly) and Lawrence Hattar (27 games, 25 starts at Ferris State) bring FCS and Division II experience from the transfer portal.
• Among debut starters this weekend will be freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. Underwood will be the first first-year signal caller for the Maize and Blue to start the season opener since 2009 and just the fourth in program history (Rick Leach, at Wisconsin, 1975; Chad Henne, vs. Miami (Ohio), 2004; Tate Forcier, vs. Western Michigan, 2009).
• The Wolverine defense returns its top two leading tacklers in Ernest Hausmann (89 tackles) and Jaishawn Barham (66).
• U-M closed the 2024 season on a hot run defensively, especially when it was time to close out games. Across the final four games of the season (Indiana, Northwestern, Ohio State, ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Alabama), U-M's defense permitted six second-half points in total (one field goal against Indiana, one against Alabama).
• Michigan's season-ending win in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama provided opportunities for several players who will rely on that experience this season. Wide receiver Fredrick Moore caught his first career touchdown in the game, and edge rusher Cameron Brandt recovered a fumble, the first of his career.
• Jordan Marshall rushed for exactly 100 yards against the Crimson Tide in his first extended action out of the Michigan backfield and was named the game's MVP. Marshall will pair with transfer addition Justice Haynes to spearhead the Wolverine rushing attack this fall.
• Michigan also returns its leading scorer in kicker Dominic Zvada (89 points), a 2025 preseason All-American after earning first team consensus honors in 2024.
• Zvada finished the season 21-of-22 on field goals (one blocked). His 21 conversions were the fourth-most all-time for a single campaign in U-M history, and his 7-for-7 mark on kicks of 50-plus yards set new career and single-season records at Michigan.
• Zvada enters this season among the most productive kickers returning to the FBS, in terms of career scoring and conversions. Miami's Bert Auburn (66 conversions on 86 attempts), SMU's Collin Rogers (60-of-80), Texas A&M's Randy Bond (59-of-76), and NIU's Andrew Glass (55-of-75) are the only kickers with as many or more career conversions than Zvada's 55 (on 62 attempts), and Zvada's conversion percentage stands as the best among the group.
• Punter Hudson Hollenbeck will step into the starting role this weekend after his kicking debut (previously held for PATs in only game experience) in the bowl game, where he averaged 46.17 yards with a 69-yard long on six attempts.
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Upcoming Schedule
All times local to game site
Sep 13, 2025 at Noonvs Central MichiganAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sep 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM CTat NebraskaLincoln, Neb.
Oct 4, 2025 at Noon or 3:30 PMvs WisconsinAnn Arbor, Mich.
Oct 11, 2025 at TBAat USCLos Angeles, Calif.
Oct 18, 2025 at TBAvs WashingtonAnn Arbor, Mich.