Michigan Football: Ranking every road trip in 2026 from easiest to hardest

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Michigan’s 2026 regular season schedule is fortunate to feature eight games at home and just four on the road. While the quality of teams the Wolverines face will allow for their schedule to qualify as a gauntlet, a majority of the big games being at home is a slight consolation.

Of the four road trips Michigan will embark on under new head coach Kyle Whittingham this year, which one is the toughest? We rank the four venues based on a combination of opponent talent, recent history, capacity, and general vibes.

4. Minnesota, Huntington Bank Stadium

It’s hard to believe, but Minnesota opened up its “new” stadium all the way back in 2009. The Wolverines and Golden Gophers have faced off four times in Huntington Bank Stadium, with the good guys winning all four. In 2012, the Devin Gardner-led Wolverines won, 42-13. The closest game between these teams in Minneapolis in quite some time was played in 2015, as Michigan escaped thanks to a goal line stand on the last play of the game.

In front of zero fans during the pandemic, the 2020 matchup featured a Michigan blowout win that would likely be the highlight of the season. Lastly, in 2023, Michigan ran away with a 52-10 win thanks to pick-sixes from Will Johnson and Keon Sabb.

All in all, Minneapolis has been a friendly place for Michigan to play. While the battle for the Little Brown Jug is still a nominal rivalry, the venue has had no impact on the results of the games.

3. Rutgers, SHI Stadium

Michigan travels to Piscataway, New Jersey on Halloween this year, but make no mistake, this is no house of horrors. My initial gut told me to put SHI Stadium at No. 4, but it features something Huntington Bank Stadium does not: a Michigan loss.

Shield your eyes, but Michigan did in fact lose at Rutgers in 2014. The other four contests have gone Michigan’s way, including blowout wins in 2016 (78-0, never forget), 2018 and 2022. However, the Wolverines also had a major scare in 2020 and escaped with a win in triple overtime.

Michigan will be heavily favored in this matchup this year. However, Rutgers has to be higher than Minnesota on this list due to history alone.

2. Oregon, Autzen Stadium

I wanted to put Autzen Stadium at No. 1, as the crowned jewel of the Pacific Northwest is widely regarded as one of the loudest stadiums in the country. However, what people forget is just how small it is. Autzen Stadium only holds 54,000 people. The shape of the stadium and surrounding landscape helps hold noise in, but it just isn’t that big of a stadium, which prevents it from being No. 1.

Michigan is 3-3 all time against Oregon, but interestingly enough, only one of those games was at Autzen Stadium. In 2007, Dennis Dixon out-dueled Chad Henne and helped Oregon win, 39-7. Hopefully things go better this season.

1. Ohio State, Ohio Stadium

The Horseshoe is a massive stadium, one of the few with capacity greater than 100,000, though the Big House is bigger. It’s also one of the loudest in college football. However, it’s important to note Michigan has had quite a bit of success in Columbus the last couple trips down there. Enjoy some recent highlights to make up for the fact we had to put Ohio Stadium at No. 1 on this list.

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