College football 2020: Top 13 games we’ll hype up all offseason

12. Michigan at Washington

Date: Saturday, Sept. 5 – Week 1

Week 1 of virtually any college football season often offers a variety of tasty matchups and the 2020 campaign is no exception. In fact, two contests appear on this list and that doesn’t include matchups such as North Carolina at UCF or even West Virginia and Florida State meeting in Atlanta. But it does include a contest featuring Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines and Jimmy Lake’s first game as the head man for the Washington Huskies.

This is a matchup with two fan bases that feel quite differently about their coaching situations. In the case of Harbaugh, many Wolverines fans are likely counting down the days until he’s finally let go. His absence of success against Ohio State and inability to get Michigan into the upper tier of the college football ranks outside of brief climbs in the rankings are becoming tough to watch.

On the other hand, Lake steps in as the hand-picked successor to Chris Petersen and optimism for what he can accomplish with this team could not be higher. He’s been groomed for this moment for several years now and, with his profile as a recruiter historically, the Huskies seem to be in a great position to consistently compete atop the Pac-12, starting in the 2020 season.

The coaching matchup alone makes this game intriguing but there’s also the element of the unknown at play. Both Michigan and Washington will have new faces in at quarterback and will be looking to put together new offensive lines as well. Thus, it will be fascinating to see the starting point for both teams in 2020, especially going up against teams in a similar position.