August has arrived, and by the time the month ends, the college football season will have kicked off.
It’s likely that few places are as excited for the start of the 2024 season than Michigan. The home state Wolverines are coming off their first national title in 26 years after completing a 15-0 season.
Before we dust off our tailgating equipment, BetMichigan.com wanted to know where in The Mitten State is the most eager to see the return of college football. The home of Michigan sports betting used Google Trends to identify which Michigan metro area is most excited for “college football,” based on search interest scores from July 24 to July 31, 2024.
Michigan College Football Excitement
Rank | Metro Area | Score |
1 | Lansing | 84 |
2 | Grand Rapids | 83 |
3 | Kalamazoo | 79 |
4 | Flint | 76 |
5 | Detroit | 75 |
Lansing Tops For Excitement
Ann Arbor is the home of the 2023 national champions, but the Lansing metro area came out on top in our survey. Michigan State, the state’s other Big Ten school, is in East Lansing. For a season prospectus in the land of Sparty, see our guide to Michigan State Spartans football betting at BetMichigan.com.
The Spartans have missed out on bowl games the past two seasons, and Jonathan Smith takes over the program after turning around Oregon State, his alma mater. After going 9-22 his first three seasons, the Beavers went 25-13 over Smith’s final three.
Smith will likely have his work cut out for him once again. In the first year of the 18-member, coast-to-coast Big Ten, oddsmakers at Caesars Michigan Sportsbook give the Spartans odds of +10000 to win the conference for the first time since 2015.
Motown On College Football Excitement List
Ann Arbor did not crack the top five, but the city is just 45 minutes west of Detroit and is considered part of the Detroit combined statistical area by the federal government. So, you’ll see plenty of blue flags waving in the area on game days.
To keep track of UM’s bid for back-to-back national titles, see our Michigan Wolverines football betting guide as the season draws near.
Like Michigan State, Michigan has a new head coach. Sherrone Moore earned a promotion after serving as the team’s offensive coordinator last season. He also was the acting head coach while Jim Harbuagh served a three-game suspension at the beginning of last season.
The Wolverines lost 10 starters from last season’s championship-winning squad, but Michigan is not a program known to take a major step back. They won’t be the favorites to win the Big Ten again, but oddsmakers at BetMGM Michigan Sportsbook believe they will contend for a spot in the new College Football Playoff format that begins this season. The sportsbook gives the Wolverines odds of +115 to make the 12-team field and +2500 to win consecutive titles.
USA Today photo by Kirthmon F. Dozier
