2026 Michigan
4–2 (1–2 Big Ten), coached by Kyle Whittingham. The season’s Wikipedia article records 3–2, over five games to the six on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 11 Oklahoma 17–10Sep 12
Oklahoma was ranked No. 11 and favored to win.
- Most excitingLost to No. 17 Iowa 19–20Sep 26
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs Western Michigan | W 13–12 | 63% |
| Sep 12 | vs 11Oklahoma | W 17–10 | 56% |
| Sep 19 | vs UTEP | W 52–17 | 86% |
| Sep 26 | vs 17Iowa | L 19–20 | 55% |
| Oct 3 | at Minnesota | L 14–20 | 53% |
| Oct 17 | vs Penn State | W 21–18 | 61% |
| Oct 24 | vs Indiana | Preview | 35% |
| Oct 31 | at Rutgers | Preview | 67% |
| Nov 7 | vs Michigan State | Preview | 81% |
| Nov 14 | at Oregon | Preview | 31% |
| Nov 21 | vs UCLA | Preview | 59% |
| Nov 28 | at Ohio State | Preview | 21% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 16
- Wk 3: 19
- Wk 4: 18
- Record
- 4–2
- Conference
- 1–2 tied for 12th in Big Ten
- AP now
- No. 18 in the week 4 poll; peak No. 16
- Points
- 136–97
- Coach
- Kyle Whittingham
- Elo
- 1617 +14 this season
- SP+ rating
- 13.1 No. 23 of 138; offense No. 67, defense No. 7, special teams No. 88
- SRS
- 5.3 No. 46 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 69% of last season’s EPA, No. 22 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 12 roster talent No. 11 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Jason Beck
- Defensive coordinator
- Jay Hill
- Captains
- Rod Moore, Jordan Marshall, Trey Pierce and Bryce Underwood
- Offense
- Power spread
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.09 | 42% | 1.22 | 79th of 138 |
| Defense | -0.11 | 34% | 1.16 | 5th of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.09 off 0.02 def | 42% off 37% def | — | 78th off 21st def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 46% | 11.0 yds | 17% | 3.10 | 14% |
| Defense | 39% | 7.5 yds | 12% | 2.50 | 20% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.0 | own 28 | 17% allowed |
| Defense | 2.1 | own 28 | 16% caused |
CORE rating 8.8, 30th of 138 (offense -0.6, defense -9.4).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Bryce Underwood QB | 924 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Bryce Underwood QB | 5 TD |
| Rushing yards | Jordan Marshall RB | 293 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Jordan Marshall RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | J.J. Buchanan WR | 482 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | J.J. Buchanan WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Troy Bowles LB | 50 tkl |
| Sacks | John Henry Daley DE | 3.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Chris Bracy S | 1 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Carter Meadows DE | ★★★★★ | No. 9 |
| Savion Hiter RB | ★★★★★ | No. 12 |
| Titan Davis DL | ★★★★ | No. 96 |
| Malakai Lee OT | ★★★★ | No. 107 |
| Travis Johnson WR | ★★★★ | No. 125 |
| Jamarion Vincent CB | ★★★★ | No. 150 |
| Alister Vallejo DL | ★★★★ | No. 212 |
| Marky Walbridge OT | ★★★★ | No. 241 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 4.0 | 0.900 |
| Running backs | 2 | 4.0 | 0.936 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.3 | 0.901 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.5 | 0.909 |
| Defensive line | 6 | 4.0 | 0.920 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.878 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.7 | 0.903 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.841 |
| Whole class | 24 | 3.6 | 0.903 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 118
The 2026 roster118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 49 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 16
The 2026 portal J.J. Buchanan WR | ★★★★ | from  Utah |
| John Henry Daley DE | ★★★★ | from Utah |
| Smith Snowden CB | ★★★★ | from Utah |
| Salesi Moa CB | ★★★★ | from Utah |
| Taylor Tatum RB | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma |
 Jaime Ffrench WR | ★★★ | from  Texas |
| Jonah Lea’Ea DL | ★★★ | from Utah |
| Aisea Moa LB | ★★★ | from  Michigan State |
 Houston Ka’aha’aina-Torres OL | ★★★ | from  Nebraska |
 Max Alford LB | ★★★ | from  BYU |
 Nathaniel Staehling LB | ★★★ | from  North Dakota State |
 Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi QB | ★★★ | from  Colorado State |
And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 32
 Justice Haynes RB | ★★★★ | to  Georgia Tech |
| Jake Guarnera OL | ★★★★ | returned to  Michigan |
| Jayden Sanders CB | ★★★★ | to  Notre Dame |
| Elijah Dotson CB | ★★★★ | to  Missouri |
| Ty Haywood OT | ★★★★ | to  Alabama |
| Brandyn Hillman S | ★★★ | to  Virginia |
| Cole Sullivan LB | ★★★ | to Oklahoma |
| Jaden Mangham S | ★★★ | to  Purdue |
| T.J. Metcalf S | ★★★ | to  Tennessee |
| Zeke Berry CB | ★★★ | returned to Michigan |
| Brady Prieskorn TE | ★★★ | to  Ole Miss |
| Devon Baxter DE | ★★★ | to Virginia |
And 20 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 4–0 | 6–0 | |
| Ohio State | 4–0 | 6–1 | |
 USC | 3–1 | 6–1 | |
| Indiana | 3–1 | 6–1 | |
| Iowa | 2–1 | 5–1 | |
 Northwestern | 2–1 | 5–1 | |
| Oregon | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
| Minnesota | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
 Wisconsin | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
| Nebraska | 2–2 | 5–2 | |
 Purdue | 2–2 | 3–4 | |
| Michigan | 1–2 | 4–2 | |
 Illinois | 1–2 | 3–3 | |
| Rutgers | 1–2 | 2–4 | |
 Washington | 1–3 | 4–3 | |
| Penn State | 0–4 | 3–4 | |
| Michigan State | 0–4 | 2–5 | |
 Maryland | 0–4 | 2–5 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.