Facing one of the toughest schedules in college football this season, Michigan hasn't been included in many College Football Playoff projections, with the Wolverines rarely mentioned as a serious title contender under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham.
Inside the building, nobody seems particularly interested in the lack of hype, either.
Whittingham's debut in the Big Ten comes with championship expectations and some margin for error. The Wolverines face six opponents appearing in various preseason polls, a demanding slate that could complicate the anticipated immediate turnaround in Ann Arbor. There are few opportunities to catch a breath, and several of Michigan's most important games arrive against teams carrying CFP aspirations of their own.
That matters for a program learning different terminology and establishing an identity under its new coach. Even with Whittingham's experience and Michigan's talent, continuity can be difficult to manufacture overnight, especially with a slate that includes Oklahoma and Iowa over the first four weeks.
Michigan players do not want to hear excuses, of course. The Wolverines believe the roster is equipped to handle the challenge and view the schedule as an opportunity to make a national statement.
That confidence is necessary, but the difficulty is real.
"So what, now what, you know what I mean," tight end Zack Marshall said of the team's mindset this week, via the Detroit Free Press. "I guess quoting J.J. (McCarthy), it would be, 'Bet.' ... I mean, we expect us to be the best. So that's all that matters is what's in this building. The 200-something fingerprints that can actually get in this door. Those are the ones that we care about.
"Whatever the media, sorry, says or however we're portrayed on Twitter, (we don't care). ... the 200 people that we care about's opinions are here, and those opinions are that we're going to be a really dang good team this year."
Whittingham was hired to keep Michigan among college football's top-shelf contenders. The question is whether the Wolverines' brutal 2026 slate allows progress to show up immediately in the win column or masks meaningful improvement during a demanding transition season.
Glancing at Michigan's football schedules over the last 20 years, only once -- 2024 -- have the Wolverines played six ranked teams before the postseason. And on three occasions, they played five ranked opponents; Michigan failed to reach the playoff each campaign.
Last fall, Michigan played only two top-25 opponents prior to a Citrus Bowl loss to Texas.
Whittingham hopes to become the fifth coach in the playoff era to take his team to the CFP during his first season.
First-year coaches in the CFP
| Coach, school | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma | 2017 | Lost CFP semifinal (Georgia) |
Ryan Day, Ohio State | 2019 | Lost CFP semifinal (Clemson) |
Sonny Dykes, TCU | 2022 | Lost national championship (Michigan) |
Curt Cignetti, Indiana | 2024 | Lost CFP first round (Notre Dame) |
The Wolverines were 0-3 last season against ranked teams and finished 3-7 overall during Sherrone Moore's two years as coach in nationally-ranked matchups. Over his two-decade career at Utah, Whittingham went 25-39 (.390) against top 25 competition, which ranks in the top half of the Big Ten amongst other coaches in winning percentage.
Whittingham leading Michigan to the playoff this fall would be unusual, but not unprecedented. The 12-team format makes it more attainable than it was in the four-team era, and reaching 10 wins should secure a berth, given the Wolverines' SOS.
Rod Moore, a sixth-year senior who has been around since the program's rise under then-coach Jim Harbaugh, said the locker room is buzzing in anticipation of the season.
"We all have the same mindset of winning and can't do that by being out here just BS-ing around, not, you know, taking everything so seriously," Moore said during Michigan's first week of practice. "Everybody has glued into the same goal, to win, and the first thing is to win the Big Ten. We really don't care who's talking about us or not. Sept. 5 comes, they're going to see what's going on."
Michigan's toughest 2026 games
- vs. Oklahoma, Sept. 12
- vs. Iowa, Sept. 26
- vs. Penn State, Oct. 17
- vs. Indiana, Oct. 24
- at Oregon, Nov. 14
- at Ohio State, Nov. 28
Not only is the schedule littered with potential landmines, but there's also a three-game stretch at the end of the campaign that includes trips to Oregon and Ohio State, with a contest against UCLA and first-year coach Bob Chesney sandwiched in between.
Philosophically, that's three very different consecutive matchups. However, the Buckeyes haven't beaten the Wolverines in Columbus since 2018, which ironically came before Ryan Day was chosen to lead the following season.
That one marks Whittingham's first taste of the Big Ten's most heated rivalry and concludes the half-dozen games against top-25 teams. At Utah, Whittingham routinely battled quality opponents in the Pac-12 and later the Big 12, yet rarely faced this many nationally-relevant teams in the same season.
Whittingham's toughness-first identity should translate in the Big Ten, but depth will be tested. At Utah, one setback rarely ruined a season. At Michigan, multiple featured matchups could quickly complicate the Wolverines' CFP pursuit.
Whittingham isn't interested in making predictions, and his staff hasn't revealed any specific goals for Michigan in 2026 -- at least not publicly. Like its players, the Wolverines' braintrust will leave it up to interpretation on the field.
"In general, it's always a good policy for all of us to let your actions speak for yourself," Michigan defensive coordinator Jay Hill said to open camp. "I don't think we're in the business of just talking about what we can do. We're in the business of letting our actions show it. I think we have that team that will show it. But we're one practice in, and I think we'll just get better and better and better, and then take the nation by storm, hopefully."
