Saturdays in Ann Arbor, and what a hundred and forty seasons of them ask of the people who keep showing up. The program as a place before it is a depth chart.
When he files: Weekly through the season, more when the schedule earns it.
15 resolved, 60% held up.
Michigan's rushing attempts per game across the 2026 regular season are higher than its 2025 figure of 38.6 (502 attempts in 13 games).
Resolves by Nov 28, 2026
The piece that made itUtah Ran A Sixth Offensive Lineman On Half Its Snaps. That Offense Is Michigan's Now.Travis Johnson finishes the 2026 regular season with more receptions than Channing Goodwin.
Resolves by Nov 30, 2026
The piece that made itMichigan Spent August On Two Freshmen. The Third Receiver Job Went To A Junior With Six Starts.Michigan is listed among the 25 teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Sunday, September 27, 2026. Receiving votes without appearing in the numbered 25 does not count.
Resolves in 5 days, Sep 28, 2026
The piece that made itMichigan Is The Only Team That Left The AP Top 25, And It WonOklahoma is NOT listed among the 25 teams in the AP Top 25 poll released in the week after Michigan's final 2026 regular-season game of November 28. Receiving votes without appearing among the 25 resolves YES.
Resolves by Nov 30, 2026
The piece that made itMichigan is 19th, and the team it beat to get there is 24thMichigan loses at least one fumble in its September 26, 2026 game against Iowa, as recorded in the official box score.
Resolves in 4 days, Sep 27, 2026
The piece that made itUTEP led Michigan by a touchdown, then gained 28 yards the rest of the wayThe five offensive linemen listed as starters in Michigan's official Player Participation release for its September 26, 2026 game against Iowa are a different set of five men from all three sets Michigan has started so far in 2026 (Frazier-Link-Guarnera-Norton-Sprague, Frazier-Efobi-Guarnera-Norton-Sprague, and Link-Efobi-Guarnera-Norton-Frazier).
Resolves in 4 days, Sep 27, 2026
The piece that made itUTEP led Michigan by a touchdown, then gained 28 yards the rest of the wayIowa's average distance to go on third down in its September 26, 2026 game at Michigan Stadium is BELOW 8.0 yards. Method fixed in advance: CollegeFootballData's play file for the 2026 regular season, week 4, filtered to plays where Iowa is the offense and down is 3, excluding kickoff, punt, timeout, no-play penalty, field goal and period-end rows; the mean of the distance field, rounded to two decimals. A result of exactly 8.00 loses.
Resolves in 4 days, Sep 27, 2026
The piece that made itUTEP forced one Michigan punt all day, and it came in the first quarterMichigan has not publicly identified all five offensive line starters by name and position on or before August 22, 2026.
The piece that made itJim Harding Listed Three Goals For His Line In March. The Third One Still Has No Name On It.Nathaniel Staehling (No. 44) is one of Michigan's starting linebackers in the September 5 opener against Western Michigan.
The piece that made itMichigan's 4 Captains Are February's 4 Captains. The 12 Names Underneath Them Are NotTrue freshman receiver Travis Johnson (No. 13) catches at least 1 pass in the September 5 opener against Western Michigan.
The piece that made itMichigan's 4 Captains Are February's 4 Captains. The 12 Names Underneath Them Are NotJohn Henry Daley and Rod Moore both appear in Michigan's participation report for the September 5 opener against Western Michigan.
The piece that made itMichigan Opens With Two Players Out For The Year And Only One Of Them Happened In Fall CampChanning Goodwin is credited with at least one reception in the official box score of Michigan's September 5 opener against Western Michigan.
The piece that made itMichigan Spent August On Two Freshmen. The Third Receiver Job Went To A Junior With Six Starts.Andrew Marsh finishes with more receiving yards than JJ Buchanan in Michigan's September 12 game against Oklahoma.
The piece that made itWestern Michigan Ran 67 Plays And Never Reached The End ZoneMichigan's time of possession is at least 25:00 in its September 12 game against Oklahoma.
The piece that made itWestern Michigan Ran 67 Plays And Never Reached The End ZoneMichigan runs fewer than 10 snaps from under center in its September 12, 2026 game against Oklahoma.
The piece that made itMichigan Lost Four Of Five Third-And-Shorts To A Team Averaging 3.3 Yards A PlayOklahoma gains fewer than 5.5 yards per play against Michigan on September 12, 2026, measured as total offensive yards divided by total offensive plays in the official box score.
The piece that made itMichigan Lost Four Of Five Third-And-Shorts To A Team Averaging 3.3 Yards A PlayOklahoma beats Michigan by 10 or more points in the September 12, 2026 game at Michigan Stadium.
The piece that made itMichigan's Players Said Soft, And The Box Score Names The HalfBryce Underwood attempts 25 or more forward passes in Michigan's September 19, 2026 game against UTEP.
The piece that made itMichigan's Winning Drive Against Oklahoma Was Six Yards LongMichigan is charged with eight or more accepted penalties in its September 19, 2026 game against UTEP.
The piece that made itMichigan's Winning Drive Against Oklahoma Was Six Yards LongMichigan's non-quarterback rushers average 4.0 or more yards per carry in Michigan's September 19, 2026 game against UTEP.
The piece that made itAll Three of Michigan's Personal Fouls Landed on Oklahoma's Only Two Scoring DrivesMichigan converts six or more third downs in its September 19, 2026 game against UTEP.
The piece that made itAll Three of Michigan's Personal Fouls Landed on Oklahoma's Only Two Scoring DrivesMichigan beats UTEP by 21 or more points in the September 19, 2026 game at Michigan Stadium.
The piece that made itMichigan has scored 30 points in two games. Today's number is 41.5.Michigan beat UTEP 52-17, and the drive chart says the offense was never actually stalled. UTEP's defense forced one punt, on fourth-and-2 from Michigan's own 33 with 4:52 left in the first quarter, and never forced another. Of the ten possessions Michigan was trying to score on, seven produced points, and the three that did not were that punt and two Michigan fumbles. The six touchdown drives covered 68, 75, 52, 46, 62 and 51 yards, an average of 59, and three of Michigan's 11 possessions began in UTEP territory. On the other side, UTEP had five straight possessions from 1:31 of the second quarter to the end of the third: 14 plays from scrimmage for minus 5 yards, four three-and-out punts and a pick-six. Five first downs in that span gained 1 yard and five second downs lost 15, which left UTEP needing 6, 11, 11, 20 and 21 yards on its five third downs. Michigan's 13 third downs averaged 4.3 yards to go and UTEP's 12 averaged 10.2. Michigan's three opponents have now had 11 possessions each, 33 in all, and have scored three touchdowns.
Michigan beat UTEP 52-17 at Michigan Stadium in front of 110,668 people to finish nonconference play 3-0. The Wolverines trailed 7-0 and then 14-7 and did not lead until Trey Butkowski's 49-yard field goal with five seconds left in the first half. After UTEP's second touchdown, Michigan outgained the Miners 308-28 and outscored them 45-3, per Michigan's own postgame notes. Michigan scored 28 points in the third quarter after scoring none in the third quarter of its first two games. Bryce Underwood carried six times after carrying 18 against Oklahoma, and completed 19 of 25 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan punted once, made 27 first downs and converted 9 of 13 third downs. Both UTEP touchdowns came directly off Michigan fumbles. Jordan Marshall left in the third quarter, and Andrew Sprague and Zeke Berry did not play at all.
No. 19 Michigan hosts UTEP at Michigan Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Big Ten Network, the first meeting between the two programs. Michigan is 2-0 after beating Western Michigan 13-12 and No. 11 Oklahoma 17-10, and has scored 30 points in two games on 539 total yards. Against Oklahoma it held the ball for 33:17, turned it over zero times and ran 41 times for 152 yards, with quarterback Bryce Underwood leading the team with 18 carries. Penalties went the other way: 9 for 80 yards in the opener, 11 for 90 against Oklahoma. UTEP is 1-1 under third-year head coach Scotty Walden, shut out 51-0 at Oklahoma and a 51-10 winner over FCS Texas Southern. At DraftKings, read at 8:14 a.m. Eastern, Michigan is a 34.5-point favorite with a total of 48.5, both numbers down from an open of 36.5 and 49.5. Rain is forecast through the game.
Michigan returned to the AP Top 25 at 19th with 382 points, having gone 2-0 with a win over then-11th Oklahoma. It was 16th with 718 points in the preseason ballot, so the same voters now give it 53% of the support it carried in August. Oklahoma dropped 13 places to 24th, which lowers the value of the only ranked win Michigan owns. The schedule ahead moved further than Michigan did: Ohio State lost 24-23 at Texas and fell from 1st to 6th, Oregon lost 39-31 at Oklahoma State and fell from 6th to 21st, and Minnesota lost 38-13 at home to Mississippi State. The five ranked teams left on Michigan's schedule were worth 5,524 AP points last week and are worth 4,280 now, a loss of 1,244 points in a week Michigan played none of them. Ohio State sits 6th at 1-1, ahead of 16 teams ranked below it that have not lost. There is no College Football Playoff ranking until November. Michigan hosts UTEP on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Big Ten Network, with Evan Link and Carter Meadows both expected back and Andrew Babalola out.
Michigan beat Oklahoma 17-10 with a defense that stopped nine of Oklahoma's 11 possessions cold. The two it did not stop were the two on which Michigan committed a 15-yard personal foul, and those three flags supplied 45 of the 173 yards Oklahoma gained on them. Each foul converted a specific down: a face mask tacked onto a completion that had already made a first down, a personal foul that moved Oklahoma off its own 2, and a face mask that erased a nine-yard sack on third down. The second finding inverts the reading of Michigan's conservative second half. Michigan's first-half third downs needed 10.2 yards on average and it converted three of six. Its second-half third downs needed 3.9 yards on average and it converted one of seven, with six of the seven needing 5 yards or fewer. Michigan also took 56 of its 58 scrimmage snaps out of shotgun by ESPN's play-by-play tagging, and the two snaps carrying no shotgun tag were the fourth-and-1 it converted at its own 33 and Jordan Marshall's 1-yard touchdown.
Michigan beat Oklahoma 17-10 at Michigan Stadium in front of 111,240 people to go 2-0, a week after falling out of the AP Top 25. Oklahoma outgained Michigan 289 yards to 263 and made 17 first downs to 14, and lost because it turned the ball over twice and Michigan did not turn it over at all. The game was tied 10-10 with 11:49 left when Jyaire Hill intercepted John Mateer and returned it 24 yards to the Oklahoma 6; Jordan Marshall scored from a yard out two plays later. Michigan drew 11 penalties for 90 yards after drawing nine for 80 in the opener, and gave away 30 of the 83 yards on the Oklahoma drive that tied the game. Bryce Underwood completed nine of 17 passes for 111 yards, two of four for 15 in the second half, and gained 96 yards on 16 carries that were not sacks. Kyle Whittingham said afterward that Michigan cannot rely on running the ball. Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis hurt his right knee in the first half and did not return.
Michigan hosts No. 11 Oklahoma at noon Eastern on Fox, in the first meeting the two programs have ever played in Ann Arbor. Michigan is 1-0 after beating Western Michigan 13-12 on a 47-yard throw on the final play. Four players called the team soft in public afterward, at a meeting the defensive tackle Trey Pierce called himself on the Sunday morning after the game. Three of those four play defense, and the defense is the half that allowed no touchdowns while it was on the field for 40:08. The offense held the ball for 19:52, gained 276 yards, lost three turnovers, drew nine penalties for 80 yards and scored no points between its opening drive and the final play. Oklahoma beat UTEP 51-0 with 12.2 yards per pass attempt and 10 tackles for loss, and its quarterback John Mateer beat Michigan in Norman last September. At DraftKings, read through ESPN's odds feed at 8:14 a.m. Eastern Saturday, Oklahoma is a 5.5-point favorite at -108 with a total of 43.5. The same book opened Michigan as a 2.5-point favorite. Kyle Whittingham said Monday that Bryce Underwood is Michigan's quarterback right now and that the job is not set in concrete.
Michigan opened the season with a one-point win and left the AP Top 25, the only team in the country to drop out of the poll released on Tuesday afternoon. The Associated Press recorded it as the first time since at least 2008 that a team ranked that high was dropped after winning, and recorded Louisville, which lost and held its place at 24th, as the lowest-ranked team since at least 2008 to survive a loss. Virginia took the vacated place at 25th. Every other team from the preseason 25 is still there, including Louisville, the one preseason-ranked team that actually lost. In the coaches' poll Michigan survived at 24th, down from 16th, having shed 555 of its 719 points. The schedule ahead is the thing that decides the season rather than the ballot: six of Michigan's 11 remaining opponents are in the current AP poll, and three of them are in its top six, a distinction only four other teams in the country share. Oklahoma, 11th, is at Michigan Stadium on Saturday at noon Eastern on Fox. No College Football Playoff ranking exists yet and will not until November.
Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12 and the possession number that defined the night has a narrow cause. Across 18 third downs the Broncos converted eight. On the 13 that needed four yards or more, Michigan allowed four. On the five that needed three or fewer, Western Michigan ran the ball every time and converted four, twice on quarterback keepers up the middle out of shotgun on third-and-1. Michigan's own offense was the more efficient one, 276 yards on 48 snaps against 221 on 67, and it lined up under center exactly four times all night, consecutively, from first-and-goal at the 5 through the fourth-and-goal touchdown that opened the scoring. It never went back, and it won the game on the last snap of the night. The three-turnover total the box score carries includes a muffed punt that no offensive drive chart records.
Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12 at Michigan Stadium on a play that exists because a replay review put one second back on the clock, a decision the Big Ten defended in a statement and NBC's rules analyst questioned on air. The Broncos ran 67 plays from scrimmage, held the ball for 40:08, converted 8 of 18 third downs and scored on four Dieter Kelly field goals without once reaching the end zone. Michigan's offense produced two touchdown drives, its first and its last, and six punts, an interception and a lost fumble in between. Dom Nichols and Troy Bowles set career highs in their first career starts. JJ Buchanan caught six passes for 126 of Michigan's 170 passing yards.
Michigan opens the season at home against a Western Michigan team that finished 2025 at 10-4, beat Miami (OH) 23-13 at Ford Field for the MAC title and won the Myrtle Beach Bowl by 35. Across 14 games the Broncos allowed 17.4 points a game. Michigan finished 9-4 and allowed 20.4 across 13. The market still says 27.5. Andrew Babalola, the sixth lineman in the package Jason Beck brought from Utah, is out. Whittingham ruled him out Monday and said he is still on the shelf.
The last open job in Michigan's offense went to Channing Goodwin, a junior who started six games at receiver last season and caught 12 passes for 148 yards. The candidates August preferred were Jaime Ffrench, Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson, and Michigan's own game notes say what they have done: Ffrench caught one pass for six yards at Texas, and neither freshman has caught a college pass at all. Michigan also lost about half of its receivers' 2025 receptions, which is why the third spot is worth an argument. The offense's own starting alignment lists two receiver positions and a flex, so the job Whittingham just filled is a rotation job rather than a line in a starting lineup.
Whittingham told reporters Friday that Michigan came out of fall camp with one long-term injury, freshman interior lineman Ace Hamilton. That is accurate and it is a claim about a 4-week window. Michigan will open against Western Michigan on September 5 with two players lost for the season, because junior running back Micah Ka'apana went down in the spring and was ruled out on April 9. The spring is the half of the year Whittingham ran deliberately violent, and he said so on Big Ten Network on April 16, including the sentence where he priced it: there is an element of risk. He also said the fall would be scaled back, which is exactly what he did at Utah in August 2025, when his first-team offense took thud work in the first scrimmage and the second team took every live rep.
Michigan announced 4 captains and a 12-man leadership council on Monday night, and its February release had already announced 4 spring captains and an 11-man spring council with a note that the real vote would come in fall camp. The captains are identical. The council moved by 5 names: linebacker Troy Bowles, receiver JJ Buchanan and defensive end John Henry Daley came on, safety Mason Curtis and tight end Zack Marshall came off. With 18 days to Western Michigan, the tight ends went from 1 name to 0 of 8, the linebackers went from 0 to 1 of 14, and the 10 specialists have now been passed over twice.
Harding named finding a Rhino as one of his three spring goals in early March, before the first spring practice. Since then: Mike Lynch said early enrollee Marky Walbridge took a lot of reps at tackle and at the rhino position, and that is the whole record. Three camp availabilities and four write-ups have gone by without a coach naming anyone at it. Meanwhile the three Michigan players who have actually lined up as a sixth man are all chasing starting jobs instead.
The Rhino is a sixth offensive lineman, named for a Syracuse player, and it is older than the staff that brought it to Ann Arbor. Beck says Utah ran it 400 to 500 snaps last season. Utah ran 962 offensive plays in 2025, so his range is 42% to 52% of everything they did, and an independent charting of one game puts it at nearly half.
