Michigan’s first year under Kyle Whittingham is being framed as the start of something sturdier in Ann Arbor, but the 2026 schedule may not give Bryce Underwood much room to turn that promise into a College Football Playoff push.
CBS Sports analyst Brad Crawford sees the Wolverines landing at 8-4 in the regular season, a mark that would leave them on the outside looking in when the CFP picture comes into focus. The reasoning is simple: there’s enough talent here to win plenty of games, but the slate is stacked with too many heavy hitters for a first-year transition to absorb cleanly.
Michigan is projected to handle Western Michigan, UTEP and Minnesota early, only to run into trouble in the non-conference spotlight against Oklahoma. That loss, in Crawford’s view, would quickly reset expectations before the Big Ten grind really starts.
Even so, Crawford believes Underwood gives Michigan a real chance in league play. He says the quarterback and his supporting cast "will be good enough to beat everyone else," and that shows up in projected conference wins over Penn State, Indiana, Rutgers, Michigan State and UCLA.
But the top end of the schedule is where the ceiling gets tested. Crawford projects defeats against Iowa at home, then road losses at Oregon and against Ohio State. Those are the kinds of games that expose how much cohesion a team still needs, especially with a new coach trying to install a physical, disciplined identity.
"Michigan's first season under Kyle Whittingham should feature noticeable progress, but the Wolverines are staring down a brutal slate, and that reality keeps them outside the CFP," Crawford wrote.
The broad takeaway is clear: Whittingham may bring the structure Michigan has been looking for, and Underwood may be the quarterback to build around, but an 8-4 finish would still suggest the Wolverines have more foundation than finish line in 2026.
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