Midway through the season, Michigan and Penn State are learning how unforgiving a coaching change can be.
Both programs made splashy hires this offseason, with Michigan turning to longtime Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and Penn State landing longtime Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. On paper, both looked like experienced fixes for high-profile openings.
In practice, the first half of the season has been rough. Michigan sits at 3-2 after back-to-back Big Ten losses to Iowa and Minnesota, while Penn State is 3-3 and has dropped three straight conference games to Wisconsin, Northwestern and USC.
Penn State’s search dragged deeper into the calendar than expected after the Nittany Lions moved on from James Franklin following three straight losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern. The job stayed open through November, and on Dec.
1, ESPN reported that BYU head coach Kelani Sitake had emerged as the focus of the search. At the time, Sitake was preparing for Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship game, and his résumé already included four double-digit win seasons in 2020, 2021, 2024 and a 12-2 mark last season after arriving at BYU in 2016.
The courtship never got there. Jason McCowan, the Crumble Cookies CEO and prominent BYU booster, along with other donors, worked publicly and behind the scenes to keep Sitake in Provo. Sitake ultimately signed a new contract extension to stay at BYU, and Penn State shifted to Campbell.
Campbell arrived with a solid Big 12 track record already in hand. He went 50-40 in conference play at Iowa State, putting him in rare company alongside Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Kansas State’s Bill Snyder, Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy and Texas’ Mack Brown as one of the coaches to reach 50 Big 12 wins.
His run with the Cyclones included Big 12 regular-season titles in 2020 and 2021, plus a trip to the conference championship game again in 2024. He left Ames with a 72-55 record and three Big 12 coach of the year honors.
Michigan’s move came later in the carousel as well. The Wolverines fired third-year coach Sherrone Moore after a school investigation found he had an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.
Moore was later arrested after confronting the women he had been in a relationship with, and he was charged with home invasion in the third degree and stalking. He later was sentenced to 18 month probation.
Whittingham, hired a few weeks after Moore’s firing, had spent 22 seasons at Utah and left as the winningest coach in program history with a 177-88 record. His departure had already been announced earlier in December, and at 66, there had been rumors he might retire before Michigan opened up.
His conference résumé is long and sturdy. Since Utah’s Mountain West days in 2008, the Utes went 102-68 in conference play under Whittingham. He also led them to back-to-back Pac 12 titles in 2021 and 2022, along with several Pac-12 divisional titles.
In Other News...
Michigan Just Took A Tough Backcourt Recruiting Hit
Michigan had been in the mix for a major backcourt addition in Devin Cleveland, but the four-star guard chose Missouri instead, closing the door on what had looked like one of the Wolverines better recruiting battles. For a program that has already dealt with recent coaching turnover, with Mike Boynton Jr. taking over for Dusty May, losing out on a guard of Clevelands caliber stings a little more because of what he represented for the next wave of roster building.
The miss also leaves Michigan without an immediate impact backcourt piece in the 2027 class, which puts a little extra pressure on the staff as it keeps chasing perimeter help. There is still time for the Wolverines to reshape that group, but this was the kind of recruiting swing that can change the feel of a class, and for now it is Missouri that gets the benefit. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Got Called Out Before A Season Defining Penn State Game
Michigans uneven start has now drawn some pointed national attention, with Nick Saban singling out the Wolverines as the Big Tens biggest disappointment because of an offense that has not matched the caliber of their defense. A team that entered the year with real expectations is sitting 3-2 overall and still searching for its first conference win, which has turned an already important stretch into a far more urgent one.
Now comes a home date with Penn State, another team still winless in the Big Ten, in a matchup that suddenly feels like a reset point for both sides. Michigan needs more from Bryce Underwood and a more reliable attack to keep the season from drifting further off course, while Penn State arrives with its own offensive issues under first-year coach Matt Campbell, leaving both programs to sort out the same problem under a brighter spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Showed Real Firepower But One Issue Still Stood Out
Michigans offense showed plenty of juice in its second exhibition game, a 98-93 win over Oregon State that offered an encouraging look at how much scoring punch this group can bring. Elliot Cadeau led the way with 27 points, while Trey McKenney added 18 in the second half to help steady things, and Moustapha Thiam chipped in across the board with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists. It was the kind of outing that reminded everyone Michigan can create points in a hurry when the rhythm is right.
Still, the game also left one familiar concern hanging in the background, even as the Wolverines finished on top. Oregon State got an early burst from DeShawn Gory, and Michigan had to keep answering rather than simply pulling away, which is the part worth watching as the exhibitions give way to games that count. The talent is obvious, but the next step is figuring out how cleanly it all holds together when the pressure settles in. [Read more 🡒]