College football season is almost here, and Michigan is stepping into it with more questions than polish.
The Wolverines open Sept. 5 against Western Michigan, and the first preseason national ranking to land on them is a reminder that expectations have been pulled back a bit. Chris Vannini of The Athletic placed Michigan at No. 16, a spot that reflects both the talent still on the roster and the mess the program is trying to move past.
Michigan is coming off a year defined by coaching upheaval. The Wolverines moved on from Sherrone Moore last season in the middle of a scandal involving a staffer who reported their affair, and the program now turns to new head coach Kyle Whittingham to steady things. That kind of turmoil can knock even strong teams off course, which is why the main storyline this fall is simple: how quickly can Michigan climb back out of it?
Vannini’s reasoning centered on that very point. “The Wolverines won nine games last year amid major coaching turmoil,” he notes.
“Can the steady hand of Kyle Whittingham get them back to the Playoff? More specifically, will enough receivers emerge to help second-year quarterback Bryce Underwood?”
Underwood is at the center of it all. In his first season, he showed why Michigan is excited about him, even if the results were uneven.
He threw for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 60.3% of his passes over 13 games. He also ran for 392 yards and six scores, giving the Wolverines a dangerous dual-threat option.
Now he enters Year 2, and that alone matters. A quarterback who has already taken his lumps usually looks a lot different once the game slows down. Michigan will need that growth, because the passing game still has to prove it can consistently support him.
Whittingham brings a different kind of stability. He arrives with more than 30 years of college coaching experience and a 177-88 career record.
His time at Utah stretched 32 years, including 21 as head coach, and he became the winningest coach in program history. His résumé includes back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022, an 11-6 bowl record, and the undefeated 2008 season that ended with a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.
The schedule won’t make the transition any easier. Michigan is set to face six teams ranked in the preseason top 25, including No.
2 Oregon and No. 1 Ohio State in the regular-season finale.
That is a brutal road.
Still, the ranking says more about the uncertainty than the ceiling. Michigan has enough talent to matter, and enough experience in the building now to make a run if the right pieces come together. The Wolverines may not love being No. 16, but they’re not out of the picture either.
In Other News...
Michigan May Have Found Answers In Three Crucial Spots
Michigan wrapped up its final fall camp scrimmage with game week now on the horizon, and the early read on this roster looks a lot more encouraging than it did a few weeks ago. Bryce Underwood appears to have taken a real step forward, the wide receiver room has brought more consistency and playmaking to the table, and an offensive line that looked like a question mark entering camp seems to be settling in and improving at the right time.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker play has also started to look like a strength, with transfer Nathaniel Staehling drawing particularly positive evaluations. For a program trying to sort out several key spots before the season begins, that matters, because Michigan does not need every answer in place yet, but it does need enough of them to feel like the foundation is there when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Is Chasing A Receiver Who Could Change Its Future Air Attack
Michigan has jumped early into the chase for Jaedon White, extending a scholarship offer to the Westside High School receiver from Anderson, South Carolina, as the Wolverines continue building out their vision for a more dynamic passing game. White is already drawing major attention as a four-star prospect, ranked No. 31 nationally and the top player in South Carolina in the 2029 class, which tells you how much upside is attached to his name this far out.
Kyle Whittinghams staff, with wide receivers coach Micah Simon helping lead the recruitment, is clearly treating White as the kind of versatile, explosive playmaker that can help reshape Michigans air attack down the line. For a program looking to add more juice on the perimeter, getting in early on a prospect with that profile is the sort of move that could matter again and again if the relationship keeps trending the right way. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans New Passing Buzz Is Starting A Real Fall Camp Debate
Fall camp has brought a little extra life to Michigans passing-game conversation, and Utah transfer wide receiver JJ Buchanan is right in the middle of it. After arriving in Ann Arbor, Buchanan has talked up his transition to the program, his comfort with quarterback Bryce Underwood and the way the two have started to build timing as the Wolverines sort through what their offense can become this season. He also pointed to his basketball background as part of what helps him at the catch point, a useful detail for a receiver trying to carve out a role in a competitive room.
Buchanans optimism has fit neatly with the broader mood around camp, where Michigan has been drawing notice for the talent on hand and the energy around the new group. He has been quick to credit the coaching staff as well, another sign that the early impressions have been positive on both sides of the ball. The bigger question, of course, is how all of that translates once the real games begin, and whether the buzz around the passing attack turns into something the Wolverines can count on when the season starts. [Read more 🡒]