Michigan’s 2026 schedule is loaded with quarterbacks who can make a defense earn every snap, but the matchup list still has a clear shape to it. Some of these passers are unproven.
Some are steady. A few can tilt a game all by themselves.
From UTEP’s EJ Colson all the way up to Oregon’s Dante Moore, here’s how Michigan’s quarterback opponents stack up in 2026.
Colson is the easiest name on the board by default, and that’s not a knock on what he did at Incarnate Word. He arrives at UTEP after throwing for more than 2,100 yards last season and completing 70% of his passes. Still, Michigan should be able to bring plenty of pressure in Week 3, and if that becomes a problem for Colson, it would probably say more about the Wolverines’ defense than the Miners’ offense.
Iowa’s quarterback situation doesn’t look much more intimidating. The Hawkeyes should have a strong defense again and a solid ground game behind Kamari Moulton, but the passing game remains the question.
They could go with Hank Brown, who attempted 21 passes last year and threw one touchdown and one interception, or Wake Forest transfer Jeremy Hecklinski, who threw one pass in 2025. Until Iowa proves it can develop quarterbacks, Michigan shouldn’t have much trouble there.
Rutgers brings a little more experience, but not much more fear factor. Athan Lonergan is expected to open the season as the starter after making nine starts for Boston College, where he threw for 2,025 yards last year.
The Scarlet Knights are also high on Surace, though he remains unproven. Lonergan doesn’t offer much as a runner, and even with KJ Duff at receiver, this doesn’t look like a passing attack that should trouble Michigan’s secondary too much.
Broc Lowry is a different kind of problem. The MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2025, he’s a true dual-threat quarterback, and that matters.
Lowry threw for a little over 1,800 yards last season, but he also ran for a program-record 963 yards and 14 touchdowns. Michigan gets him in the opener, which adds another layer to the challenge, especially if the defense needs a few drives to settle in.
Michigan State’s new quarterback situation is more respectable than flashy. After benching Aidan Chiles last season, the Spartans turned to Alessio Milivojevic for the final four games.
He didn’t light it up, but he did throw for 1,267 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. Pat Fitzgerald should have Michigan State competitive again, and in a rivalry game, Milivojevic has enough in the tank to make things interesting.
Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey enters the conversation as one of the more productive young passers on the schedule. In his redshirt freshman season, he set a program record for passing yards by a freshman with 2,382, along with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. He finished 11th in the Big Ten in passing yards, and while he’s not at the top tier yet, a road trip to Minnesota could still create problems for Michigan.
Then there’s Nico Iamaleava, whose career has not followed the path many expected. The former five-star recruit left Tennessee and had a rough year at UCLA, throwing for 1,928 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Even so, the talent is still there, and Bob Chesney could help unlock more of it in 2026. Michigan gets UCLA the week before Ohio State, so the Wolverines can’t afford to look past him.
Penn State’s new era brings in a familiar face for Matt Campbell. Rocco Becht has been Campbell’s starter for the last three seasons, and he’s already shown he can pile up numbers, throwing for more than 3,000 yards in both 2023 and 2024 before finishing just over 2,500 in 2025. He was a top-five Big 12 passer in his first two seasons as a starter, and while the Big Ten adjustment will matter, Becht has the experience and tools to rank high on this list.
John Mateer already showed Michigan what he can do. In the Wolverines’ matchup with Washington State, he threw for 270 yards, added a touchdown pass and ran for two scores.
Last season, he finished with 14 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and he’ll be back in Ann Arbor in Week 2 with a chance to take another step for Oklahoma. That game should tell us a lot about both teams.
Josh Hoover lands near the top because Curt Cignetti clearly trusts him to keep the offense rolling. After Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman, Cignetti went back to the portal and landed Hoover, who has thrown for more than 3,400 yards and more than 3,900 yards in the last two seasons. He’s finished second in the Big 12 in passing yards over that span, and while the Big Ten transition is still a question, Hoover has the kind of game that travels.
At the top, though, is Dante Moore. Julian Sayin has a case, especially after a strong 2025 season for Ohio State, when he threw for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions and had Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate to throw to. The Wolverines also struggled to get much pressure on him last year, and that has to change in Columbus.
But Moore gets the nod here. He has a real shot to be the first pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and Oregon enters the season as one of the national title favorites.
The former UCLA quarterback threw for more than 3,500 yards last season with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and the Ducks have the playmakers to make his job easier. Michigan has to go to Eugene to see him, which only raises the degree of difficulty.
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