The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2026 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Michigan wide receiver Andrew Marsh had one of the more impressive fresh- man seasons at his position in school history, catching 45 passes for 651 yards and 4 touchdowns. The sophomore is expected to have a breakout season alongside fellow sophomore and Utah transfer JJ Buchanan. Marsh talks about his expectations and more in this Q&A. The Wolverine: You were late to an- nounce your return after reportedly be- ing pursued in the transfer portal. How seriously were you considering leaving? Andrew Marsh: "I wanted to be back here. This is somewhere I really didn't want to leave. It was more making sure the guys were coming back. We all wanted to come back together." The Wolverine: Michigan hasn't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jeremy Gal- lon's 1,373 yards in 2013. Between that and the Biletnikoff Award [given to the nation's top receiver] … are those among your goals this year? Marsh: "That's big for me this year. It's something I definitely want to ac- complish. For my personal goal, that's probably top of the list. But the one thing we always say is, 'You win a championship, everything else will work itself out.'" The Wolverine: You've said you have a different approach this season to practice and the offense. What does that mean exactly? Marsh: "I feel like the game has slowed down for me a little bit. It's just being able to go full speed all the time, every rep, and really just being more intentional throughout practice." The Wolverine: How have you worked this summer to improve your game? Marsh: "I worked on a lot of different areas this offseason, like getting off the line of scrimmage and being more creative throughout my route running. It's just being more physical at the top and creating more separation." The Wolverine: You're not a secret anymore. You are at the top of every- one's scouting report. How do you think that will affect your progress? Marsh: "I've thought about it, but I like the challenge. To me, this is one of the best conferences — if not the best conference — in college football. Being challenged and facing a good defensive scheme is something I feel is only going to push me further." — Chris Balas ❱ Sitting Down With Michigan Sophomore Wide Receiver Andrew Marsh Sophomore wide receiver Andrew Marsh recorded a U-M fresh- man record 651 receiving yards in his debut season in 2025. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Michigan was chosen as the No. 5 team in the Big Ten in Cleveland.com's annual preseason media poll, after finishing tied fourth in the conference last year. Thirty-one voters were featured in this year's poll. The Cleveland.com poll has served as the Big Ten's unofficial media poll over the last 15 seasons (since 2011). It has cor- rectly picked the Big Ten cham- pion four times from 2011-25. The last time it had the champ right was in 2023, when Michi- gan beat Iowa in the Big Ten championship game, finished 15-0 and was crowned national champion. With 15 first-place votes, Ohio State was picked to win the Big Ten in 2026, one of three teams to receive first-place tal- lies along with Oregon (11) and Indiana (5). Each writer voted 1-18, with first-place votes worth 18 points, second-place votes worth 17 points, etc. Ohio State hasn't won the confer- ence this decade, last doing so in 2020. In this year's poll, Michigan is behind No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Indiana and No. 4 USC. The Wolverines' average rank is 5.13. Michigan will play three of the four teams ahead of it — at Ohio State on Nov. 28, at Oregon on Nov. 14 and versus Indiana in Ann Arbor on Oct. 24. Penn State was projected to win the Big Ten last season but ended up tied for 12th and posted a 7-6 overall record. Cleveland.com also polled voters on how many Big Ten teams would make the College Football Playoff. The majority of voters believe the confer- ence will send three teams to the CFP, with 18 votes. Four of them think that there will be four teams in the field, while one of them has five programs making it. Indiana (30 votes), Oregon (30), Ohio State (27), USC (8), Michigan (2) and Iowa (1) were the teams that showed up in voters' CFP projections. — Clayton Sayfie Rank Team (1st place) Points Average Rank 2025 Big Ten Record 1 Ohio State (15) 540 1.58 9-0 2 Oregon (11) 527 2.00 8-1 3 Indiana (5) 509 2.58 9-0 4 USC 446 4.61 7-2 5 Michigan 430 5.13 7-2 6 Penn State 380 6.74 3-6 7 Washington 366 7.19 5-4 8 Iowa 361 7.35 6-3 9 Illinois 304 9.19 5-4 10 Minnesota 268 10.35 5-4 11 Nebraska 246 11.06 4-5 12 Wisconsin 207 12.58 2-7 13 UCLA 199 12.32 3-6 14 Northwestern 140 14.48 4-5 15 Maryland 137 14.58 1-8 16 Michigan State 99 15.81 1-8 17 Rutgers 97 15.87 2-7 18 Purdue 45 17.55 0-9 MICHIGAN PICKED NO. 5 IN BIG TEN PRESEASON MEDIA POLL