The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE ❱ OCTOBER 2026 K yle Whittingham's Wolverines caused as much emotional whip- lash racing out to a 3-0 start as a spectator might incur in a 50-volley pickleball point. When Michigan escaped Western Michigan 13-12 on a Daily Double Do- Over Hail Mary, some were convinced The Big House foundation cracked and the implosion wasn't far behind. The Wolverines would be lucky to finish 3-9, with victories over Western, UTEP and Rutgers. One week later, Michigan's defense smacked Oklahoma with a 2-by-4 to the driver of the Sooner Schooner. It tipped, the script flipped, and a 17-10 win against the No. 10 team in the land surely summoned up echoes of 2023. That feeling lasted another 20 minutes of football. That's when UTEP grabbed a 14-7 lead, and the ledge jumpers began gathering in Row 98 for a fateful group plunge out of Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines' answer — 38 straight points, on the way to a 52-17 win — restored the proper order of the universe, but not without a planetary wobble or two. So who are these Wolverines, poised on the precipice of a dive into the land mines of the Big Ten? Are they the Sooner mooners, able to treat Oklahoma like William Wallace's bawdy band of warriors did in "Braveheart"? Or the team capable of creating coronary pa- tients in the sequel, Stopheart? Only a Big Ten season packed with teams that could beat this one — Iowa, Penn State, Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State, to name a handful — will com- pletely tell that tale. But this much we know. This team is capable of great mo- ments, and big mistakes. It's blessed with a lights-out defense and sharp spe- cial teams, when not treating opposing punters as practice dummies. It also features an offense jam-packed with talent, when it's not delivering football-shaped presents to the other team, or failing to bury defenders up front. The secret sauce for all of it, as far as Whittingham is concerned, involves playing with passion. "Hopefully, through three games we've learned that lesson and the last week [against Oklahoma and after] was a lot of energy and passion," Whitting- ham said. "But we've got to be able to bring the same mentality and the same energy week after week. You can't pick your spots, and so that's something that we still have to learn." At te n t i o n - ge t t i n g by s c h e d u l e shouldn't be nearly as tough from here on out. At this writing, no fewer than five of Michigan's upcoming opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 20. Oregon sat at 20, Iowa 17, Penn State 13, Ohio State 7 and Indiana 5. That's a whole lot of ranked rancor going on between now and 60 minutes of malice in Columbus. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Un- derwood went 19-of-25 passing with 223 yards and 2 touchdowns against UTEP, feeding sophomore wideouts Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan for a combined 197 yards through the air. Can they pull that off against the Majors, and not just the Miners? Week after week, they'll get the chance to prove it. It's the same story with a work-in-progress of- fensive line and a pair of backs — junior Jordan Marshall and freshman Savion Hiter – looking to get it going more con- sistently. The defense? Look out. This could be an elite group this year, and some glimpses of the next wave on the defensive line screams there's a powerhouse on the way. They stuck the spear in the ground against Oklahoma, but they've got to do it over and over. "It's really competitive, but it's a fun type of competitive," noted freshman defensive lineman Tariq Boney of the battles among the QB busters. "We're just pushing each other trying to see who can make a play first or who can get to the ball first or who made a tackle first. It's a lot. It's very fun, especially in practice. We have Bloody Tuesdays and things of that nature, so it's great." Others insist Bloody Saturdays are coming. "I don't feel like we've played our best game yet," assured sophomore line- backer Chase Taylor. "It's still coming. But we definitely know that it's confer- ence play, it's getting real. So definitely time to take it up a notch." "I feel like we haven't played to the best of our ability yet," Hiter echoed. "We need to do more in first halves and finishing those. And I feel like then no other team can beat us." The Big Ten says, prove it. The de- fending national champions say, let's see what you've got. Ohio State bellows, Michigan NEVER wins in … oops, never mind. But not this year. It's all out there for the taking. En- ergy, passion and precision. No picking your spots to pour it on. Then let's see where the dominoes — and the pretend- ers — fall. ❏ WOLVERINE WATCH ❱ JOHN BORTON U-M Shows Cracks, But Cracks Back Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham led the Wolverines to a very imperfect 3-0 record to start the 2026 season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Senior writer John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @JB_Wolverine.