Next up in the opponent preview series is the Michigan Wolverines. After an up-and-down season, which ended in the firing of Sherrone Moore and the first loss to Ohio State since 2019, Michigan decided to hire longtime Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. The Wolverines will look to put years of on- and off-the-field scandals behind them and return to their identity of being tough and physical in the trenches.
Rutgers has had an interesting history with the Wolverines, sealing their first-ever Big Ten victory over UM in 2014 with Kemoko Turay blocking a late field goal attempt to preserve a 26-24 win and prompting a field storm at SHI Stadium. Since then, it has all been downhill, including the infamous 78-0 loss that still leaves a pit in Rutgers' fans' stomachs.
More recently, Knights fans have struggled with much closer losses to the program, which offer a different type of heartache. There was a string of three surprisingly competitive games against a stronger Michigan team, including a 48-42 3OT escape by UM in 2020, a frustrating 20-13 Rutgers loss in Ann Arbor in 2021, and a shocking 17-14 halftime lead for the Knights at home turning into a 52-17 Michigan rout in 2022.
The last meeting between the sides was arguably the most anticlimactic, with Rutgers falling to Michigan 31-7 after an early Christian Dremel touchdown put RU up 7-0. The Knights have not seen the Wolverines since that 2023 meeting, which was the year Michigan won the national championship.
With the history being unpacked, let us turn our attention to this year's Michigan Wolverines and what to expect when Whittingham's team arrives in New Jersey on what should be an interesting Halloween gameday.

#wolverines #rutgers #since #loss

CHICAGO — Kyle Whittingham is a tone-setter. At Michigan, he also has to be a stain remover. The 66-year-old former Utah frontman is tasked with ameliorating a program tainted by scandal.
Whittingham was hired by Warde Manuel, an athletic director who's now stepping down at the end of the calendar year after being implicated in an internal investigation "into the circumstances surrounding the conduct" of fired Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore. Manuel, according to an FAQ the school put out earlier this month about the investigation and its corresponding culture review, demonstrated "failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by Athletic Department employees."
Moore, notably, was arrested by police and fired by Michigan in December for what the university described as an "inappropriate relationship" with a staff member. He faced a collection of charges, including a charge of felony home invasion, although he dodged jail time by reaching a plea deal earlier this year.
The nefarious web extends further, of course, as Moore's two-season stint at the helm began when he officially took over for Jim Harbaugh, who was in charge of the Wolverines when they were marred by their infamous sign-stealing scheme. That ploy resulted in some casting a perverse shadow over the national ******* le Michigan won during the 2023 season. Even before that saga began, Harbaugh got caught up in recruiting violations at Michigan.
For years, Wolverines players have found themselves in a vacuum of controversy and uncertainty. Whittingham, after a 21-season tenure piloting the Utes, yearns to bring stability to Ann Arbor.

#moore #harbaugh #Athletic

Michigan basketball is set to add another blueblood to its schedule.
The Wolverines are in the process of finalizing a two-year deal with Louisville, a program source with knowledge of the plans confirmed to the Free Press. The plan is to play in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena this season, with a "return" trip to be played next season in Indianapolis.
This season's game could potentially be played Dec. 5, though the teams are still finalizing the dates.
This appears to be an ACC replacement for a matchup with Duke in December. That game against the Blue Devils was nixed after being originally scheduled for New York then Miami.
It's yet another big-time name Michigan will play in a schedule that already includes an exhibition against Houston, and nonconference games against UConn (in a rematch of April's national championship game), Villanova and Marquette. That's in addition to the Wolverines' participation in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving week; U-M's slate in that tourney features an opener vs. Creighton followed by a Day 2 matchup with either Miami (Florida) or TCU and a third game against Gonzaga, Kansas State, Baylor or Alabama.

#game #finalizing #play #matchup

Michigan basketball is set to add another blueblood to its schedule.
The Wolverines are in the process of finalizing a two-year deal with Louisville, a program source with knowledge of the plans confirmed to the Free Press. The plan is to play in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena this season, with a "return" trip to be played next season in Indianapolis.
This season's game could potentially be played Dec. 5, though the teams are still finalizing the dates.
This appears to be an ACC replacement for a matchup with Duke in December. That game against the Blue Devils was nixed after being originally scheduled for New York then Miami.
It's yet another big-time name Michigan will play in a schedule that already includes an exhibition against Houston, and nonconference games against UConn (in a rematch of April's national championship game), Villanova and Marquette. That's in addition to the Wolverines' participation in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving week; U-M's slate in that tourney features an opener vs. Creighton followed by a Day 2 matchup with either Miami (Florida) or TCU and a third game against Gonzaga, Kansas State, Baylor or Alabama.

#michigan #wolverines #Miami #schedule

The biggest storyline surrounding Michigan this season will be how quickly the program adjusts to new leadership under head coach Kyle Whittingham. The Wolverines have built a reputation around physical football, strong defense, and controlling the line of scrimmage, and maintaining that identity will be a major focus as the program enters a new chapter.
The other big question is can Bryce Underwood take the next step to becoming an elite quarterback that this offense needs?
Bryce Underwood's Next Step
The biggest factor in Michigan's ceiling will likely be the continued development of quarterback Bryce Underwood. After arriving with enormous expectations, Underwood enters the season with the opportunity to prove he can become the next great quarterback in Ann Arbor.
Michigan has traditionally leaned on its running game and defense, but the modern Big Ten requires consistent quarterback play to compete with teams like Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State. If Underwood can become more comfortable operating the offense, making quick decisions, and creating explosive plays, the Wolverines' offense could take a significant step forward.

#biggest

Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham sees only one way for college football to sustain itself as NIL grows every year. The rise in NIL has fueled conference realignment rumors as everyone seeks individual interests over conference priorities.
In his conversation with ESPN's Rich Eisen on Monday, Whittingham suggested converting college football into a minor league addition to the NFL. This was the Wolverines head coach's response when asked how he would improve the current state of college football, where money disparity has become a major issue:
"I think it's got to be a NFL minor league model where we have a salary cap and the players are employees," Whittingham said. "I think, as distasteful as some of that is, I don't think there's any other way that's better than that. And, right now, it's out of control. We're going to have probably a dozen teams in the next recruiting cycle with $50 million rosters."
With the Big Ten and SEC hosting some of the best teams in college football over the past decade, Whittingham was fueling a "super conference" as an alternative to the current system.
"And there's such a disparity between the haves and the have-nots, I think the only way to get that evened out and level the playing field is to go ahead and pattern it after a minor league NFL model or 'super league' if you will. You'll probably see 48-60 teams survive the cut and be on the right side of the line in the sand and proceed forward," the head coach continued.

#whittingham #Football

Chicago — Conference realignment has thrown a wrench in many of college football's traditional rivalries. At least one Big Ten coach says he feels a new one brewing with Michigan.
Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days, USC head coach Lincoln Riley said that the past two season's games against Michigan have taken on the air of a rivalry. And though the Wolverines aren't on the schedule this season, he's looking forward to building more history with the Big Ten's traditional teams.
"This has got a little bit of juice behind it," Riley said. "Whether it's at the Big House or at the Coliseum, those two programs walk on the field, those two helmets walk on the field, it's like, ***** , you know. This is real. It's pretty cool, and I think everybody kind of feels that."
Michigan's Kalel Mullings ran in a 1-yard, fourth down touchdown with 37 seconds left to beat USC, 27-24, in a ranked clash at Michigan Stadium in 2024. The next year, USC pounded Michigan 31-13 in Los Angeles.
No, this quote-unquote rivalry isn't replacing the Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh for Southern Cal, or surpassing The Game in importance for Michigan. The Trojans will always have beef with Notre Dame and UCLA — no matter what scheduling drama there may be with the Irish. And the Wolverines' rivals of Ohio State and Michigan State carry a certain regional animosity that is as hot as ever these days.

#michigan

On the ESPN College Football podcast, Dan Wetzel asked: is Michigan football poised to surprise pundits across the sport in 2026? His compatriot there on the writing side, Bill Connelly, notes in his preview that if a few things go right for the maize and blue, a deep run could be in their future.
In his feature-length write-up on the conference, the Wolverines aren't one of Connelly's contenders for the ****** le and beyond -- such belongs to Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana -- but Michigan is in the same category as USC, Penn State, Washington, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, UCLA, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Northwestern as schools that 'could be a couple of breaks away from a run."
Of course, Michigan is thought of much more highly than, say, UCLA, Maryland, and Northwestern, but Connelly asks a couple of questions that the answer will determine the team's ceiling in 2026.
Whittingham's bona fides are top notch, but I do have two big questions.
1. Can the hard-nosed overachiever coach properly connect with and motivate a roster of blue-chippers? Going from managing a roster of chip-on-their-shoulder underdogs (relatively speaking) to leading higher-caliber recruits with higher expectations has tripped up plenty of coaches through the years. And that's without getting into the fact that Whittingham is 66 years old. (Between Patterson and Whittingham, it's a big year for 66-year-olds.)

#whittingham

Though expected to be ranked, not many are thinking much about Michigan football at this time of the year. Eerily similar to 2021, when a Jim Harbaugh-led team had zero offseason buzz before shocking the college football world, all is quiet on the Western front as it pertains to the maize and blue.
But one ESPN personality thinks that the Wolverines could end up shocking the world.
Dan Wetzel is local to Michigan, and as the ESPN College Football podcast panel did a brief preview of the Big Ten in 2026, and though Michigan football wasn't spoken of much, Wetzel asked: why not the team in Ann Arbor?
"I think that the program that could totally surprise, because I don't think anyone's much of them, is Michigan," Wetzel said. "I don't think there's a lot of discussion, but how are they with a coach, like how good can Kyle Whittingham get them? There's a lot of talent at Michigan; it's a very high-priced roster still. Can Kyle Whittingham step right in and kind of revive that program quickly?"
If Jason Beck gets his offense going and Jay Hill manages to do a good job with the defense, it wouldn't surprise if the Wolverines are better than anticipated. However, the schedule is a bear, so there will need to be some surprise wins there if Michigan is going to find its way to a better postseason berth than the previous two years.

#wolverines

Michigan football writer Tony Garcia ranks the five most important players on the Wolverines' defense in 2026.
Michigan had to replace a pair of starters in the secondary last season when Will Johnson and Makari Paige left for the 2025 NFL Draft and while it brought in veterans like TJ Metcalf and Wesley Walker to fill in as experienced pieces, the DBs clearly missed their leader.
Shortly after former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale arrived in 2024, he compared Rod Moore to NFL All-Pro Eric Weddle in terms of his cognitive ability. While he doesn't wear the "green dot" with the headset to the defensive coordinator, Moore is the quarterback of the back end and ensures his running mates are on the same page and in the right positions.
THE OFFENSE: Ranking Michigan football's 5 most important offensive players in 2026
It was sorely missed the past two seasons, but he's said to be on track for a full return this year. While it remains to be seen where he is athletically after he comes back from multiple knee procedures, Moore's impact on the defense will be felt if he's even able to return to 80% of what he was when he was an All-Big Ten secondary piece in 2023.

#defensive

Michigan football writer Tony Garcia ranks the five most important players on the Wolverines' defense in 2026.
Michigan had to replace a pair of starters in the secondary last season when Will Johnson and Makari Paige left for the 2025 NFL Draft and while it brought in veterans like TJ Metcalf and Wesley Walker to fill in as experienced pieces, the DBs clearly missed their leader.
Shortly after former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale arrived in 2024, he compared Rod Moore to NFL All-Pro Eric Weddle in terms of his cognitive ability. While he doesn't wear the "green dot" with the headset to the defensive coordinator, Moore is the quarterback of the back end and ensures his running mates are on the same page and in the right positions.
THE OFFENSE: Ranking Michigan football's 5 most important offensive players in 2026
It was sorely missed the past two seasons, but he's said to be on track for a full return this year. While it remains to be seen where he is athletically after he comes back from multiple knee procedures, Moore's impact on the defense will be felt if he's even able to return to 80% of what he was when he was an All-Big Ten secondary piece in 2023.

#coordinator

Notre Dame is really stacking the talent along the defensive line with its 2027 football recruiting class. On Thursday, one of the big additions to that group finally made a public announcement. 4-Star defensive lineman Brayden Parks gave his commitment to Marcus Freeman, Charlie Partridge, and Notre Dame via an announcement ceremony on CBS Sports.
The 6'3" 305 pound defensive tackle from Brother Rice High School in Chicago, Illinois, chose the Irish over his other finalist, the Oregon Ducks. Parks also held major offers from all over the country including the Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan Wolverines, Alabama Crimson Tide, Miami Hurricanes, and many more.
From 247:
-Wide, stout-bodied interior defender who makes life challenging for Middle 3 blockers with his rate of movement off the ball.
-Possesses the rush get-off and skill level to consistently shave edges or pry open rush paths with inside moves.
-Can rip and swipe his way to immediate victories, with an effective hump move sprinkled in.
-Natural leverage advantage simplifies his ability to anchor and root into the ground against downhill run efforts for new lines of scrimmage.
-Power-packed player who doesn't lose steam on his way to the quarterback at various parts of the field.
-Falls shy of positional size thresholds, but has the length to overwrite those shortcomings.
-Looks the part of a productive, multi-year contributor for a Power Four program who specializes in even-front deployments.
From ISD:

#star

A month after the whirlwind series of events that led to Dusty May becoming the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, new Michigan head coach Mike Boynton Jr. is speaking on how things went down.
In an interview with the Field of 68 on Thursday, Boynton said that he knew that May was considering leaving following the Wolverines' victory in the NCAA championship, but that the two of them didn't have a conversation about next steps until the day before May took the job. May's hire was officially announced by Dallas on Tuesday, June 23.
Boynton said that they'd had an inkling that there would be a leadership change at Michigan, as May's "name came up for pretty much every job, all spring, at every level," Boynton said. That included then-open positions at North Carolina, the Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic, which were all subsequently filled.
Boynton, who spent seven seasons as the head coach at Oklahoma State, added that he was "sensitive" about trying to pry into what was going on with May.
"I really didn't know, and I really wasn't all that interested in finding out, because I didn't want him to feel like I was just another guy trying to seek information," Boynton said.

#trying

Michigan basketball managed to hold onto most of its roster, but not everyone chose to stay in Ann Arbor under new head coach Mike Boynton Jr.
The Wolverines lost one player to the transfer portal in backup point guard LJ Cason, who had torn his ACL in the Illinois game this past season. Expected to be out for the majority, if not all, of the upcoming season, Cason was going to redshirt for the maize and blue before the NCAA's five-for-five ruling came down. But when Dusty May left Michigan for the NBA, Cason was the last player to decide if he was staying or going, and ultimately chose to leave.
Cason entered the transfer portal, and on Tuesday, he ultimately opted to go to Miami, as reported by Rivals' Joe Tipton.
Cason is the second player in as many years to leave Ann Arbor for Coral Gables. Starting point guard in May's first season coaching the maize and blue, Tre Donaldson, also transferred to the Hurricanes.
A huge spark off the bench, Cason was expected to be the starting point guard of the future for the Wolverines. He improved from scoring 4.3 points per game as a true freshman to 8.4 points per game in his sophomore year. He has three years of eligibility remaining now that five-for-five is enacted.

#point #wolverines

Michigan basketball's offseason has largely been defined by continuity under new head coach Mike Boynton. The Wolverines retained nearly their entire roster after Dusty May's departure and kept most of the coaching staff intact.
One notable exception has now found his next home.
Former Michigan point guard L.J. Cason announced Tuesday that he is transferring to Miami, ending a brief stay in the transfer portal and beginning the next chapter of his college career back in his home state of Florida.
Cason officially entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday. Less than 24 hours later, his decision was made.
The sophomore guard will continue his career with the Hurricanes, returning to the state where his basketball journey began.

#michigan #next #transfer #mike

L.J. Cason is headed home.
Cason, the the former Michigan guard from Lakeland, Florida, announced Tuesday he is transferring to Miami (Florida).
Cason spent two seasons at Michigan, after committing to Florida Atlantic, where Dusty May was head coach. He followed May to Michigan, where he cracked the rotation as a freshman and was a key contributor as a sophomore. As the team's backup point guard, he averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 ******* ists in 18.6 minutes and shot 40.2% from 3-point range across 28 games last season.
Cason was playing his best basketball and was having a breakout campaign when he went down with a torn ACL in late February. He held off having surgery until April 9 — three days after Michigan beat UConn in the national ******* le game — so he could still be with the team during the NCAA Tournament.
Cason was the lone holdover Michigan was unable to hang on to following May's departure to the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. The other 13 players on the roster previously announced their plans to stay at Michigan for the 2026-27 season and play for former ******* istant Mike Boynton Jr., who agreed to a two-year deal as the Wolverines' head coach this month.

#coach

Michigan men's basketball point guard L.J. Cason officially entered his name into the transfer portal on July 20. Just one day later, he has a new college basketball home.
The Florida native is taking his talents back to his home state, as he is set to transfer to the University of Miami.
Cason was a three-star prospect and originally committed to Florida Atlantic in the 2024 recruiting class before Dusty May left for Michigan. He followed May to Ann Arbor and found immediate success as a true freshman, playing in all 30 games off the bench. He averaged 4.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and one ****** ist in 11.8 minutes per game his first year in college.
He took another step forward this past year, playing in 28 games and averaging 8.4 points, 2.4 ****** ists and 1.9 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game. Cason was playing really well midseason prior to his season-ending ACL injury at Illinois on Feb. 27, the night the Wolverines clinched the Big Ten regular-season championship.
Head coach Mike Boynton Jr. and company will now be tasked with coming up with a plan to distribute minutes at the point guard position for the 2026-27 season. Cason was reportedly eyeing a late-season return from his ACL tear, but now that he is officially gone, developing a plan with the remaining guys on the roster should be a priority. Elliot Cadeau is locked in as the starter, while Trey McKenney and Brandon McCoy Jr. will also likely ply a factor handling the ball. The Wolverines also welcome in another true freshman in Joseph Hartman who might be able to earn some minutes at point guard as well.

#season #Florida #wolverines

Sports hate is fun.
Morez Johnson Jr. left us. He left us for… (gulp) Michigan. Given the seasons Michigan and Illinois had, it was always going to be a big game. Adding Morez’s departure into the mix just made it that much more personal. When he came back to State Farm Center as a member of the Michigan Wolverines, it was fun to boo him. It was fun to root against him. Rivalries are fun. They’re what sports are built on. It’s time to concede though. We lost this one.
Morez had options coming out of high school and he chose to stay in-state and come to Illinois and it felt nice to be chosen. He played well, we could see the potential, and before it really had the chance to develop, he was gone and we hated him for it.
Morez transferring to Michigan was the college basketball equivalent of your ex showing up on Instagram with your biggest rival. You tell yourself you’re over it. Then they post vacation pictures, buy a house together, and suddenly you’re hate-scrolling at midnight wondering how they got their happy ending with someone else.
The answer is opportunity. And more money. But mostly the opportunity. He took full advantage of it, dominating his sophomore season, putting up a double-double in a blowout win in his return to Champaign, winning a national championship, and getting drafted in the lottery by his former college coach. He left us, found “the one,” got married, had a couple of kids, and we’re still doom-scrolling the wedding photos wondering what could’ve been.

Mike Boynton Jr. is set to lose his first player since being named head coach, as Michigan point guard L.J. Cason intends on entering the transfer portal upon its opening for every player on the Wolverines’ roster.
Cason came to Michigan as a lowly regarded three-star prospect out of Lakeland, Florida. Former head coach Dusty May landed his commitment at Florida Atlantic prior to him leaving for the Michigan job, so Cason followed him to Ann Arbor. He contributed right away as a true freshman, playing in all 30 games coming off the bench for the Wolverines. Cason averaged 4.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, one ***** ist in 11.8 minutes per game.
He took a major step forward as a sophomore in the national championship-winning 2025-26 season, playing in 28 games (off the bench once again) and averaging 8.4 points, 2.4 ***** ists and 1.9 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game. Cason was on a midseason heater — including putting up a career-high 18 points at Northwestern on Feb. 11 — prior to his season-ending torn ACL injury that he suffered in the Big Ten regular-season championship-clinching win at Illinois on Feb. 27.
Cason may have only played in seven more minutes per game between his freshman and sophomore years, but his shooting percentage significantly improved. This past season, Cason shot 50.3 percent from the field (81-for-161) and 40.2 percent from beyond the arc (33-for-82), more than doubling his three-point total as a freshman.
Prior to May leaving for the Dallas Mavericks, there was a plan in place for Cason to redshirt during the 2026-27 season. However, the 5-in-5 rule that passed by the NCAA earlier this summer enabled him to possibly be able to return for the upcoming season. This rule gives college athletes five years to compete from the time they turn 19 years old or graduate from high school, whichever happens first. This is set to end redshirting altogether and, in turn, let Cason return from injury sooner than once expected.

Mike Boynton Jr. has added some head coaching experience to his Michigan staff.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on Monday afternoon that the Wolverines are hiring Brown coach Mike Martin as an ****** istant. Martin, who is 44, has been the head coach at his alma mater since 2012 and holds a 171-202 record.
He did not lead the Bears to an NCAA tournament bid in his 13 seasons in Providence, though he did turn in five winning seasons and led Brown to a CIT bid in 2014 and a CBI bid in 2019. That season, he was also named the Ivy League's Coach of the Year.
Now, he'll provide some experience on staff for Boynton, who enters his first season as head coach after he was elevated following Dusty May's departure. Boynton managed to maintain nearly all of Michigan's roster despite the June coaching change, and now, he's shoring up his new staff.
The Wolverines retained much of their staff but saw some key changes. ****** istant Justin Joyner became the head coach at Oregon State, while Drew Williamson followed May to Dallas as an ****** istant. Akeem Miskdeen is still listed as a member of the Wolverines coaching staff, as is general manager Kyle Church.

Mike Boynton Jr. has made his first move as Michigan basketball coach.
The Wolverines are hiring longtime Brown head coach Mike Martin to fill an ******* istant coaching role, a person with knowledge of the situation but not permitted to speak publicly on the matter told the Free Press on Monday, July 13.
The 44-year-old Martin was Brown coach for 14 seasons (including 2020-21, skipped by Ivy League teams), hired by the Bears a few weeks before he turned 30. He was named Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2019 and is the first of possibly multiple staffers who could join Boynton and company after a summer of coaching turnover.
HONOR ROLL: Michigan legend Glen Rice named to Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
Boynton was officially hired as U-M coach on Friday, less than three weeks after ex-coach Dusty May left for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. May took ******* istant Drew Williamson and Mody Maor, who was expected to join U-M's staff for the 2026-27 season from ******* an but was never formally announced.

College basketball today is fueled by talent, NIL, and transfer portals, but nothing moves the needle quite like a fierce, deep-rooted rivalry. If there were any doubts about how new University of Michigan men's basketball head coach Mike Boynton Jr. plans to approach the legendary intra-state war with Michigan State, those doubts were emphatically erased today.
In his first major recruiting chess move since officially signing a two-year contract to succeed Dusty May—who departed for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks after leading the Wolverines to the 2026 national championship—Boynton has thrown a dynamite stick right into the heart of East Lansing. The very first scholarship offer extended under the Boynton era has gone to Glendale (AZ) Dream City Christian four-star point guard Mateen Cleaves Jr.
Yes, that Mateen Cleaves.
A Direct Shot Across the Bow
To understand the sheer audacity of this move, one must understand the history embedded in the name printed on the back of the jersey. Mateen Cleaves Sr. is not just a former college basketball player; he is the definitive icon of Michigan State basketball. A three-time All-American, two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, and the ferocious, smiling point guard who led Tom Izzo to his first and only national championship in 2000, the elder Cleaves is Spartan royalty. His jersey hangs proudly in the Breslin Center rafters.

The Oklahoma Sooners appear to have many of the ingredients needed to contend for a national championship. After going 10-3 and returning to the College Football Playoff last season, expectations are rising in Norman. Oklahoma also returns much of its core, tying for No. 12 nationally in returning production.
Those factors typically give teams a legitimate opportunity to compete for a national ***** le. The biggest obstacle is Oklahoma's schedule, which ranks as the second-toughest in college football, trailing only the Arkansas Razorbacks. Some of the key games include road games against the Michigan Wolverines and the Georgia Bulldogs, a neutral-site game against the Texas Longhorns, and home games against the Ole Miss Rebels and the Texas A&M Aggies.
Those are all teams that have College Football Playoff aspirations, and three of them made the field last season. So, the question now is what chances does Oklahoma have at winning its eighth national championship? ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), a measure of a team's strength meant to be the best predictor of its performance going forward for the rest of the season, gives the Sooners a 2% chance to win it all.
How does the SEC stack up in ESPN Football Power Index rankings?
That ranks Oklahoma No. 12 in college football and No. 6 in the SEC, behind Texas, Georgia, the Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers, and Texas A&M. Three of which the Sooners play. Despite Oklahoma's returning production and momentum from last season, ESPN's projection suggests the Sooners remain a tier below the sport's top championship favorites entering 2026.

Michigan football did the bulk of its work on recruiting its class of 2027 in May and June, but continues to round out its class, which came with another commitment in the trenches.
The Wolverines landed a pledge from four-star interior lineman Lincoln Mageo out of Oceanside High in Oceanside, California, who chose U-M over Utah and Washington on Saturday, July 11. Mageo, who had more than 20 Division I offers including programs such as Ohio State, Texas and USC, stands 6 feet 4 and 280 pounds.
Mageo, who visited Ann Arbor in early June, was named a Polynesian Bowl All-Star.
WHO'S THE BOSS?: 'Leader in every respect': RB Jordan Marshall set to carry Michigan
"Strong customer as a drive blocker in the run game," 247Sports scouting ****** yst Gabe Brooks wrote. "Flashes some heavy-handed pop, particularly when traveling and when helping in pass pro.

The Washington Huskies saw one of their top remaining uncommitted offensive line targets go elsewhere on Saturday night when four-star offensive lineman Lincoln Mageo announced his commitment to the Michigan Wolverines.
The 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive lineman out of Oceanside High School in Southern California, who is ranked as the No. 369 overall prospect and No. 16 interior offensive lineman in the 2027 class by the 247Sports Composite, chose coach Kyle Whittingham and the Big Ten program out of a final three that also included Utah.
Washington was the only contender in Mageo's final three to not host him for an official visit, after he took a trip to see the Utes on May 29, followed by the Wolverines on June 5. He was slated to make a return trip to Seattle on June 19, after taking an unofficial visit for Junior Day in early March, but didn't wind up arriving.
Not long after his trip to Ann Arbor, several predictions rolled in for Mageo to pick the Wolverines, which may have played into the circumstances of his not taking his official visit to Seattle, while the Huskies hosted four other offensive linemen: four-stars Gecova Doyal, Reis Russell, and DaJohn Yarborough, and three-star Tye Kennedy.
"He moves well for his 280-pound frame and consistently executes combo blocks and makes contact with second-level defenders from either spot," Huskies Wire's Alex Katson wrote in an evaluation of Mageo's film. "Down the field, Mageo continues to look for work, often sealing off defenders, then turning to remove another player from the play rather than staying latched to his man longer than necessary."

The Wolverines began last season’s national championship campaign with a home game against the Golden Grizzlies.
The two teams are going to run it back again — same date, same place.
Michigan will kick off its national ******* le defense and the Mike Boynton Jr. era by hosting Oakland in the 2026-27 season opener on Nov. 3 at Crisler Center, according to a signed game contract obtained by The Detroit News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
This marks the third consecutive year the two in-state programs will square off. Two seasons ago, Michigan beat Oakland in a charity exhibition at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Last season, the Wolverines dominated in a 121-78 rout in Ann Arbor.
Overall, it’ll be the 11th all-time meeting between the two programs during the regular season. Michigan holds a 9-1 edge in the series, has won the past eight matchups and is 7-0 in games played at Crisler Center, though Oakland nearly pulled off the upset in an overtime loss in Ann Arbor in November 2020.

We're nearing that point in the sports calendar where there's not a lot going on. With all due respect to baseball fans, it's just not enough. The 2026 World Cup is exciting, but with that wrapping up soon, we will then head back to the preseason speculation as we wait for the college football season to kick off.
If you've got to start scratching the college football itch early, here are eight games to consider rewatching.
This was an instant classic. Michigan needed to beat the Crimson Tide for a chance to play in the National Championship. The game went into overtime after a season riddled with "scandal," but the Wolverines came out on top.
The perfect ending to a perfect season — Michigan finally won it all. The end of the Jim Harbaugh era ended with the team pulling down the banner. The Wolverines would end up having quite a few players drafted into the NFL. Some of those players are already Super Bowl champions, too.
Finally, the Wolverines' prodigal son was able to take down the Buckeyes. In 2021, Michigan took care of Ohio State and won in the trenches. Propelled by a phenomenal run game and the pass rushing talents of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, the Wolverines won The Game for the first time since 2011.

The Grand Rapids Griffins signed former Michigan Wolverines captain Nolan Moyle on Friday to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.
Moyle, a 27-year-old native of Royal Oak, made his AHL debut with the Griffins on Nov. 12, 2025, and finished with two points (1-1—2), 15 penalty minutes and a plus-five rating in 16 games with Grand Rapids, the top minor-league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.
The 6-foot-2, 198-pound forward also had 10 points (5-5—10) in nine games with the ECHL's Toledo Walleye, and eight points (1-7—8) in six appearances with EC-KAC in the ICEHL (Austria's top pro league).
Moyle spent five seasons at Michigan from 2018-23, serving as captain as a fifth-year senior in 2022-23.
Moyle became a two-time Big Ten champion with the Wolverines (2021-22, 2022-23) and accumulated 46 points (24-22—46), 156 penalty minutes and a plus-15 rating in 164 career games.

By keeping most of Michigan's team intact this offseason, it appears interim head coach Mike Boynton has earned the trust of the University and been awarded a two-year deal.
It has been less than a month since Dusty May left Michigan after winning a national championship and took a job in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks. The University moved quickly to name Boynton the interim at the time, and he was handed the difficult task of retaining the roster that May had built, which many consider one of the strongest in the country and once again a Big Ten favorite.
Ohio State fans kept tabs on the story as no one likes it when their arch-rivals succeed, much less at the level that the Wolverines had done. With May in charge, it seemed like the Wolverines had the potential to be a thorn in the side of Ohio State for years to come. With Boynton, the future is unclear. Boynton, 44, is best known for his seven-year run as head coach at Oklahoma State. He went 119-109 with the Cowboys, highlighted by a 21-9 record in 2020-21.
After going 12-20 in 2023-24, Oklahoma State decided to part ways with its head coach, and he resurfaced as an ******* istant coach in Ann Arbor.
It would be safe to ******* ume that Boynton's ability to keep most of the roster intact is one of the reasons he was awarded the new contract. But after coming off a national championship season, the margin of error that will be afforded him may be slim.

Michigan officially ushered in a new era on Friday by naming Mike Boynton Jr. the program's next head men's basketball coach. It didn't take long for two of the biggest names in Wolverines basketball to weigh in on the decision.
Former Michigan head coach Dusty May, now leading the Dallas Mavericks, and legendary former Wolverines coach John Beilein both offered glowing endorsements of Boynton, expressing confidence that the program remains in excellent hands.
May, who spent the past two seasons rebuilding Michigan into a national championship program before leaving for the NBA, praised Boynton for the impact he has already made in Ann Arbor.
"You couldn't ask for a better person to lead Michigan basketball," May said. "Mike has poured everything he has into this program from the day he got here. He's an outstanding coach, an even better person, and our players believe in him because they see the work he puts in every single day."
May also expressed his excitement for Boynton and his family as they begin this next chapter.