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
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
3 months ago
