Michigan Football will enter 2026 under new leadership in head coach Kyle Whittingham. The schedule they were dealt by the Big Ten will do them no favors as they're looking at games against Oklahoma, Iowa, Penn State, and Indiana at home while getting Oregon and Ohio State on the road. That means they have games against the 10th, 22nd, 16th, and 9th best teams in the pre-season top 25 at home, and travel to the 2nd and 1st best teams to play them on the road. It is quite the schedule gauntlet they have been handed. Given that schedule, let's dive more into best case, most likely, and worst case scenarios for Michigan football in 2026 below. — Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) January 27, 2026Best-Case: 11-1 With as many as six possible games against ranked teams for Michigan in 2026, the absolute best I can see them going is 11-1. A lot of things would have to break right for this to happen, including beating four quality opponents at home while also going on the road and beating either #2 Oregon or #1 Ohio State. Even going 11-1 to me seems fairly far fetched, but I do think it's possible. Bryce Underwood would have to take a major step forward and become one of the best QB's in the Big Ten, and possibly the country, for this to happen. They would also need the defense, particularly at linebacker and in the secondary, to stay healthy. If the defense can come together and be a 2023 type Michigan defense, I think the path is there to win all those tough home games and also steal one of the Oregon or Ohio State games on the road. Most Likely: 9-3 To me, the most likely scenario this year is Michigan goes 9-3 overall while splitting the six games against pre-season top 25 teams as mentioned above. I basically split these six ranked games into three different categories to get to the 9-3 record as the most likely. I think the likely wins are over Iowa and Penn State, both at home. Likely losses are at Oregon and at Ohio State. That leaves me with Indiana and Oklahoma as toss-ups, with both coming at home. It's possible Michigan wins both those games and ends up 10-2, but the most likely scenario, in my opinion, is that Michigan splits those games to wind up at 9-3. I expect the defense to be a top 25 unit at minimum in 2026 under new defensive coordinator Jay Hill. The offense, however, is the bigger question mark. New offensive coordinator Jason Beck has a very good recent track record but it will be a very different scheme than the players are used to and there could be some growing pains as they adjust to both a new offense and a new defense. 9-3 remains the most likely path for Michigan football in 2026 and given this schedule, I'd say that's a successful first season for Kyle Whittingham. Worst Case: 7-5 To go 7-5, it would mean a 1-5 record against the pre-season top 25 teams they're scheduled to play this season. It wouldn't be the end of the world given that it's Kyle Whittingham's first season, but it would certainly not make Wolverine fans excited about the immediate future. This would involve Bryce Underwood struggling again this season and essentially being the same player we saw as a freshman, or even getting benched partway through the season if he's not adjusting well to the new offensive style. It also probably involves a couple key defensive injuries leaving them exposed on the second and third levels of the defense as they adjust to a new scheme on that side of the ball as well. I don't think it's likely, but with this tough of a schedule, I do believe it's possible for Michigan to finish 7-5 as the worst case scenario. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow