Michigan football writer Tony Garcia gives five bold predictions for the Wolverines heading into the 2026 season.
1. Michigan will lead the Big Ten in rushing
New coach Kyle Whittingham likes to run the football and offensive coordinator Jason Beck has demonstrated he is more than willing to do so after the duo's scheme had Utah leading the nation in 2025 in yards per carry (6.0), finishing No. 2 in rushing (266.3 yards per game) and No. 2 in rushing touchdowns (41).
That should translate to the Big Ten, where U-M's recent golden era (2021-23) was largely led by a dominant rushing attack. Jordan Marshall leads the way as a proven ball carrier, coming off a season in which he started as the No. 2 and still ran for
932 yards and 10 touchdowns. True freshman Savion Hiter has been discussed at length this fall, and he has seemingly earned the hype by being a physical, relentless runner.
Don't forget about quarterback Bryce Underwood. Behind Beck's RPO-heavy attack, he will not only get many designed rushes but will have the liberty to extend plays with his feet. Those three alone should account for more than 2,000 rushing yards.
Last season, Indiana led the Big Ten with 212.9 yards per game on the ground – 2,554 yards over a 12-game pace. Between third-string RB Bryson Kuzdzal, wide receiver end-arounds (hello, Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson) and possible mop-up work for QB Tommy Carr if he wins the No. 2 job, Michigan will have the chance to get there.
It will be extremely tough, given the College Football Playoff hopefuls on the schedule (Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana and Oklahoma), but U-M knows its rushing attack is its key to success.
2. Andrew Marsh, JJ Buchanan both have 700 or more receiving yards
It has been a while since U-M had a truly potent passing attack: Back in 2019, Ronnie Bell (758) and Nico Collins (729) each topped 700 receiving yards in a season. In six seasons since, the Wolverines haven't even had a pair go over 650 (though U-M did have three go over 600 in 2023, when it played 15 games en route to the CFP title).
Andrew Marsh didn't move into a starting role until October of last season and he finished with 651 yards as a true freshman. Likewise, JJ Buchanan moved into a key role in his first year at Utah as the season wore on, and he had 427 yards; now, he enters year two of Beck's scheme.
Marsh is U-M's most proficient route technician and has established a chemistry with Underwood over nearly 20 months of work. Buchanan has been said to be "the best" 50-50 receiver Whittingham has ever had at his disposal.
Both could receive upwards of 75 targets this year and, with big play potential, if they keep up last season's pace – Marsh averaged 10.85 yards per target, Buchanan averaged 10.1 – they could become the third duo to reach the mark for U-M in 12 seasons. (The other duo: Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh, with 764 and 727 yards, respectively, in 2015.)
3. Michigan scores first special teams touchdown in 4 years
The Wolverines were near the bottom of 134 Division I teams last season in yards per punt return (No. 122, 4.17 yards), yards per kick return (No. 124, 18.43) and net punt yards per attempt (No. 87, 38.43). The punt return defense (No. 51, 7 yards) was slightly better, but far from elite.
That wasn't the norm under the previous regime, led by Jim Harbaugh, which frequently had one of the best special teams units in the nation, under several assistants. Under new special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs, there's reason to believe U-M could again have explosive potential.
Michigan's last touchdown on special teams came on Sept. 17, 2022, when AJ Henning returned a punt 61 yards in a 59-0 win over Connecticut. U-M didn't score in its first game under Coombs, a Citrus Bowl loss to Texas, but was explosive, with 175 return yards on seven kicks and punts, including two that went 40 yards or more.
U-M is putting a premium on the position, which will feature star players such as Marsh, Hiter and Smith Snowden. Don't be surprised if the Wolverines take it to the house, whether it's at the Big House or elsewhere.
4. Michigan falls to Indiana, Oregon, OSU by 30 combined points
Michigan has an extremely difficult schedule with six games against preseason top-25 foes and four against teams that enter the season in the top 10. The toughest three figure to be Indiana, Oregon and OSU – ranked at Nos. 6, 2 and 1, respectively, in the US LBM Coaches Poll – and right now, U-M isn't expected to win any of them.
That could change, but it seems like there's a decent chance the Wolverines see they're still a step away from being on the top level of the sport. Indiana has been extremely sound under Curt Cignetti, Oregon on the road is one of the toughest matchups in the sport and OSU has waited since last decade to finally beat Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Michigan's three regular-season losses came by a combined 47 points. This team will be better coached and more sound, but there's a chance at least one of them could become a runaway. Oregon seems the most likely scenario, which could be a 17-point loss. Then, IU and OSU would just need to win by six and seven to hit that 30 point mark.
5. Both coordinators stay on board for 2027
Michigan has had six offensive coordinators over the past six seasons, churning from Josh Gattis (2021) to Matthew Weiss (2022) to Sherrone Moore (2023) to Kirk Campbell (2024) to Chip Lindsey (2025) to Beck.
The defense hasn't been much more stable – it's now on its fifth coordinator in seven years, from Don Brown (2020) to Mike Macdonald (2021) to Jesse Minter (2022-23) to Wink Martindale (2024-25) to now, Jay Hill, an arrival from BYU.
Here's the good news: Neither Beck nor Hill will be leaving in 2027 (probably). While Beck has bounced around, now at his fourth stop in four years, he has climbed the ranks to get to Michigan and has stayed put for a while before, when he was at Virginia for six seasons (2016-21).
Hill, meanwhile, has had three lengthy stops: at Utah (2006-13), Weber State as head coach (2014-21) and BYU (2022-25). He will likely get another top coaching job at some point, but don't expect him to jump at the first offer.
He'll need a few years of success at Michigan to prove that he's the guy for a top school. While this technically is an offseason prediction, it's predicated on the success both should have this season.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Five Michigan football bold predictions for 2026 season
