ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Just because Michigan football is playing a Group of Six team to open up the season doesn't mean it will be an easy task for Kyle Whittingham and company. In fact, the September 5 game against Western Michigan might have some roadblocks as the Wolverines look forward to the Week 2 contest against Oklahoma.
But Whittingham and the maize and blue are well aware of the obstacles that the Broncos present.
Every year, good Group of Six teams tend to give Power Four teams headaches, especially if they're playing in the season opener. While Michigan has a decided talent advantage, there are still a lot of unknowns entering Week 1, and Whittingham notes that Western is no 'gimme' as they come to The Big House.
"They're a really good
team," Whittingham said. "They won the MAC last year, and we are not overlooking them in any way, shape, or form. We know that the degree of difficulty as the season moves on goes up. This will be a good opportunity to see where we are and get a gauge on what we need to work on and what our strong suits are and what our deficiencies are."
Last year, the Broncos struggled mightily in the season opener against Michigan State, only managing 29 yards on 24 carries against the Spartans. But, after that, they only managed fewer than 100 yards once all season -- in Week 4 against Toledo.
Nine times in 14 games, they eclipsed 200 yards rushing, and twice they managed more than 300 yards. In the final four games of 2025, the lowest that Western Michigan ran for was 278 yards. Thus, Michigan is aware that it will have its work cut out for it.
"They're a strong run team," Whittingham said. "I think it was the last half of the season they averaged over 300 yards a game rushing. The quarterback is a big part of that. The running back is really good. He was the MVP of the conference championship game, the MVP of their bowl game. They've really done a nice job running the football. That reminds me of us last year at the University of Utah, where we were second in the nation in rushing. They've got a very potent rush attack.
"We've got to be assignment sound. As we talked about, tackle efficiently. Our goal here will always be single-digit missed tackles. If we can miss nine or less tackles, then we're tackling pretty darn good."
The stated goal for the Wolverines' defense this year is to hold teams under 85 yards rushing. Will Michigan be able to do it? We'll find out more on Saturday night at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham warns Michigan not to overlook Western Michigan
