Michigan football 2026 schedule will challenge Kyle Whittingham
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Michigan football‘s 2026 schedule has been released.
New coach Kyle Whittingham and the Wolverines know the exact road they’ll need to travel if the program is to get back to the College Football Playoff for the first time since the 2023 season.
The Big Ten Conference football schedule was released Tuesday, Jan. 27, on the Big Ten Network, and while the Wolverines already knew they’d have eight home games and four road games, the dates for each of those matchups has officially been set.
Michigan opens with four consecutive home games, starting Sept. 5 against Western Michigan, then following with Oklahoma (Sept. 12), and University of Texas El-Paso (Sept. 19). U-M’s Big Ten slate begins the following week against Iowa (Sept. 26), before it finally plays its first road game against Minnesota (Oct. 3).
U-M’s home schedule includes Penn State (Oct. 17) and first-year coach Matt Campbell, and defending national champion Indiana (Oct. 24), led by coach Curt Cignetti.
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Rival Michigan State comes to town a week later than usual on Nov. 7, then U-M travels to Eugene, Oregon for the first time as Big Ten foes to play the Ducks (Nov. 14). U-M closes as always against Ohio State (Nov. 28) on the road.
U-M’s schedule in 2025 was one of the easier in the Big Ten, as the Wolverines avoided four of the top-six teams.
That doesn’t seem like the case in 2026.
Here’s U-M’s complete 2026 football schedule, with analysis provided below.
Michigan football 2026 schedule
- Sept. 5: vs. Western Michigan
- Sept. 12: vs. Oklahoma
- Sept. 19: vs. UTEP
- Sept. 26: vs. Iowa
- Oct. 3: at Minnesota
- Oct. 10: Bye
- Oct. 17: vs. Penn State
- Oct. 24: vs. Indiana
- Oct. 31: at Rutgers
- Nov. 7: vs. Michigan State
- Nov. 14: at Oregon
- Nov. 21: vs. UCLA
- Nov. 28: at Ohio State
Michigan football schedule reaction
Michigan, outside of Week 2, has a relatively easy slate prior to the bye week. It seems U-M will be favored by a touchdown in at least three of those matchups − Western Michigan, UTEP and Minnesota − and will almost certainly be favored over the Hawkeyes.
The Oklahoma game appears at this point to be the toughest test of the pre-bye week slate. John Mateer, who carved U-M up for 270 passing yards 74 rushing yards and three total touchdowns in the Sooners’ 24-13 victory over Michigan in Norman in September, returns under coach Brent Venables. OU made the CFP, losing in the first round to Alabama.
This will also be the return game for linebacker Cole Sullivan, a standout for Michigan in 2025 who in January left to join Oklahoma in the transfer portal.
October provides tests with Penn State, a team that completely revamped its roster with a haul of nearly two dozen players following Campbell from Iowa State to Happy Valley, including quarterback Rocco Becht, running back Carson Hansen, wide receivers Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen and tight end Gabe Burkle.
One week later, the defending champion Hoosiers come to Ann Arbor. IU lost a ton of experience from their 2025 championship roster, but added talented players in the portal with quarterback Josh Hoover (TCU), receiver Nick Marsh (MSU), running back Turbo Richard (Boston College), offensive lineman Joe Brunner (Wisconsin) and more than half a dozen of what appear to be impact players on defense. IU is ranked No. 4 on USA TODAY Sports’ way-too-early top 25; U-M is No. 14.
The next notable game is Michigan State two weeks later. The Wolverines have won four consecutive matchups in the rivalry, but MSU figures to be tougher under first-year coach Pat Fitzgerald.
The road trip to Oregon at Autzen Stadium − against coach Dan Lanning and former Detroit King quarterback and one of the Heisman trophy favorites in Dante Moore − will prove monumental.
And two weeks later, U-M will put its two-game win streak at The Horseshoe on the line against Ohio State, which returns quarterback Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith.
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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: Michigan football schedule 2026 will challenge Kyle Whittingham
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