ESPN's Greg McElroy predicts Michigan football's 2026 season

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Right now, what Michigan football will be in 2026 is a bit of a mystery. With former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham leading the charge, it's unclear where the Wolverines will make substantial improvement and where they might take a step back.

But there's one person buying in — ESPN's Greg McElroy.

McElroy did a segment on last week's 'Always College Football' podcast and noted what he likes about the new-look maize and blue, and started with the offense, sharing why he believes it's going to take a massive step forward.

"If you know anything about Kyle Whittingham, you know that means three things: you're gonna be super physical, you're gonna be super disciplined, and you're gonna hit people until they stop wanting to play football," McElroy said. "Now, Utah is one of the toughest teams to play every year. Well, now you have Utah mentality with five-star athletes in some places, and that should be really terrifying for a lot of teams in the Big Ten.

"So we gotta talk about Whittingham's thunder, we hit that, but what about the lightning? So one of the biggest wins of the '26 offseason was that Bryce Underwood, I guess, like all players, take a peek at the portal, see what's going on, decides he's gonna stay in Ann Arbor. And as a true freshman last year, Bryce Underwood kind of delivered what you would expect from a true freshman, a bit of a roller coaster type of year. You saw some 60-yard lasers that made your jaw drop with some of the throws that he was able to execute. Then you saw some freshman mistakes that made you wanna throw your remote at the television. Went for over 2,000 yards, 11 touchdowns, a bunch of picks. He was a five-star talent, but did play with a little bit less awareness than you would expect from a veteran signal caller. But here's why I'm buying stock in 2026, and it's his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck. Because Whittingham brought Beck with him from Utah, and it's a man that has spent his career turning quarterbacks into precise instruments. Beck has done a great job coaching record-breaking offenses at a few different places, and he's terrific when it comes to establishing the run. Now you got a guy with a bazooka for an arm that can also take over the game with his legs. So the Underwood leap is the single most important variable in the national championship race when it comes to the Wolverines. So if Beck can get Bryce Underwood to cut those interceptions in half and to improve on his efficiency numbers by improving his completion percentage, then we're talking about a Michigan team that isn't just a playoff team. I mean, they're a legitimate nightmare."

While the offense should take a big step forward, there are questions about the defense.

McElroy went in depth about both sides of the ball and noted that there are a lot of intriguing weapons on one side of the ball while the other has quite a few question marks.

"Now let's look at the construction of the team, because it's a fascinating hybrid," McElroy said. "Now, if you look at a classic Michigan muscle car and kind of put the Utah suspension on it, it's going to be really interesting. Offensively, you got a great back in Jordan Marshall. I mean, he's going to be in his third year. He's a bruiser back that Kyle Whittingham is going to really like. He's not a guy that's going to dance. He's going to run right through your face. And you got real juice on the outside. Andrew Marsh is back, and Michigan went into the portal, snagged some transfer weapons. Ffrench from Texas is a very intriguing prospect. So imagine that for a second. You have the run game that Whittingham has always utilized with great effectiveness, a quarterback that can beat you with his legs. So you're probably going to have to stack the box to an extent. Then you have Bryce Underwood with really good weapons on the outside. You can just throw a post over the top and call it a day. So that's a really, really difficult dilemma for every defensive coordinator to play against. Don't sleep on JJ Buchanan because he followed Whittingham from Utah. He's kind of a bit of a hybrid player that was one of the most productive tight ends in the country last year as a freshman. So he's a nightmare matchup. You can put a linebacker on him. He's going to wear him out. You put a safety on him. Well, at 6-5, 240, he's going to create a lot of problems for the opposing defense. So I love what they have offensively. 

"Now let's flip the script to the defense. You've got a new defensive coordinator, Jay Hill, brought a defensive end with him alongside John Henry Daley. So if you're not a hardcore college football nerd, you might not know the name, but you need to know this name. He was one of the most effective defensive linemen in the country when it came to playing in the opponent's backfield. He is a weight room warrior, plays with a tremendous motor, does not have an off switch. Now there is a bit of a concern at the second level defensively for Michigan. They lost a veteran core. You lost a couple guys to graduation, a couple guys to the portal, and in the Big Ten, you gotta be really good there at the second level, because if you're not good at linebacker, it's going to be really tough to go and elevate and win the conference. So they gotta find a couple dudes in that room that can play 60 snaps a game against the run. They go in the portal, they got some guys, but there are a couple question marks there. So if you find this defense and you find quality linebacker play, this will be a top 10 defense. If they don't, they could have a bit of a challenging up and down on that side of the ball, but the offense might be able to carry them at least for just a little bit."

Even so, with all of the difficulties potentially facing this team, McElroy thinks that the Wolverines can create some havoc. The schedule is a bear, but McElroy believes that if the maize and blue can get past some of the challenges (like Oklahoma in Week 2 or Indiana midseason), it could be enough to propel Michigan into the College Football Playoff. And if that happens, it's anyone's game.

"I'm telling you, I mean, nobody, nobody wants to see this team in the playoff bracket," McElroy said. "They will be super physical. They'll be very well-coached. They have a quarterback that can win the game by himself if he gets hot. And if Bryce Underwood can take that leap, Michigan is not just a contender, they are a team that's gonna break someone's heart in the quarterfinals."

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: ESPN's Greg McElroy predicts Michigan football's 2026 season

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