Michigan football ranked No. 16 in US LBM Coaches Poll to start year

Michigan football is ranked No. 16 in the nation in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, which was released on Tuesday, Aug. 4, the day the Wolverines reported for fall camp.

It's Year 1 under new coach Kyle Whittingham and the staff is entirely new outside of running backs coach Tony Alford, the only coach who's been on the U-M sideline for a regular season game. Special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs has also coached Michigan once, in last year's 41-27 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl loss to Texas.

Despite the new faces, coaches across the nation feel the Wolverines are well positioned to compete in 2026, though it's clear this year's team is going to have to earn everything it gets.

Michigan's schedule is loaded with games against the top two teams in No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Oregon, another against No. 6 Indiana, a Week 2 matchup with No. 9 Oklahoma and two other teams that come into the season ranked in No. 17 Penn State and No. 22 Iowa.

That's six out of 12 teams on U-M's schedule that open the 2026 season with a number next to their name, not to mention its season-opener against Western Michigan, a game U-M is widely expected to win, though the Broncos did receive votes in the preseason rankings.

Michigan is implementing new schemes under offensive coordinator Jason Beck and defensive coordinator Jay Hill, but has a handful of highly talented players on both sides of the ball. On offense, it starts with quarterback Bryce Underwood, running back Jordan Marshall and wide receiver Andrew Babalola.

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On defense, All-American John Henry Daley is the name to watch after he transferred in from Utah. He is the star of a defensive line that's expected to be quite good, but will be reliant on a number of players who haven't stared but have played important roles.

Michigan opens its season in just more than a month on Sept. 5, 2026 against Western Michigan (7:30 p.m., NBC) at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

See the full list of ranked teams below.

2026 US LBM Coaches Poll preseason Top 25 rankings

1. Ohio State (38 first-place votes)
2. Oregon (6)
3. Georgia (7)
4. Texas (2)
5. Notre Dame (5)
6. Indiana (14)
7. Miami
8. Texas A&M
9. Oklahoma
10. Mississippi
11. Alabama
12. Texas Tech
13. LSU
14. USC
15. BYU
16. Michigan
17. Penn State
18. Tennessee
19. Washington
20. SMU
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Clemson
24. Houston
25. Missouri

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 ranked No. 16 in US LBM Coaches Poll to start year