Michigan's first loss of the season comes at the hands of Iowa, but this isn't the first time the Wolverines have played with fire; this was just the first time they got burned.
In Week 1, Michigan was given one extra second against Western Michigan and made the most of it with a miracle Hail Mary play to beat the Broncos. In Week 2, Oklahoma came to town, and it was a battle of which defense would get the most stops, and the Wolverines proved to be the winners. Then, in Week 3, the Wolverines chose to play around in the first half before locking in and finally getting the blowout win they needed against UTEP.
Now, in Week 4, with a ranked matchup on the books, Michigan had the win in their hands - until they didn't, and they only have themselves to blame. Being an undisciplined team came back to bite the Wolverines on the final drive from the Hawkeyes, but Kyle Whittingham believes this isn't the end for Michigan this season.
"It was a tough locker room, but told them, hey, it's a shame we let it get away from us," Whittingham said in his post-game presser. "Sometimes in life you get knocked down, and things seem tough, and how are you going to overcome that, but that's life. You have to pick yourself up, get back to work."
Kyle Whittingham:
— Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23) September 26, 2026
"It was a tough locker room, but told them, hey, it's a shame we let it get away from us. Sometimes in life you get knocked down and things seem tough and how are you going to overcome that, but that's life. You have to pick yourself up, get back to work."
Michigan's hopes for the College Football Playoff are far from over
While it is daunting to play a schedule with six preseason-ranked teams on it, there is also a glass-half-full side to it. With the 12-team CFP, teams can afford to lose a game or even two and still have a good chance of making it into the postseason bracket.
Michigan has the advantage of a loaded schedule that can build its resume in a big way. Now, yes, the Oklahoma win doesn't look as good with the Sooners out of the rankings after last week, but there are still plenty of highly ranked teams the Wolverines will face that can be resume builders.
While the Iowa loss doesn't look great, it was a last-second touchdown against a ranked team, and that kind of loss can be considered a "quality loss" in the eyes of the selection committee. Right now, with the Week 3 rankings, Michigan still has four more ranked games on the schedule. Granted, Penn State will likely fall quite a bit after the loss to Wisconsin, but could still be a lower-ranked team by the time the two teams meet.
Either way, if Michigan can play well the rest of the season, with maybe only one more loss, the Wolverines could be looking at a low seed for the CFP. Michigan honestly played a good game against a good Iowa team, but mistakes on that final drive ended up costing them.
The biggest measuring stick for the Wolverines will be how they respond. Michigan goes on the road for the first time this season to Minnesota and then will host Penn State and Indiana back-to-back. Whittingham's squad can't afford to dwell on this loss, but instead pick themselves up and move forward.
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