After weeks of noon kickoff times or 3:30 p.m. starts, the Wolverines finally get the night game they have been desperately wanting all season. Up to this point, the only other night game Michigan had was the first game of the season against Western Michigan, which was almost a huge nightmare - it's also a game that people keep talking about to this day..
Michigan will welcome in-state rival Michigan State to Ann Arbor for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff in The Big House. The Wolverines are coming off a closer-than-expected win over Rutgers, and hopefully, with the magic of a night game at home, Michigan can finally get a comfortable win in conference play. Will the Wolverines be able to deliver in this primetime rivalry showdown?
Next Saturday’s Kick Time Announced pic.twitter.com/YWcDg68oFJ
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 1, 2026
Michigan State is truly the worst team in the Big Ten, even worse than Rutgers, not having won a single conference game yet. New head coach Pat Fitzgerald is just 2-6 to start his career with the Spartans, and 0-5 in Big Ten play. If Michigan doesn't put up a big game on the Spartans in a night game in The Big House, Kyle Whittingham may want to count his days. Anything other than a convincing win will be inexcusable.
Kyle Whittingham needs a big game from Michigan to quell the hot seat rumblings
Even though Michigan beat Rutgers on Saturday, it wasn't a pretty win. Sure, the offense looked better, but not outstanding, and the defense uncharacteristically played a poor game, allowing 21 points to an opponent for the first time this season.
To top it off, Whittingham tried saying yet again after the game that Michigan is a good team, even adding that there isn't a lot to clean up - he simply showed no emotion. That, coupled with the fact that Michigan is 5-3 this season with losses to Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana, is what has his coaching seat starting to heat up.
It hasn't been the season many thought Whittingham would have at Michigan, especially with all the preseason hype, and he doesn't make it any better with the way he speaks about this team. There is no fire, no emotion, and more delusion than anything else.
Sure, Michigan is a couple of plays away from being undefeated, but that doesn't mean the Wolverines are a good team, especially when it came down to the wire against a 2-6 Rutgers team, which has the worst defense in the Big Ten.
Michigan State is even worse than Rutgers, and with the power of a night game and the home crowd behind them, the Wolverines need a big game if Whittingham wants to quiet down the hot-seat rumors. This may not be the biggest rivalry game for Michigan, but it's still a rivalry game, to say the least.
The Wolverines are going for their fifth-straight win over the Spartans, and if Whittingham screws that up with how bad Michigan State is, or even has a close game, he may not walk out of the stadium with a job.
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