This is what you sign up for when you take over a program like Michigan. Kyle Whittingham could have retired and would have been a future College Football Hall of Famer based on what he did for over two decades at Utah. However, he was not done just yet... Whittingham jumped at the opportunity to replace Sherrone Moore as head coach. Will Whittingham lead Michigan into the playoff in year one?
Although he did not jump out and say it, but CBS Sports' Cody Nagel had glowing remarks to say about Michigan in his way-too-early top 25 bold predictions. Nagel was tasked with taking his colleague Brandon Marcello's way-too-early top 25 rankings and making one bold prediction about each team. For Michigan, he has the Wolverines beating Ohio State in The Horseshoe this season.
While it may come down to the wire, here is what needs to happen for Michigan to make the CFP... To put it as simply as possible, Michigan needs to win two of the following four games to make the field: Home vs. Oklahoma, home vs. Indiana, at Oregon, and at Ohio State. Most prognosticators feel they can win the Oklahoma date. Their three toughest Big Ten games are a little bit harder to figure out.
Should Michigan beat Oklahoma and Ohio State, that should be enough to make the playoff at 10-2.
Michigan projected to get good fortune in its play-in game for the playoff
Of those four games in question listed above, getting Oklahoma at home feels like the easiest of the quartet, while on the road at Oregon feels like the most probable defeat. Should Michigan either beat Indiana at home, or probably uspet Ohio State in The Horseshoe at regular season's end, how could you keep this team out of the playoff at 10-2 (8-1)? 10 wins feels like the benchmark they have to hit.
Even though this may be unfamiliar territory for Whittingham and his staff, most of them have never had the abundance of resources at their disposal like they do now in Ann Arbor. They were winning 10 games annually in the old Pac-12 and new Big 12 before Morgan Scalley was promoted from within. To be quite frank, Whittingham appears to be the adult in the room the program needed over Moore.
From the pure standpoint of making the College Football Playoff, Michigan is arguably the greatest team of intrigue. Are they above the cut line or are they not? Right now, we all want to believe that Whittingham can be the difference maker to get this team to 10-2 with two wins over Oklahoma, Indiana, Oregon, or Ohio State. At this time, Michigan must level up to beat two playoff teams in 2026.
For Nagel to have Michigan winning at their arch rival on the road when it counts, that matters a ton.