Kyle Whittingham takes over in Ann Arbor with the rarest gift a new coach can inherit: a returning franchise quarterback. Bryce Underwood, the former five-star who started as a true freshman in 2025, is back, and Whittingham has spent the offseason grafting Utah pieces onto Michigan's frame, headlined by wideout JJ Buchanan arriving from his previous program. The overall profile still grades out as top-tier, with the offense and defense both rated top-tier and special teams settling in as roughly average. But the machinery underneath is being rebuilt in real time. Michigan lost Justice Haynes to Georgia Tech, watched Marlin Klein head to the NFL, and saw Semaj Morgan depart for UCLA, while Colorado State transfer Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi becomes QB competition or depth. The offensive line is being reset around Underwood, and the defensive front is absorbing pressure attrition at the edge, exactly the kind of trench continuity that determines whether last year's talent translates immediately or takes a few months to gel.

JP+ projects 7.0 wins, a number that will look modest next to the hype around a coaching hire and a returning blue-chip passer. The gap comes from structural uncertainty, not talent: offensive continuity is high-risk given how much the attack still runs through Underwood with thinner support at tackle and receiver, and the defense is replacing role players along the edge after last year's pressure package thinned out. Ohio State and Oregon on the road, plus Indiana at home, headline a schedule that won't offer much forgiveness while things settle. If the offensive line reset holds and the edge rotation finds its footing quickly, this group is built for double-digit wins and a real Big Ten push. If not, 2026 looks like a transition year that still ends respectably behind Underwood's arm.