Michigan vs. UTEP
Saturday, Sept. 19 • 3:30 p.m. • Michigan Stadium
Michigan Monday: Game 1 vs. Western Michigan
Michigan Monday: Michigan vs. Western Michigan
Date Saturday, Sept. 5
Kickoff 7:30 p.m. ET
Location Michigan Stadium
TV NBC
What You Need to Know
- Four players were voted captains for Team 147: RB Jordan Marshall and QB Bryce Underwood on offense, and S Rod Moore and DT Trey Pierce on defense.
- Michigan is ranked No. 16 in both the AFCA Coaches Poll and AP media poll.
- This marks the ninth meeting between Michigan and Western Michigan. The Wolverines are 8-0 in the all-time series.
- Michigan owns a 37-1 all-time record against teams from the Mid-American Conference.
- Head coach Kyle Whittingham owns a 17-4 record in season openers.
- U-M is 11-1 in night games since the start of the 2023 season and owns a 55-29 all-time record in night games.
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Weekly Notes
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Michigan vs. Western Michigan
- This will be the seventh meeting between Michigan and Western Michigan in the 21st century and the ninth matchup overall between the two in-state programs.
- The programs last met in the 2021 season opener, when Michigan earned a 47-14 victory at Michigan Stadium.
- Michigan is 8-0 all-time against Western Michigan. The series began in 1917 with a 17-13 Wolverines victory at Ferry Field.
- The first meeting at Michigan Stadium came in 1943, a 57-6 Michigan victory. The programs did not meet again until 2001.
- The series was scheduled to resume on Sept. 15, 2001, but the game was postponed following the events of Sept. 11 and rescheduled for the following week. Michigan defeated Western Michigan, 38-21, on Sept. 22 in Ann Arbor.
- Michigan has also earned home victories over Western Michigan in 2002, 2009, 2011, 2018 and 2021. The Wolverines' 34-10 win in 2011 was called with 1:27 remaining in the third quarter due to lightning and heavy rain.
Team
- Michigan enters the first game of the 2026 campaign with a record of 120-23-3 all-time in season openers, including a 102-15-2 mark at home.
- U-M seeks to remain unbeaten in its ninth matchup with Western Michigan (8-0). This marks the fourth time (2009, '11, '21) that WMU has been U-M's season-opening opponent.
- Michigan is 8-0 against Mid-American Conference opponents since 2000, and 37-1 against MAC teams overall.
- U-M is 11-1 in night games since the start of 2023 and 55-29 all-time. In home openers played at night, the Wolverines are 2-0 (2019, Middle Tennessee State; 2024, Fresno State).
- Head coach Kyle Whittingham is preparing to coach his first season opener leading the Wolverines. Whittingham was 17-4 in openers across 21 seasons as head coach at Utah, including 14-1 at home.
- Michigan will take the field led by its team-elected captains: safety Rod Moore and defensive lineman Trey Pierce on defense and running back Jordan Marshall and quarterback Bryce Underwood on offense.
- Moore is the first-ever three-time captain in program history; Underwood is the first-ever sophomore captain at Michigan.
- The Wolverines rank 15th in ESPN's final preseason SP+ model, with the No. 16-ranked offense and the No. 13-ranked defense. SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of efficiency.
- The same model gives U-M the fifth-most difficult schedule across the FBS this year.
- WMU (10 wins in 2025) is the first of five U-M opponents in 2026 to have won double-digit contests the year prior: Indiana (15), Oregon (13), Ohio State (12) and Oklahoma (10).
Offense
- Offensively, the Wolverines return six starters from the 2025 season -- players who started at least seven of U-M's 13 contests: Blake Frazier (eight starts; six at left tackle), Evan Link (seven starts at left tackle), Jake Guarnera (11 starts at right guard), Andrew Marsh (nine starts at wide receiver), Andrew Sprague (12 at right tackle) and Bryce Underwood (13 starts at quarterback). Sixteen (16) players in total have made at least one start during their career.
- Offensive coordinator Jason Beck is in his fourth year as an O.C. Beck's offenses have been top-five in the FBS in both rushing and total offense in consecutive seasons, averaging 253.6 rushing yards and 484.3 total yards per game at New Mexico (2024) and 266.3 rushing yards and 482.9 total yards per game at Utah (2025).
- Michigan finished 14th nationally in rushing last fall (210.2 yards per game) and posted 200-plus rushing yards as a team four times.
- In addition to returning starters Frazier, Guarnera, Link and Sprague, the offensive line includes two other players with starting experience in Brady Norton (14 starts, 11 at Cal Poly) and Nathan Efobi (five starts at U-M). An additional eight players have game experience.
- The offensive line, a Joe Moore Award semifinalist unit last year despite using six different starting combinations, paved the way for 12 individual 100-yard rushing performances and 33 rushing touchdowns (tied-11th, FBS) during the 2025 season.
- U-M tied for the most rushing plays of 50-plus yards in the FBS last year with Texas State (eight), six of which went for touchdowns. Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall (four each) both tied for third nationally among individual leaders.
- Quarterback Bryce Underwood finished his first season with 17 all-purpose touchdowns (11 passing) and 2,428 passing yards, the second-highest total by a freshman starter at Michigan (2,743 yards, Chad Henne, 2004). He had seven games of 200-plus passing yards, matching Henne for the most by a freshman passer, though Henne had three 300-yard performances that season.
- On the ground, Underwood averaged 4.5 yards per carry with six rushing scores. Adjusted for sacks, he averaged 5.75 yards per carry (70 rushes for 403 yards).
- Running back Jordan Marshall spearheads a backfield that also includes proven contributor Bryson Kuzdzal and talented freshman Savion Hiter. Marshall ranked second in the Big Ten in rushing during league play before he missed time late in the season at Maryland.
- Marshall (150 carries, 932 yards, 10 touchdowns) has gone for 100-plus rushing yards in four of five career starts, which have been: vs. Alabama, vs. Washington, vs. Purdue, at Northwestern, vs. Ohio State.
- U-M's top returning pass catcher is Andrew Marsh, who caught 45 passes for 651 yards with four touchdowns in his rookie campaign. He set a freshman Michigan record in receiving yards, finishing second in catches (49, Martavious Odoms, 2008) and third in touchdowns (seven, Anthony Carter, 1976; five, Mario Manningham, 2005).
- Marsh's receiving line at Northwestern (12 catches, 189 yards) set single-game receiving records among true freshmen at Michigan (since at least 1979).
- Marsh is joined by Kendrick Bell and Channing Goodwin as returning receivers. Goodwin caught 12 passes for 148 yards last season, appearing in every game; Bell has 10 career catches for 124 yards with one touchdown and has played in 26 straight contests.
- New transfer additions JJ Buchanan and Jaime Ffrench help round out U-M's receiving corps. Ffrench appeared in four games with Texas last fall, while Buchanan -- who began his career at tight end -- made seven starts in 13 appearances for Utah.
- The U-M offense tallied 60 plays of 20-plus yards on offense last year (37 receiving, 23 rushing; single-game high: eight in week three). Andrew Marsh led the team with 15 such plays (14 receiving, one rushing) on offense. He also has eight via kickoff return.
- Offensive players who landed on preseason award watch lists include: Andrew Babalola, Savion Hiter, Salesi Moa (Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award), Jake Guarnera (Rimington Trophy), Andrew Marsh (Paul Hornung Award, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award), Jordan Marshall (Wuerffel Trophy, Maxwell Award), Andrew Sprague (Outland Trophy) and Bryce Underwood (Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, Maxwell Award).
Defense
- Defensively, the Wolverines return three players who started double-digit games for the Maize and Blue last fall: Zeke Berry (11 starts at defensive back), Jyaire Hill (13 starts at defensive back) and Trey Pierce (13 starts at defensive line). Chris Bracy (11 starts at safety, Memphis), John Henry Daley (11 starts at defensive end, Utah), Jonah Lea'ea (12 starts at defensive tackle, Utah), Smith Snowden (13 starts at cornerback, Utah) and Nathaniel Staehling (13 starts at linebacker, North Dakota State) also started double-digit games for their previous institutions last year.
- Fourteen (14) players in total have made at least one career start during their career. Nine of those have started at least 10 games and four have started at least 20 games, demonstrating the group's collective experience.
- Defensive coordinator Jay Hill is in his fifth year as a D.C. Hill's defenses are known for their physical play and propensity to generate turnovers. The BYU units Hill coordinated over the past three years totaled eight defensive touchdowns, ranking 21st (2025, 19.1 points per game) and 18th (2024, 19.6) in scoring in the two most recent seasons.
- Michigan's 2025 defense unit generated 13 interceptions and 28 sacks; Hill's units have recorded 17 interceptions and 30 sacks (2025) and 22 interceptions and 20 sacks (2024) in recent seasons.
- Twenty (20) different players recorded a pass defense or intercepted a pass in 2025, led by Zeke Berry (11, including one interception).
- Last year, the U-M defense forced at least one turnover in 11-of-13 games, with multiple turnovers in five contests.
- Top tacklers from the 2025 team returning this fall include: Jyaire Hill (sixth on 2025 team, 36 tackles), Mason Curtis (eighth, 34), Zeke Berry (ninth, 33) and Trey Pierce (13th, 30). Rod Moore (147) is the leading career tackler.
- Twelve (12) defenders on the 2026 roster have at least a share of a sack in their career. John Henry Daley is the career leader (12.5), and Cam Brandt (3.5) is the leader among returning Wolverines.
- Zeke Berry leads the roster in career passes defended (22), with three interceptions among 19 pass breakups. Rod Moore leads in career interceptions (seven).
- The linebacker unit includes a mix of veterans and fresh faces, but includes three players with starting experience in Nathaniel Staehling (13 starts at North Dakota State), Max Alford (five at BYU) and Aisea Moa (one at BYU). Troy Bowles (12 games in 2025), Chase Taylor (10) and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng (five) have all taken snaps at linebacker for U-M.
- Defensive players who landed on preseason award watch lists include: Troy Bowles (Butkus), John Henry Daley (Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Comeback Player of the Year), Jyaire Hill (Chuck Bednarik, Jim Thorpe), Rod Moore (Comeback Player of the Year) and Smith Snowden (Lott IMPACT Trophy).
Special Teams
- New specialists who figure to see action for the Wolverines include kicker Trey Butkowski (Lou Groza Award Watch List member) and Cam Brown. Butkowski was 19-of-22 on field goals in his lone season at Pitt after joining the team as a walk-on. Brown averaged 42.9 yards on 22 punts during his freshman season at Utah.
2026 Michigan Football Yearbook
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Michigan vs. Oklahoma
Saturday, Sept. 12 • Noon • Michigan Stadium
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Saturday, Sept. 26 • TBA • Michigan Stadium
