CBS Sports has ranked the Michigan Wolverines fifth in its 2026 Big Ten power rankings. The high placement follows a massive coaching shift that brought Utah veteran Kyle Whittingham to Ann Arbor.

The Michigan Wolverines made a solid coaching change after Sherrone Moore left the program in December, hiring longtime Utah Utes football coach Kyle Whittingham to take over ahead of the 2026 season.

Whittingham entered the job as one of the winningest active coaches (177-88) and also brought defensive players John Henry Daley and Smith Snowden with him from Utah.

Quarterback Bryce Underwood also remained a talking point during the offseason after finishing the spring game with 22 passing yards while completing 3 of 9 attempts and taking two sacks.

The teams currently placed ahead of the Wolverines in the Big Ten rankings are the Ohio State Buckeyes football at No. 1, followed by Oregon, Indiana, and USC, as per CBS Sports.

Whittingham recorded eight seasons with at least 10 wins during his 21-year run in Salt Lake City, including one last season. At 66, he enters the role as one of the sport’s most experienced coaches.

According to USA Today's College Sports Wire, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel believes that Whittingham can bring the needed stability to the program. More so with the recruiting spree Whittingham managed to pull off this season

Michigan's Recruiting Surge Silenced Critics

The Michigan Wolverines have outdone themselves when it comes to recruiting.

While discussing Kyle Whittingham on the latest episode of the Wolverine Confidential podcast, The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich pointed to recruiting as one of the biggest early talking points around the Michigan Wolverines football coach.

“With Kyle Whittingham, I think a lot of people have this perception of, can he recruit?” Marich said. “I think a lot of people understood he could develop, he could coach, but can he get the caliber of players you’re looking for at Michigan compared to what he was getting at Utah?

He also said the jump to Michigan has been noticeable because the program is not just landing more recruits, but bringing in higher-level talent as well.

Whittingham stepped into a very different recruiting situation by moving from Utah, where classes often ranked in the 25–35 range nationally, to Michigan, where Top-10 recruiting classes are typically expected.

It's not even June yet, and Michigan is brimming with talent. They are also in the top five of the Big Ten rankings. So things are looking good at Ann Arbor.

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Written by

Sourav Ganguly

Edited by

Rudra Dubey