Michigan football is coming off a 9-4 season in 2025 and is looking to get back into the College Football Playoff conversation in 2026. CBS Sports analyst Brad Crawford recently released his Big Ten record predictions for 2026 and had Michigan finishing 8-4.

But that in itself was not the problem. It was who he picked them to lose to that raised eyebrows. Crawford predicted Michigan would beat Indiana at home but lose to Oklahoma, Iowa, Oregon, and Ohio State.

However, SI's Wolverine Digest analyst Trent Knoop called that prediction "pure nonsense" in a piece published June 19. He had no issue with the Oklahoma, Oregon, and Ohio State losses. Those are all winnable but hard games. The Iowa prediction is what he pushed back on hard.

"Iowa will enter the 2026 season with good defense on paper, but zero offense," Knoop wrote.

The Hawkeyes lost their starting quarterback, Mark Gronowski. So, they will start either Hank Brown or transfer Jeremy Hecklinski, neither of whom has significant experience, and Ann Arbor is one of their first road games.

Knoop also pointed out the contradiction in Crawford's own prediction. Crawford picked Michigan to lose to Iowa but beat Indiana, a team Knoop called potentially the hardest home game on the schedule.

Indiana is the reigning national champion with a proven coach in Curt Cignetti and a new transfer quarterback in Josh Hoover from TCU.

"If Michigan can defeat IU this season, it feels like 9-3 is the floor," Knoop wrote.

A 9-3 record with that schedule could be enough to squeeze the Wolverines into the College Football Playoff picture, especially if they are sitting at 9-2 heading into the Ohio State game.

Bryce Underwood’s sophomore season will be central to Michigan’s playoff push

Underwood's freshman year was a mixed bag. He threw for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns. But he also had nine interceptions and completed just over 60 percent of his passes.

Year two looks different, though. Kyle Whittingham watched him all spring and came away impressed.

"I think he's really improved overall," Whittingham said per Maize N Brew. "His footwork is better and he's been making better decisions. He's still a work in progress, as is the whole team, but Bryce is definitely taking steps forward."

This season, Underwood has a dedicated quarterbacks coach for the first time and a new offensive coordinator in Jason Beck, who is building the system around him.

If Underwood takes the sophomore leap Michigan is counting on, that 8-4 prediction is going to look very off by November.

Do you think Michigan can prove the prediction wrong in 2026? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at the Michigan Football Community.

Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit