RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesMichigan football is ranked No. 16 in the nation in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll , which was released on Tuesday, Aug. 4, the day the Wolverines reported for fall camp.
It's Year 1 under new coach Kyle Whittingham and the staff is entirely new outside of running backs coach Tony Alford, the only coach who's been on the U-M sideline for a regular season game. Special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs has also coached Michigan once, in last year's 41-27 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl loss to Texas.
Despite the new faces, coaches across the nation feel the Wolverines are well positioned to compete in 2026, though it's clear this year's team is going to have to earn everything it gets.
Michigan's schedule is loaded with games against the top two teams in No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Oregon, another against No. 6 Indiana, a Week 2 matchup with No. 9 Oklahoma and two other teams that come into the season ranked in No. 17 Penn State and No. 22 Iowa.
That's six out of 12 teams on U-M's schedule that open the 2026 season with a number next to their name, not to mention its season-opener against Western Michigan, a game U-M is widely expected to win, though the Broncos did receive votes in the preseason rankings.
Michigan is implementing new schemes under offensive coordinator Jason Beck and defensive coordinator Jay Hill, but has a handful of highly talented players on both sides of the ball. On offense, it starts with quarterback Bryce Underwood, running back Jordan Marshall and wide receiver Andrew Babalola.
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On defense, All-American John Henry Daley is the name to watch after he transferred in from Utah. He is the star of a defensive line that's expected to be quite good, but will be reliant on a number of players who haven't stared but have played important roles.
Michigan opens its season in just more than a month on Sept. 5, 2026 against Western Michigan (7:30 p.m., NBC) at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
See the full list of ranked teams below.
2026 US LBM Coaches Poll preseason Top 25 rankings
Ohio State (38 first-place votes)
Oregon (6)
Georgia (7)
Texas (2)
Notre Dame (5)
Indiana (14)
Miami
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Mississippi
Alabama
Texas Tech
LSU
USC
BYU
Michigan
Penn State
Tennessee
Washington
SMU
Utah
Iowa
Clemson
Houston
Missouri
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football ranked No. 16 in US LBM Coaches Poll to start year
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