ESPN Slams Michigan Football, Names them a bottom-5 Program

The standard is the standard at Michigan. The winningest program in the history of college football expects to win, and win big.

There are no exceptions to those rules, and the first season under Kyle Whittingham was no different. Michigan went 9-3 last season, and the season was largely considered to be a failure.

Michigan’s season has been in the spotlight ever since the year started. A 13-12 escape over Western Michigan with some controversy involving the game clock has taken a lot of attention away from everything that has happened since then.

Michigan wide receiver JJ Buchanan (6) catches for a touchdown against Western Michigan to win the game 13-12 as time expires during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Regardless of what statements the Big Ten, NCAA, or any powers that be make, most people have made up their minds as to what happened that night, and nothing will change them.

Michigan rebounded to beat Oklahoma with a dominant defensive performance, struggled in the first half against UTEP before pulling away, and blew a game against Iowa in the final seconds.

That led ESPN to write an article about the bottom 10 programs in college football.

As the criteria in the title might suggest, nine of the 10 teams listed are either winless, or played incredibly poorly to start the season.

The one major exception? The 3-1 Michigan Wolverines. Although the article in question lists them as 2-1.

The story is filled with names being misspelled, leading me to believe that the story could be meant to be satirical in nature.

Regardless, Michigan is listed as the fifth worst team in college football, with notes about tempting fate and quoting Tony Stark from the Ironman series.

The Wolverines, despite how poorly they’ve played, and despite how bad Saturday’s loss felt around the program, are not one of the worst teams in college football.

Are they one of the best? No. That’s where they want to be, but it’s hard to proclaim Michigan as anything other than an unknown at the moment.

3-1, but feels like 0-4

Kyle Whittingham said on Monday that his team was 3-1, but he feels like they are 0-4. There’s some truth in that statement.

"If you want me to be honest, it has felt like that,” running back Jordan Marshall said. “It's not because we're 0-4... that's not what he meant by that. What I took from it was we haven't played our best football."

Michigan has not played their best football. That much is true.

#Michigan RB Jordan Marshall reacting to HC Kyle Whittingham's 0-4 comment from Monday's presser:

"If you want me to be honest, it has felt like that. It's not because we're 0-4... that's not what he meant by that. What I took from it was we haven't played our best football." pic.twitter.com/pvi7fg1b55
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) September 30, 2026

It’s ok to acknowledge that without exercising in hyperbole, or in this case, flat out fiction.

Even if someone wants to live in a world where Michigan is 2-2 and credited with a loss to Western Michigan, they are not one of the five worst teams in the country.

They are not one of the five worst teams in their own conference.

Discourse surrounding college football, specifically the Michigan Wolverines appears to have broken everyone’s brains since the investigation surrounding Connor Stallions opened up.

Thanks to articles like this, it does not appear that is going to change anytime soon.

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