Four Bold Predictions for the Rest of the Michigan Football Season

The Michigan Wolverines are in their bye week, and the season has not gone according to plan. They escaped the first week of the season against Western Michigan with a less than inspiring 13-12 win that will live in infamy.

They followed that up with an upset at home over Oklahoma, and a big third quarter leading to a blowout against UTEP.

Since then, it’s been a disaster. Michigan should have beaten Iowa, but didn’t. They had a chance to beat Minnesota, but didn’t. Now, they’re 3-2 with the likelihood being they’d need to run the table to have a chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff.

Is that going to happen? That and more in our bold predictions for the remainder of the 2026 season.

Bryce Underwood Finishes Season, Enters Portal After

There are calls right now to bench Bryce Underwood for Tommy Carr. Those, in my estimation, are premature. The Wolverines need to squeeze every bit of juice out of the Underwood orange that is possible before moving on.

I think Kyle Whittingham knows that, which means Underwood will remain under center unless an injury occurs.

If Michigan is to turn their season around, it will be with Underwood finding a way to match some polish with the physical tools that he has.

The bet here is that he won’t fully do that, although there should be some improvement between now and the end of the season.

Once the season ends, however, that will be the end of the arrangement between Michigan and Underwood.

Sometimes, even if everything should work together, it simply doesn’t. If Michigan finishes with six wins or less, which is the likely result at this point, the noise might get too loud. The pressure might become too much for Whittingham to allow Underwood to continue unchallenged as the team’s starting quarterback for 2027.

That could lead Whittingham to go hunting in the transfer portal for a veteran quarterback. It could mean that Tommy Carr would have a chance to win the job outright in 2027.

Either way, it’s hard to envision that another school would not salivate at the chance to develop Underwood, with claims that Michigan simply failed to maximize his skill set.

Underwood will finish the season, but it will be his final season in Ann Arbor.

JJ Buchanan reaches 1,000 yards

This probably isn’t that bold at this point, considering Buchanan is on pace to surpass 1,000 yards for the season, but the Wolverines have not had a receiver top that mark since Jeremy Gallon did so in 2013. That’s a long time, and a lot of receivers have come through the program since Gallon accomplished that feat.

Buchanan has been Michigan’s best, most consistent pass catcher since the season began. It’s hard to envision that changing with Andrew Marsh banged up going into the bye.

JJ BUCHANAN TOUCHDOWN#GoBlue 〽️ pic.twitter.com/6B6xCUrIPU
— Nick Brandel (@MotorCityBanter) September 19, 2026

Even if Michigan’s offense remains bad like it is right now, there will still be plays to be made in the passing game. IF nothing else, Underwood has essentially only been able to rely on Marsh and Buchanan. Those yards have to go to somebody.

Buchanan will get enough yards, and the drought will end.

Michigan Misses a Bowl Game

This is the prediction that is likely the boldest of them all. Michigan needs to win three more games to reach bowl eligibility. They will likely be favored in three more games this season. Home games against Penn State and Michigan State, and their road trip to Rutgers.

Assuming they lose all the games they will not be favored in, which appears to be a mortal lock unless something drastic changes during the bye week, that means Michigan would have to win all three of the games they’re favored in.

The prediction here, is that they won’t do that. At some point, you have to believe what your eyes are telling you. Since the first week of the season, our eyes have told us this Michigan team is not very good. They have a good defense. They will keep the Wolverines in every game.

Other than that?

Their special teams are shoddy. The return game is putrid. Their offense is one of the worst in the country.

That leads to a slim margin for error against any team, and an even slimmer margin against the good ones.

We won’t predict which game they’ll lose, but the bet is they drop one of those three games, which would have the Wolverines finish the season at 5-7.

That’s the exact record that got Brady Hoke fired. Would it do the same for Kyle Whittingham? That remains to be seen.

Jyaire Hill Becomes Michigan’s Highest Draft Choice

A few weeks ago, Jordan Reid did his top-50 prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft. There was not a Michigan Wolverine to be found on the list.

There are, however, some good players on this roster, especially on defense.

IT'S PICKED OFF 〽️

Jyaire Hill takes it away and @UMichFootball takes over on offense! pic.twitter.com/YjsIijbmGD
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 12, 2026

Smith Snowden, Rod Moore, John Henry Daley, Dominic Nichols, and Jyaire Hill should all hear their names called should they all choose to pursue professional football at the end of the season.

Once the NFL Combine ends, the guess here is that Michigan’s big, physical cornerback in Hill will be the one that moves up draft boards the most. He has the most upside of the two cornerbacks, and his ball skills have improved each of the last two seasons.

Daley, Snowden, and Moore will hear their names called too, but Hill will be the one who comes off the board first.

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