Michigan Bowl Projections Ahead of Matchup With Penn State

Here is where experts see the Wolverines playing at the conclusion of the 2026 season.

Oct 3, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Savion Hiter (5) is tackled by Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive lineman Naquan Crowder (70) and linebacker Maverick Baranowski (6) in the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After five weeks of seeing the Maize and Blue in action, the Wolverines had their bye week this past week.

Michigan entered the bye week coming off of back-to-back losses and starting 0-2 in conference play. After its loss to Minnesota, it severely hurt its postseason outlook.

Here is how those projections now look after taking a week off.

Oct 3, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Michigan Wolverines kicker Trey Butkowski (99) warms up late in the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

ESPN

Both Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach of ESPN aligned this week on their projections for the Wolverines. The duo released their projections Monday morning (Oct. 12) and both saw UofM in the same spot.

Last week, Bonagura had Michigan in the Cactus Bowl against Oklahoma State,

Now, both Bonagura and Schlabach have the Wolverines in the Cactus Bowl, with both projecting Michigan to take on Cincinnati. The Bearcats are sitting at 4-1 on the season, but suffered a brutal 34-7 loss on the road against Arizona in week five (Oct. 3).

Sports Illustrated 

Another week and another new prediction for Michigan as  Bryan Fischer of Sports Illustrated released his list of Bowl Game projections yesterday (Oct. 11).

After having Missouri as the predicted opponent two weeks ago and Louisville last week, Fischer has moved the opponent to Kentucky. Fisher has the Wolverines and Wildcats matching up in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30. 

Oct 10, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats punter Wilson Berry (93) reacts after place kicker Adam Zouagui (88) ties the game against the LSU Tigers at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Wildcats have been good this year and are coming off a big win over No. 10 LSU. I highly doubt the Wolverines will see the Wildcats in the postseason, especially because if UK keeps winning, they could be in College Football Playoff contention. Sitting at 5-1 with a few difficult games left, there could be a case at the end of the season for UK to be regarded as one of the 12 best teams.

CBS Sports

For the first time this season, we now see Michigan predicted to go to the Las Vegas Bowl to take on BYU.

Brad Crawford of CBS Sports made that prediction on Saturday night at the conclusion of week six of college football. 

Oct 3, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Michigan Wolverines cornerback Shamari Earls (2) awaits the snap against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the second quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This is a bold prediction considering the Cougars are ranked inside the top-10 and are a perfect 5-0 in 2026 so far. 

Final Takeaways

Week by week, we are seeing these predictions shift pretty drastically; UofM has been a hard team to read all season long.

With a very winnable game on deck, UofM may be able to get back on track and start trending in the right direction with some of these predictions.

The Wolverines would have to win out to have hope for a CFP berth.

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