No. 16 Michigan pulled off the most controversial win of the 2026 college football season and it was only Week 1. The Wolverines’ 13-12 win over Western Michigan came down to a last-second Hail Mary which most fans believe shouldn’t have been allowed to happen at all. Regardless of the circumstances, Michigan should not have needed the dramatic walk off in the first place.
The program had high expectations heaved on its shoulders with new head coach Kyle Whittingham arriving to save it from the embarrassing circumstances of the offseason. Highly-touted quarterback Bryce Underwood was previewed to have a breakout season but Saturday’s 12 completions for 170 yards, a score and a pick were very underwhelming to say the least. There’s no guarantee the sophomore isn’t replaced if things don’t get better.
Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham talks Bryce Underwood job security which “isn’t infinite” and the discrepancy between what coaches said happened in fall camp and last two public performances: pic.twitter.com/AC2h3hr7XW
— Tony Garcia | Detroit Free Press (@RealTonyGarcia) September 7, 2026
“It’s not something that’s infinite,” Whittingham said of Underwood continuing as Michigan’s starter. “At some point, we’ve got to turn a corner.”
Michigan’s CFP hopes could hinge on tight Western Michigan scrape
College fans won’t easily forget how Notre Dame was controversially left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff last year despite a 10-2 record. Eventual runner-up Miami and a 9-3 Alabama squad were let in on the selection committee’s favor. The justification for passing on the Irish was for their two early-season losses to the Hurricanes and Texas A&M — by a combined four points.
Michigan fans should take note because that could be them on the outside looking in when December rolls around. The Wolverines have anything but an easy schedule in a Big Ten Conference that had some stragglers to start the year and if they don’t play any better than they did against Western Michigan, there is bound to be (at least) a pair of losses coming up. Week 2 hosting No. 10 Oklahoma could be one of them then there are five more projected ranked opponents for it to face.
Should Michigan put together a season where a handful of ranked wins has it on the CFP bubble, the selection committee has precedent to look as far back in the schedule as it wants to find reason to exclude the Wolverines. Being one of the biggest brands in the sport won’t mean enough to save them, just ask Notre Dame. Michigan could fall victim to being passed over by an SEC team with maybe one more loss but more ranked wins to impress the powers that be.
It would be quite poetic for Michigan to miss out on the CFP under the argument its body of work was not as impressive as another candidate because of a Week 1 win the community writ large doesn’t believe should count. The football gods have odd ways of getting justice and if this were to play out, it would be hilariously ironic.
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