Predicting Michigan football vs Western Michigan, keys to Week 1 game

Michigan football opens its 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, with a Week 1 matchup against the Western Michigan Broncos at Michigan Stadium. Here is everything you need to know:

Matchup: Michigan (0-0) vs. Western (0-0), season opener.

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.

Michigan football vs. Western Michigan availability report

Availability reports are estimated off available information.

Michigan – OUT: RB Micah Ka'apana (lower body), OL Andrew Babalola (undisclosed), OL Ace Hamilton (lower body).

Western Michigan – OUT: OL Jeremy Schleicher, DL Noah Bishop.

MORE MICHIGAN: Michigan football players identify breakout candidates for 2026

Scouting report

When Michigan has the ball: It's the first chance to see Michigan's new-look offense under coordinator Jason Beck. At Utah last year, his team was among the best rushing groups in the country, finishing No. 1 in yards per carry (6.

0), No. 2 in rushing touchdowns (41) an No. 2 in rushing yards per game (266.

3). But how about the passing attack? The whole offseason has been about the development of quarterback Bryce Underwood.

His first test will be against a team that was top-five in the nation in sacks last season and forced 24 turnovers, but saw just three starters return on the unit. U-M has plenty of stars to spread the ball around to − Jordan Marshall, Savion Hiter, Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan among them − it will be interesting to see how Michigan splits up its touches.

When Western has the ball: The Broncos didn't pass much last season, ranked No. 131 in the country in air yards (137.2) per game.

They didn't need to, with a two-headed monster of quarterback Broc Lowry and running back Jalen Buckley carrying the ball on the ground hundreds of times. Both return, as does an offensive line that brings back three starters from a season ago. Can a Michigan edge group that is said to be six players deep generate pressure when Western does drop back?

Can an unproven linebacker unit step up and make tackles on the second level in the run game? Is this secondary − Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, Smith Snowden, Chris Bracy and Rod Moore Jr. − as good as it seems on paper?

Defensive coordinator Jay Hill's scheme is complex and this will be the first opportunity to see how U-M has grasped it. Also, after an offseason of minimal tackling, it's worth monitoring to see if there's any rust from the defense when getting ball carriers to the ground.

Know the foe

Lowry on the loose: Lowry completed 63.4% of his passes in 2025 for 1,803 yards and nine touchdowns and while that's not exactly anything to write home about, what he did on the ground is where he stood out. The sophomore carried the ball 203 times for 964 yards and a team-high 14 touchdowns. This came on both designed runs and scrambles where he extended the play and the 6-foot-1, 210-pound athlete has the license to tuck and run whenever he sees green grass.

Beware of Buckley: Western leans on its lead running back frequently and he's been a model of consistency his first three seasons in Kalamazoo. He's scored nine or 10 touchdowns every year and in both seasons where he finished healthy, he had more than 1,000 rushing yards. Last year he was third-team All-MAC and the MVP of both the MAC title game and the Myrtle Beach Bowl. WMU's best chance to stay close in this one will be to control clock and to do that, it has to be effective on the ground. Buckley is one of the two main threats to do so.

Terrific Taylor: Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor is a name to keep an eye on for years to come. He earned a five-year deal last December worth more than a million dollars a season (that's big money at the MAC level) after he led the Broncos to a MAC title and a 10-win season. He's identified his team's core pillars as "effort, attitude, toughness, discipline and grit" and did what he could to keep his group together, not to mentioned added some transfers from some big schools.

Tony Garcia's two cents

How good will U-M be?: Whittingham put it best when speaking with Dan Patrick earlier this week: “I don’t know if anyone in the country knows how good their team can be, because they’re playing against each other," he said. "If you struggle to move the ball, is it because you’re lousy on offense and your defense is outstanding, or vice versa? You never really get a good gauge completely until you line up and play somebody. But you can certainly see talent and positions that really are special."

Scout the special teams: Michigan has a new special teams coordinator in Kerry Coombs, but word around the program is the kicking game has been inconsistent. Trey Butkowski (Pittsburgh) will handle field goals and Cam Brown (UNLV) will get punt duties, both playing on a bigger stage than they have before. Elsewhere, it's imperative U-M improves from where it was last season as one of the bottom 15 teams in America in punt and kickoff return. It could be Marsh, Hiter or Snowden getting the touches in the return game, which should help. This unit has been an under-discussed portion of this offseason and could play a major role (one way or the other) down the line.

Tony Garcia's prediction

Western Michigan should be one of the better MAC teams, but the biggest differences in teams of these levels comes in the trenches. The Broncos have to replace seven players in its front that recorded multiple sacks a year ago while U-M feels solid about its front on both sides of the ball. The Wolverines will rotate eight players on the offensive line and bring in more than 10 defensive linemen throughout the game. That should wear down a team that will give lesser teams fits, but doesn't have the size or depth of the Wolverines. The pick: U-M 41, WMU 16.

Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.