Michigan is set to begin life under Kyle Whittingham, and everyone is wondering what expectations they should have from the team. For starters, the Wolverines can’t finish lower than what they did with Sherrone Moore. However, former Buckeye Kirk Herbstreit is going even higher, giving Whittingham’s team a chance to have a shot at the conference title. But there’s a caveat.

“I mean, if Bryce is healthy and goes off, you could put Michigan in that discussion,” Herbstreit said on the Nonstop podcast on August 24. “So, let’s say six teams if everything goes well. You can sit here right now and say they could win the Big 10. I say, six.”

There are predictable favorites in the Big Ten. The defending champion, Indiana, is one of them. The same can be said about the preseason No. 1 Ohio State. Dan Lanning’s Oregon is also not far behind. Some even place the Ducks next to the Hoosiers. Then there’s a gap.

The No. 4-6 teams may include Michigan, Illinois, and USC. At the end of the day, it can come down to the strength of the schedule. For the Wolverines, Herbstreit is placing a lot of focus on their sophomore quarterback.

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ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit firmly believes that Bryce Underwood can carry Michigan to the next level, expecting a massive jump in performance and maturity during his sophomore 2026 season.

During an appearance on the Crain & Cone podcast in February this year, Herbstreit cautioned against overreacting to Underwood’s freshman inconsistencies. He explained that playing as an 18-year-old true freshman in a rigid scheme is incredibly difficult. Now that Michigan has a full year of tape on Underwood, Herbstreit noted that the staff finally has an entire offseason to study where his “sweet spot” is and build the playbook directly around his strengths. 

Herbstreit has a unique, direct pipeline into the Michigan locker room; his son, Chase Herbstreit, is a backup quarterback on the Wolverines’ roster. Kirk Herbstreit revealed that Chase has relayed to him just how much Underwood has grown behind the scenes. Herbstreit publicly praised Underwood’s elite work ethic and professional approach to his job, stating that the way Underwood carries himself has completely won over the locker room. 

Underwood has a lot riding on him this season. He possesses a rare combination of generational raw physical talent, elite recruiting pedigree, and immense developmental upside that could make him the top overall pick in the 2028 NFL Draft. But alongside that, it can also help take Michigan a very long way.

His true freshman stats in 2025 were modest: the QB threw for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. But there was a lot of context behind the inconsistencies. Underwood didn’t have a dedicated QB coach, which hampered his development. Whittingham solved that issue after arriving at Ann Arbor. The new Michigan OC, Jason Beck, also has a history of developing QBs. So, Michigan will go as far as Underwood takes them.